Published on Thursday 05 November 2020
A Dorset-based organic recycling specialist has won a multi-million-pound waste handling contract with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP).
The exclusive four-year deal, with an option to extend to up to ten years, tasks Eco Sustainable Solutions with processing all the organic wastes generated in the BCP region.
The annual amounts specified include 21,000 tonnes of green or garden waste, 8,000 tonnes of wood, 4,750 tonnes of food waste and 2,500 tonnes of organic rubbish collected through street sweeping.
Eco will divert all the materials away from landfill by recycling them into compost, mulch, soil, turf and green energy such as low-carbon biofuels, electricity and heat.
The processing will be done at Eco’s main, 14-acre site in Parley and its anaerobic digestion plant at Piddlehinton near Dorchester.
Eco’s Commercial Director Peter Hardy said: "The contract is a further vote of confidence in our 25 years of waste management services here in Dorset.
"It’s tremendous news for us but more importantly the people of the BCP region who want reassurance that recycling and environmental protection are top priorities at this critical time for the planet."
Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste for BCP Council, said:
"I am so pleased that this organics treatment contract is the first large waste contract that has been let since the formation of BCP Council. It continues our relationship with Eco Sustainable Solutions, a local company that will significantly help meet our carbon-neutral ambitions to tackle the climate and ecological emergency.
"The company’s composting, anaerobic digestion and biomass technology will now treat 38,000 tonnes of our garden waste, wood waste, food waste and street sweepings for the next four to ten years.
"BCP Council already recycles, composts or re-uses nearly 54% of its waste, and this contract’s flexibility will allow us to expand and build on this in the future over the whole conurbation."
Eco already processes around 250,000 tonnes of organic materials each year. In 2019 the firm retained a long-standing contract with Dorset Council Waste Services, previously Dorset Waste Partnership, for the handling of the county’s organic waste.
Eco recently announced plans to build an Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) at its Parley site to help process an extra 60,000 tonnes of waste a year.
Up to a fifth of that would be recycled and the rest would be used to generate more low-carbon energy.
The firm is undertaking a public consultation on the plans this autumn to gather feedback and inform a planning application in due course.