Straight wins new procurement contracts
Sid Ryan | 3 April 2012

Environmental products and services group, Straight plc has recently won two large contracts to supply its products both directly and through a wholesale procurement group.

Straight will now be supplying its recycling receptacles to Cheshire West and Chester Council as well as distributing their products through a new framework agreement with the public sector procurement organisation Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO).

The new framework agreement will be Straight’s third with YPO, and is estimated to be worth around £25 million across all suppliers. Procurement through the YPO agreement means that customers can buy goods without going through the full EU procurement process and can benefit from the cost and efficiency savings available from bulk buying through a wholesaler.

New products covered under the agreement are the Kitchen Caddy, Kerbside Caddy, Kerbside Box and Wheeled Bin Inner Caddy alongside specialist bins for compost, batteries and office recycling. These products join several others manufactured by Straight that are already available through YPO.

Straight’s other recent contract will be to supply Cheshire West and Chester Council directly, in a partnership with May Gurney, the support services specialist. The contract for waste and recycling services is worth over £800,000 and will see the area’s three separate kerbside collections unified into a single service.

May Gurney’s weekly collections will cover more than 147,000 homes, with Straight providing residents with two large kerbside boxes for dry recyclables, and two food waste containers for inside and outside the home. It is hoped that the new service will increase the recycling rate in the area from 49 per cent to 63 per cent once the service is fully implemented. The council too will benefit, as it is estimated to save in excess of £1.5 million per annum by taking up the new contract.

“This is another significant contract win for Straight and is testament to our market-leading proposition”, says Jonathan Straight, Chief Executive of Straight plc. “We are delighted to be working with May Gurney on another pioneering recycling project. We admire the ambition of setting a target higher than the average and I am looking forward to seeing this achieved.”

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How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?

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There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.