SWaMP2008, The Southern Waste Management Partnership, has begun the process of short-listing bidders to construct new waste management infrastructure for the southern half of Northern Ireland. The facilities will manage all the residual domestic waste which cannot currently be recycled, in an effort to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites.
Following a Europe-wide invitation to tender, six bids for the project have been received from the following consortia: Greenstar Holdings (with BioGen Power Ltd, Strabag Umweltenlagen GMbH and Orchid Environmental Ltd), Biffa Waste Services Ltd (with Natural World Products Ltd and Ros Roca Environmental SL), Northern Ireland Sustainable Solutions (Cyril Sweett Investments Ltd, Urbaser SA and John Sisk & Son Ltd), Brickkiln Waste Ltd (with United Utilities), One51 Plc (with VT Environmental Engineering), and Quinn Group Ltd (with Entsorga Italia SRL).
Councillor Charles Rollston, Chair of the Joint Commitee of SWaMP2008
Welcoming the start of the procurement process, SWaMP2008 Joint Committee Chairman, Councillor Charles Rollston said, “SWaMP2008 is very pleased to have received six very high quality bids from consortia which combine the best in local knowledge with the experience of leading innovators in Europe.
“The complex process of assessing these bids has now begun and will examine criteria including previous experience in waste management, sustainable technology, environmental benefits and price. We will be looking to get the best possible option for the people of this region, as well as driving for the best value for money on behalf of all ratepayers in the 8 council areas of SWaMP2008.
“A short-list of these bidders will be complete by the end of October and we will then enter the lengthy process of developing each of the bids in full detail. This will be completed within 12 months and a final contractor will be appointed in December 2010, to commence construction in early 2011.”
Stringent landfill diversion targets have been set down by Central Government and the EU. All over Europe local councils will face significant fines if they fail to reduce the levels of waste currently being sent to landfill. Ultimately these fines would fall on ratepayers.
Across Northern Ireland, the three regional waste management groups are now in the process of procuring the infrastructure necessary to sort, treat and reduce domestic waste.
Graham Byrne, Operational Director of SWaMP2008 explained that this new infrastructure will complement and encourage the recycling culture which is emerging in the South and West of the province. He said, “Whilst recycling rates have improved in recent years and SWaMP2008 has the highest recycling figures of all the regional waste management groups, there is still a real and pressing need to deal with the remaining waste. This new infrastructure will further add to the potential to sort and recycle other materials such as glass, metals, plastic and paper and to produce compost and even heat or electricity from waste.”
Although potential sites for the new infrastructure have been identified through a detailed site selection process, these will not be finalised until a series of consultations with the Planning Service and the short-listed bidders has been completed.
The shortlist of final bidders will be announced by SWaMP2008 at the end of October.
