Apologies were received from Cllr John Braithwaite, with Cllr Jil Hall as substitute.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest.

Cllr Stephen Alambritis introduced the item by explaining that there will be no major changes or disruption for residents regarding waste collection. In addition, under the new contract operatives will be required to put containers back to the point of storage and close gates while large estates will receive more frequent collections. The food collection service for flats above shops will be expanded, ‘Garth Road on the Road’ will continue to be bi-monthly and KPI’s on missed collections will be tougher. The bidders cannot be named at this stage due to procurement regulation.

In response to questions:

Kelly Williams noted within this contract there is a commitment for all estates to have an audit taken by the contractor to make sure that there’s adequate capacity and that bins are appropriately located with clear signage.

Dan Jones stated that Merton received 4 bidders at the start of the process, although 3 withdrew despite being offered an extension to the submission deadline. As there was only 1 bid an independent assessment was completed to ensure it was value for money and the bid was also compared to an in-house option. Dan Jones added that follow up work can be done to learn why the other bidders withdrew, but there is no information at the moment.

Dan Jones also explained that Merton will be considering alternatives to the fleet which currently use diesel fuel, this links in with Merton decarbonisation strategy. This may involve moving to an electric fleet or using a biofuel such as HVO. This will be subject to a further report that will come to cabinet in 2025 so no decisions are being taken at this time. It was noted that when the fleet is procured, scope for roads with limited access having smaller vehicles turn up will be taken into account. 

Kelly Williams explained that the bidder has taken into account projected property growth within Merton for the next 10 years in accordance with Merton’s Local Plan. The contract also aligns with the councils’ vision to work towards a 65% recycling rate of Local Authority Collected Waste by 2030, which is an increase from the current rate of 40%. This can be achieved by growing food waste and recycling on estates.

Kelly Williams also explained that the council are proposing to monitor the delivery of the service through an additional contract management team comprising of a contract manager and contract officer dedicated to quality control. There will also be a new performance managing framework with an extensive list of KPI’s tracking statistics like bins returned to collection points. For example, the target for missed collection KPI’s have been improved from 80 missed collections per 100,000, to 77 missed collections per 100,000. This will be supported by new governance boards and a quarterly strategic board. Reports will also still be brought to scrutiny. Although residents will still need to report persistent missed collections, resources will be used to locate and address the issue.

Discussing the timing of Merton’s withdrawal  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.