Today (16 December) marks the start of the North London Waste Authority’s (NLWA) £90-million dry mixed recycling contract with Biffa, following the initial announcement of the contract in July.
The agreement marks a continuation of a ten-year relationship between Biffa and the NLWA, which incorporates seven north London boroughs (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest).
The new six-year contract will see Biffa process up to 120,000 tonnes of dry mixed recycling per year, which will then be sorted at Biffa’s materials recycling facility (MRF) in Edmonton, north London. As part of the agreement, Biffa will improve the reporting and traceability of end destinations for recycling, providing residents with reassurance about what happens to their recyclable material whilst also contributing funding to deliver projects to help reduce contamination of recyclable material.
NLWA had also awarded a contract to Bywaters (Leyton) Ltd for processing dry mixed recyclables, however, the authority has now withdrawn the agreement after Bywaters sought changes to the deal, despite ‘several months of co-operation.’
In light of this, NLWA claims to have sufficient capacity in its recycling contract in the short term to ensure that service delivery will not be affected, but will reassess this in the New Year to consider whether it needs to explore other options.
Andrew O’Connor, Head of Strategy and Services at NLWA, commented: “Today marks the continuation of a long and productive partnership with Biffa. The new contract will help the Authority push ahead with activity to encourage greater recycling in north London, which is a key part of our action on tackling the climate emergency.
“It is great news that this six-year contract will provide certainty around north London’s ability to provide improved processing of recyclable material in the long term. This is the largest recycling contract in England and I look forward to it being a real success.
“The Authority tendered a series of contracts to achieve the recycling capacity required. It is extremely disappointing that Bywaters have indicated at this late stage that they are now unable to honour the contract awarded in July.”
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