Anglesey Council awards new £40m waste collection contract to external firm

Anglesey will retain its three-weekly bin collections as part of a new £40m waste contract.

The authority has confirmed that a new eight-year contract will kick in with Biffa from April 2021, with the company having collected the island’s recycling and general waste since 2007.

In 2018, Anglesey Council revealed it was considering the possibility of bringing the service in-house, but this week revealed that it would retain the services of the private firm after employing a temporary project manager to oversee the procurement process.

While it was also considered a possibility that black bin collections could be scaled back to once a month – such as in Conwy – the authority confirmed to the Local Democracy Service that recycling collections would continue to be done weekly and general waste every three weeks when the new deal kicks in next year.

A spokesman addd that the new £40m contract holds an option to extend, but that the initial eight-year deal will begin on April 1, 2021, “following an extensive tendering process”.

He added: “All waste collection services will continue as existing in the first instance to ensure a smooth transition.

“The existing partnership arrangement between the county council and Biffa has seen Anglesey become one of the best recycling counties in the United Kingdom and consistently achieve high recycling rates.

“The level of cleanliness of streets and beaches has also developed into one of the best in Wales in recent years.”

Clr Bob Parry, Anglesey’s waste management portfolio holder, welcomed the new contract award, adding that initiatives next year will include a new state-of-the-art waste/recycling collection and cleansing fleet and the use of new technology to improve frontline services.

Cllr Parry said: “This new contract will allow Anglesey to build on its long term partnership with Biffa, meet future targets and ensure further success in terms of our recycling efforts.

“I hope to see the very positive collaborative dialogue and ‘can do’ attitude that has existed between both parties continue into the new contract so that, together, we can maintain high quality services for the people of Anglesey for many more years to come.”

Roger Edwards, managing director of Biffa’s municipal division, said they were “very excited” to be working on this new contract.

He added: “At Biffa we are committed to helping our customers recycle more, and our local Biffa team relish the opportunity to apply this knowledge and experience to achieve this with Anglesey County Council and continue our successful working relationship.”

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter