Waste and Cleansing Contract, Burnley Borough Council

Urbaser Ltd is the Council's existing contractor under its waste and cleansing contract. This contract commenced in June 2015 on an initial eight-year term and has since been extended for an additional two years to 31st May 2025. Due to ongoing uncertainty around the implementation of the recently announced Government waste reforms. This procurement shall extend the existing services to be performed by Urbaser for a further ten months, to 31st March 2026, with an option to extend for an additional twelve months until 1st June 2027 if required. The extension was undertaken in accordance with the original contractual terms.

In addition, there is also currently disposal uncertainty (Burnley Borough Council operates within a two-tier waste authority system). The County Council, as the disposal authority, have advised collection authorities that the existing disposal arrangements (running to landfill) will cease on the 1st April 2026. The Borough Council is therefore required to seek their own disposal arrangements. As such, the extension is required to align these two significant service changes. Additional information: The Council's current waste and cleansing contract covers the collection of residual and recyclable waste (including green waste) from eligible households within the Authority area and street cleansing services, including the transfer of collected material to Authority designated delivery sites. The Council has a statutory duty to provide these services and therefore needs to arrange for their provision beyond 31st May 2025, when the current contract is due to expire.

An extension of existing services is sought to allow time for the Council to receive greater clarity and financial assurance around the implementation of the recently announced Government waste reforms, in particular 'Simpler Recycling' and mandatory food waste collections, which are expected to come into force from 2026. An extension period of ten months, to 31st March 2026, shall enable the Council to better align future procurement for the services with the introduction of these reforms. The option to extend by an additional twelve months, to 1st April 2027, will provide flexibility should there be any further delays to the Government's indicative implementation timescales.

This extension of existing services will enable clarity on the operational and financial impacts of government reform and disposal arrangements; and provides the Authority with more control and cost certainty for a future procurement, ensuring that it is able to comply with its duty to obtain best value.