Suez awarded £210m Somerset recycling contract

Somerset County Council has announced that Suez will deliver all of Somerset’s recycling services from 2020 on a 10-year, £210m contract.

The contract is still yet to be finalised but will be one of the largest collection contracts in the UK, providing collection and waste logistic services to more than 250,000 households across the whole of Somerset.

The deal will have an option to extend for a further 10 years and Somerset CC says it will support 460 jobs.

The new contract will see Suez deliver the partnership’s new Recycle More service, operating new vehicles from refurbished depots, and collecting a much wider range of recycling every week, including more plastic packaging.

The current service is provided by Kier, and all staff will transfer to Suez when the new contract begins in March 2020.

Somerset Waste Partnership managing director Mickey Green said: ‘Our partnership with Suez will enable Somerset to continue its history of innovation, and help residents drive up the recycling rate with the enhanced kerbside sort system that ensures we collect high-quality materials and focus on waste as a resource not something which is thrown away.”

CEO of Suez recycling and recovery UK, David Palmer-Jones, said: ‘We are naturally very pleased to be selected by the Somerset Waste Partnership to help deliver on the ambitions of Recycle More, and look forward to developing a strong partnership which reflects our mutual commitment to innovation and leadership within the sector.

‘Suez has considerable experience delivering source-segregated recycling collection systems which maximise recycling opportunities for residents and we look forward to bringing that expertise to this partnership.’

Photo credit – Street art in Glastonbury, Somerset. Pixabay.