Local companies looking to bid for long-term waste contracts have claimed that they could save ratepayers in Northern Ireland at least £20m per year.
The 25-year-long contracts have been set up to guarantee that NI’s councils meet EU targets that were set on recycling while avoiding huge fines. A dozen waste companies not involved in the process have made claims that they would be happy to do exactly the same work but at a cheaper rate -saving councils a whopping £500m by the time the full terms of the contract are through, they said.
The Stormont committee will question those involved on the tender process in order to establish whether or not the new deals, expected to be confirmed later this year, can be seen to offer value for money. Currently, most black bin waste meets its fate in landfill, with Northern Ireland’s total 26 councils dumping 660,000 tonnes per year of it.
Stringent EU targets and costly penalties mean that a new approach is required, which has prompted local councils to divide purchasing groups into three. They will negotiate contracts with the country’s biggest waste players - which are to attempt to divert as much waste from landfill as is possible.
The negotiations are now at an advanced stage but it isn’t known just how much councils are to be charged as the purchasing groups have stated that this cannot be disclosed due to commercial sensitivity.
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