Municipal services contractor Biffa has secured a 10-year extension on its waste management and street cleansing contract with Wirral Council.

The extension of the 2006-2017 contract, valued at around £115 million, will see Biffa Municipal provide householders with recycling and refuse collections and provide street cleansing for a further 10 years, taking the contract to 2027 (however, the contract includes a break clause in 2023, allowing the council to terminate the agreement then, should it so wish).

Biffa has said that in order to provide service efficiencies, it will be investing in a vehicle fleet that can collect a wider range of co-mingled recyclables from householders, as well as food waste. Although there is now a legal requirement for all local authorities in England and Wales to separately collect waste paper, metal, plastic and glass when they are necessary to ‘facilitate or improve recovery’ and are TEEP (technically, environmentally and economically practicable), Wirral Council has said that is is TEEP compliant.

The fleet will also utilise in-cab technology for real-time recording and reporting of collections, while garden waste collection vehicles will also feature 360-degree camera systems for recording the street scene around collections.

As part of the new agreement, Biffa will also provide additional seasonal cleansing of the New Brighton sea front and reduce the cost of collecting waste from bulk bins located in the borough’s parks and countryside.

A monitoring officer is to be appointed to track and report contract participation and compliance by both organisations.

Speaking of the extension, Biffa Municipal Managing Director Roger Edwards commented: “Negotiating this extension took considerable time and effort from both the council and Biffa, as there was so much at stake. As a result, Wirral Council and its residents will save nearly £1 in every £10 for their waste service. That’s a substantial amount during this time of austerity measures and squeezed budgets, factors that have demanded decisive action.

“We know that this saving is both welcomed and vital for Wirral Council to continue delivering effective, efficient services that actively aim to cut waste by improving local recycling.”

Councillor Bernie Mooney, Wirral’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability, added: “The council has unprecedented financial reductions to make over the next three years and Biffa has a proven track record of working with us to realise challenging savings in waste collection and street cleansing, with no effect on frontline services.

“Extending the contract with the existing provider will guarantee revenue savings over the next three years and avoid future procurement costs of up to £250,000.”

Find out more about Biffa Municipal.