The council-led organisation Improvement and Efficiency South East (iESE) and the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWaRB) has announced that its Pan Government Waste Management Framework is now live and open to 141 English councils, becoming the UK’s first ever procurement framework for the sector.

The framework, which will be formally launched at the LGA Conference on 26 June, is free for English councils and was set up in order to gives councils in the West Midlands, Southern England and London a chance to tender their contracts for recycling and waste collection, street cleansing, grounds maintenance and bulky waste collection without having to carry out a full procurement process.

“The framework not only saves councils time, but also money” a spokesperson from iESE told Resource. “The contractors appointed to the framework have already been through a pre-qualification process which cuts down the procurement process from 18 months to between six and eight months and could save councils up to £85 million in procurement costs.”

The iESE announced on 13 June that nine waste contractors have been appointed to the framework (with a further two finalising contracts), and will compete for the waste services contracts in the hope of providing councils with their waste management solutions. Contractors appointed to the framework pay an annual membership fee of up to £10,000 (depending on the level of involvement) plus rebate.

Confirmed members of the framework are:

AmeyCespa Ltd
Cory Environmental Management Ltd
Enterprise Managed Services Limited
London Re-Use Network
Quadron Services Limited
SITA UK Limited
Urbaser Limited
Veolia Environmental Services (UK) plc
FCC Environment

Councillor Paul Bettison, Chairman of iESE, introduced the framework saying: “iESE’s waste management framework is a groundbreaking solution for councils. It is about delivering the same, if not improved services, for less money. Councils want to get the best deal for their residents so the more councils that get involved, the greater the market leverage will be.”

Explaining the reason for the framework, Bettison said: “Councils are still dealing with significant budget cuts whilst residents quite rightly expect their bins to be emptied, their streets to be clean and their neighbourhoods tidy. Individual councils may not have the necessary waste market knowledge required which is why the framework can ensure that they are getting the best deal available to them.” The framework will also provide template specifications and terms and conditions for councils to ”help cut through the red tape and bureaucracy that many have faced in the past”.

Bettison went on to explain that the framework will see councils getting more from their money: “Before now, councils have had to approach the waste services market alone meaning that the potential power in their combined £1.7bn spend is lost. With our framework covering the services that really matter to people, councils now have the opportunity to deliver even better services, save money, and work with waste contractors in a much more transparent way.”

Co-designed by councils and waste suppliers, the framework is now open to local authorities for the next four years. Councils will be able to place call-off contracts individually or in partnership, appointing a single contractor for up to 10 years.

On confirming his organisation’s appointment to the framework, Charles Craft, Managing Director of London Re-use Limited, said: “We are delighted to be part of the iESE Waste Management Framework. The framework provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate how we can deliver effective and efficient furniture reuse services through our network of member organisations. Not only can we make a real difference to reducing the amount of furniture being sent to landfill but also actively help create local employment and training opportunities for Londoners.”

Steve Ostler, Head of Municipal Development at SITA UK, also welcomed its involvement in the framework, saying: “SITA UK is very pleased to be part of the iESE waste management services framework. We are keen to support initiatives that have the potential to further improve efficiencies between local authorities and private companies and we look forward to being involved in our first procurement through this new system.”

The framework has been partly funded by Defra through the iESE National Waste Support Programme and has been supported during its development by Keep Britain Tidy and WRAP. It is hoped that the framework will see similar success to the iESE Construction Framework, which has already saved £63 million for the public sector.

More details on iESE Pan Government Waste Management Framework can be found on the iESE website.