Liverpool City Council is set to award a four-and-half-year contract for the collection of household bulky waste to Liverpool Streetscene Services Ltd (LSSL).
LSSL was awarded a temporary contract last November and since then has implemented significant operational improvements, not least reducing customers’ wait times from an average of four to five weeks to seven to 10 days.
LSSL has also instigated the new practice of when collection crews are unable to gain access, the crew visits the next working day.
And the new Cabinet member overseeing the service has said due to the radical reduction in waiting times there’s no excuse for anyone in the city to dump their bulky waste.
The recommendation to award a longer term contract to LSSL, for the collection of household waste items weighing over 25kg or too large to be placed in a wheeled bin, will be put to Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday, 6 June.
In that Cabinet report it notes that the Council and LSSL have worked to triage service requests, primarily through the Council’s website to reduce historical demand on the service.
The new process has also involved redirecting residents wishing to ensure their items are re-used, to local charities and re-use organisations.
This approach is designed to have a positive impact on tackling fly-tipping and street litter, a key aim for the Council which spends £9m a year on removing waste and cleaning the city’s streets and which recently introduced the UK’s first residential network of subterranean superbins.
Prior to LSSL’s appointment, the previous contractor averaged around 10 per cent for reusing items, with an average of 45 per cent of material being recycled and the remainder sent for incineration – which is the most costly element both environmentally and financially.
The Council aims to work with LSSL to develop and strengthen processes to improve on these figures to help the city meet its Carbon Net Zero target by 2030 and to save the authority money, providing best value to the city’s residents.
As part of negotiations and operational data gained over the past six months, LSSL has agreed to deliver 40,000 collection slots per year at an annual contract cost of £520,000. This equates to £13 per collection.
The contract will be subject to annual review through which will be assessed as part of the Council’s budget setting process.
By awarding the contract to LSSL it also aligns with their two other Council contracts – Refuse Collection and Recycling and Street Cleansing, both of which are due to end on 1 November 2027. This means all three contracts can go out to tender at the same time.
Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetscene, said: “I’m delighted there’s been a radical cut in waiting times for bulky waste collection. It’s beginning to have an impact on how we tackle litter across the city but we need everyone to play their part too.
“We can’t just look to the Council in making our neighbourhoods cleaner. Bulky Waste collection is a statutory duty but we all have a duty to look after our environment and the recent improvements on collections means there’s no excuse to just leave or dump waste.
“The cost to the Council in tackling this totally avoidable problem means we have less money and time to spend on other environmental services like looking after our parks and play areas, which everyone loves to use particularly in the summer.
“If we all contribute to keeping Liverpool tidy, no matter how small the effort, we all benefit – cleaner streets, nicer neighbourhoods and parks and ultimately less pollution and cleaner air which ultimately all helps to tackle climate change.
“What has pleased me is the approach we’ve taken with LSSL over the past few months to direct our residents to other providers to ensure as much bulky waste can be reused and recycled, which reduces the need to incinerate and pollute.
“LSSL has delivered notable improvements and now have a greater understanding of this service and this proposed new contract, its targets and strategies to make further improvements, reflect that.
“This new contract also demonstrates the Council’s commitment to deliver best value for our residents and our pledge to do the basics well.
“There’s room for improvement but there’s a desire on both sides to analyse how we achieve better results and help protect our environment – locally and globally.”
NOTE: Liverpool residents can request up to five bulky items per individual property, up to five small electrical items and up to five bags of textiles – clothes, belts, shoes, handbags – per collection.
They can go online to find out more at: https://liverpool.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/