Green Waste Recycling Contract costs and term

Your application for Freedom of Information has been received.

Your application reference is 101000358928

Chief Executive's Directorate

Strategic Intelligence
Room L10
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD

Tel: 01392 384678
Email: [Devon County Council request email]
Fax: 01392 383165

August 2009

Dear George Thorburn.

Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) Request: 101000358928

I am in receipt of your request dated 07/08/2009 regarding Recycling and
waste management policies and contracts.

You are entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to be
informed whether or not the information you have requested is held by
Devon County Council and if so to be given access to that information
within 20 working days (subject to any exemptions).

You will receive a response to your request by 07/09/2009.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Team

show quoted sections

Dear George Thorburn

Information request 101000358928

In reply to your request for information held by Devon County Council in
connection with collection and recycling of green waste within the County.

The information you are entitled to under the Freedom of Information Act
is given below and in the attached document.

Contracts

Please note that in the attached copy of the contract we have applied the
exemption under Section 43 (2) Commercial Interests, where information is
exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be
likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the
public authority holding it). To disclose commercially confidential
information could undermine Viridor's competitive position in the waste
industry. This exemption is 'qualified' which means we have to conduct a
public interest test, balancing the public interest in disclosure against
maintaining the exemption. The balance has been found in favour of
maintaining the exemption because we believe disclosure would also
prejudice Devon County Council's future contract rates and negotiations
when tendering for contract.

The County Council is the Waste Disposal Authority in Devon. As such, it
does not collect household waste, which is a duty undertaken by the Waste
Collection Authorities, Exeter City Council and the District Councils.
You will need to contact the Authorities listed on the enclosed for
details of collection methodologies and contracts.

As Waste Disposal Authority, we do deal with the green waste collected by
some of the Waste Collection authorities. Green waste and food waste is
processed at in-vessel composting plants operated through our waste
disposal contract with Viridor Waste Management Ltd.

The contract was initially let in July 1996 to Devon Waste Management Ltd
and subsequently sold to Viridor Waste Management Ltd in 2003 following an
open tender process. That contract is terminable by two years notice by
either the County Council or Viridor.

The County Council operates a network of Recycling Centres across the
County to which the public may bring green waste. The following contracts
are in place for the operation of these facilities:

· Terry Sanders & Son: to operate the weekend service at Buckfastleigh.
Start date: 2003 End date: 2012
· South Molton Recycle: South Molton recycling centre. Start date: 2003
End date: 2012
· Viridor: Bideford recycling centre. Start date: 2007 End date: 2012
· The contract for the operation of the remaining recycling centres is
with Viridor. Start date: 1 April 2003 End date: 2012

The green waste disposed of by the public at recycling centres is
transported by the recycling centre operator to a nominated shredding site
and then to on-farm composting sites under the waste disposal contract
with Viridor.

The one exception to the on-farm composting arrangement is a separate
arrangement Devon County Council has with Greencrop, who undertakes the
composting of green waste from the Kingsbridge, Torr Quarry recycling
centre.

Policies

The information you require on policies can be found on our website and
you will need to refer to the Waste Strategy Policy Statements 9,10,11,12
and 13. This can be found
at [1]http://www.devon.gov.uk/waste_management....
The relevant policies can be found on pp24-28 of Section 2.0 Waste - the
way forward.

The authority is actively seeking to divert waste away from landfill as
required by the European Landfill Directive. The steps taken to encourage
recycling and composting contributes to a reduction in the carbon
footprint of waste management operations.

The soil conditioners produced by in-vessel composting plants and the
Anaerobic Digestion Plants are marketed by the companies involved in the
process. Details may be obtained from Viridor Waste Management Ltd
regarding terms and conditions of the sale of this "compost".

Correspondence

Finally, copies of correspondence with our contractors who recycle green
waste within the County have not been sourced due to volumes of
information held. It has been estimated that the time it would take to
comply with this part of the request will exceed the fee limit as set out
in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and
Fees) Regulations 2004. The fee limit is £450 which equates to 18 hours
of staff time.

As you will appreciate, contractual arrangements have been in place for a
long time and these cover a wide range of contractual issues. If you are
unable to obtain the information you require from the contract document,
and still require copies of correspondence, please be more specific in
relation to the subject of the correspondence and time period to be
covered.

I hope this information is helpful.

Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Office
Devon County Council
Room L10
County Hall
Exeter EX2 4QD
Tel: 01392 384678

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Your right to complain
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handled, please write to Devon County Council's Freedom of Information
Office, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QD or complete the on-line
complaint form that can be found at [3]www.devon.gov.uk. If your complaint
is not resolved to your complete satisfaction, you have the right to refer
the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.devon.gov.uk/waste_management...
2. http://www.devon.gov.uk/email.shtml
3. http://www.devon.gov.uk/