Leicester-based recycling and waste management firm Casepak has been awarded a contract by Leicestershire County Council to process up to 64,000 tonnes per annum of dry mixed recyclables.
Leicestershire County Council put the contract to process the county’s dry recyclables out to tender following the Cabinet’s decision to pass its ‘Dry Recycling Credit Saving Strategy’, which sought ways to reduce the County Council’s expenditure on recycling credits.
Casepak already has existing contracts in place with several Leicestershire waste collection authorities, which will continue to be covered under the terms of the new contract so the transition is expected to be smooth.
The company currently processes a combined 38,000 tonnes per annum of recyclable materials from Blaby District Council, Charnwood Borough Council and Harborough District Council at its Materials Recycling Facility (MRF).
“Awarding this contract will not just help us towards our goal to save more than £1 million a year, but it supports the local economy and recycling services.”
Casepak also manages an additional 6,000 tonnes per annum from Recycling and Household Waste Sites in Leicestershire at its Collections and Processing Facility in Enderby.
In addition, the new contract could see Casepak potentially gain an extra 20,000 tonnes per annum of dry recyclables from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, Melton Borough Council, and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council.
The new contract will commence on the 1 April 2018 and has been awarded for a minimum of four years, with the option to extend up to 10 years.
The dry recycling stream includes paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal and aluminium cans and drinks cartons. Once collected, these items will be sent to Casepak’s £21 million state-of-the-art Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Braunstone Frith, Leicester. The material is then sorted, graded and processed using the latest recycling technology.
Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for waste at Leicestershire County Council, said: “Following a competitive tendering process, we are happy to be able to work with Casepak in our attempts to encourage residents to recycle their waste.
“Awarding this contract will not just help us towards our goal to save more than £1 million a year, but it supports the local economy and recycling services.”
Georgina Cullen, Casepak’s Business Development Director, said: “As a Leicester-based company we are delighted to have been awarded this substantial contract to process the county’s dry mixed recyclables.
“We look forward to partnering with Leicestershire County Council over the next few years and helping to increase recycling rates across the county.”
Casepak’s MRF has the capacity to process up to 150,000 tonnes of material each year, recovering 95% of the material processed. The MRF has exceeded standards set by the Code of Practice and produces Technically, Environmentally and Economically Practicable compliant outputs.