South West Devon Waste Partnership

Introduction

For many years councils have used landfill sites to dispose of their rubbish, but growing concern for the environment has recognised that this is no longer a sustainable solution. The recent introduction of new European laws leading to strict landfill limits has meant that councils can be fined for exceeding their landfill allocations. In response, local authorities have had to examine new ways of managing waste, particularly waste that can't be recycled or reused, known as residual waste.

The challenge of developing a more sustainable waste management strategy and residual waste treatment solution is not unique - many councils are faced with this problem. Plymouth City Council, Devon County Council and Torbay Council have joined together as the South West Devon Waste Partnership to procure a sustainable long term solution.

The process so far

The competitive tendering process began in 2008 with the partnership inviting specialist waste companies to develop new solutions to manage the Partnership's residual waste. This procurement process involved various stages at which submissions were made and assessed against set criteria. The assessment considered many aspects of the contractor's proposals against the following themes:

• technical
• environmental
• planning and site deliverability
• legal and financial aspects

Initially, four different locations were put forward as possible sites for the plant and a number of contractors submitted more than one proposal on this basis. The submissions were shortlisted over a number of stages resulting in the final two companies each proposing a similar energy from waste technology but on different sites. MVV Umwelt put forward plans for North Yard, Devonport while Viridor chose New England Quarry near Lee Mill.

The evaluation procedure for the final stage of the procurement process, the Call for Final Tenders assessment, can be viewed below.

Evaluation procedure [329KB]

After a rigorous assessment of both proposals, MVV Umwelt was announced as the partnership's preferred bidder in January 2011, and contracts were signed in March 2011.

MVV has proposed a 245,000 tonne capacity energy from waste facility located in North Yard providing environmentally sustainable electricity and heat to HM Naval Base Devonport.

MVV submitted a planning application in May 2011, this can be viewed on Plymouth City Council's website. The company has also applied for an environmental permit through the Environment Agency. Provided planning and permitting approval is granted as scheduled, construction of the plant will begin in 2012, with operations commencing in 2014.

More information on the scheme and the process as it moves forward can be found on the MVV Umwelt website.