"This year we expect to sign a 25 year contract with the Viridor/Laing consortium to bring to Greater Manchester the latest waste management technologies. The contract will give an even more significant push on education so that the important steps of waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling become even more part of routine"
Councillor Neil Swannick, Chair of GMWDA
Manchester, England: Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) announced earlier this week substantial increases in recycling levels across Greater Manchester, which exceeded targets.
Recycling and composting levels at the Authority's Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) have more than doubled from 21.2% in 2004/05 to 44.74% for the period 1st April to 30th December 2007.
The Authority also announced increases in recycling and composting from household collections, essentially by Borough Councils in Greater Manchester, of 26.81% for the period 1st April to 30th September 2007 from 24.95% during the same period last year.
GMWDA is the largest of six English waste disposal authorities that were created under the Local Government Act 1985. GMWDA provides waste disposal services for over 958,000 households in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford. It handles around 5% of national municipal waste, amounting to one and a half million tonnes annually.
The proposed integrated waste facility at Rochdale, Greater Manchester. (Photo: Viridor).
The improvements in performance have been attributed to a number of factors including increased participation by residents and work by GMWDA in partnership with the nine collection authorities.
At the HWRCs, improvements in performance are likely to be related to customer friendly operations and the ability to increase volumes of waste such as rubble being separated for processing and reuse.
However not only are recycling rates going up in the Authority's area, waste quantities are also reducing with projections for household waste for the year 2007/08 indicating a fall in waste by 8,800 tonnes. While this seems a relatively small decrease, it needs to be seen in the light of inexorable rises in wastes over the last decade or so.
Viridor-Laing PFI contract
The Authority is looking forward to even better results in the future when the longer term PFI contract is finalised next month. GMWDA says that the contract will see it become even easier for residents to recycle more of their waste, and will extract valuable recyclables and green energy from material that would previously have gone to landfill, therefore delivering a significant reduction in the region’s greenhouse gases.
The Authority is in the later stages of a procurement of the 25 year waste services contract using the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). In January 2007 the Authority appointed the Viridor/Laing consortia as its Preferred Bidder and is working towards financial closure following final negotiations, by the end of March.
The Authority has subsequently provided details of the emerging technical solution and new infrastructure (see Press Related Press Releases at: www.gmwda.gov.uk).
The project involves the investment of more than £300 million in new and improved waste handling facilities, and the creation of 100 new jobs across Greater Manchester. The new facilities, virtually all to be built at existing sites, will help take residents’ recycling rates to at least 50% by 2020, according to the GMWDA.
Councillor Neil Swannick, Chair of GMWDA commented:
“It is a pleasure to see continuous improvements in performance in this important area. The largest congratulations when these results are issued really have to go to the residents of Greater Manchester, as the results are only made possible by their participation. The latest figures show how well we are all doing and what can be achieved by working in partnership.
“This year we expect to sign a 25 year contract with the Viridor/Laing consortium to bring to Greater Manchester the latest waste management technologies. The contract will give an even more significant push on education so that the important steps of waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling become even more part of routine. The new contractor will inherit a very healthy position which will mean an excellent launch pad from which they can deliver further and ongoing improvements.”