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Waste contracts and compliance

Somerset Council is responsible for all waste services in the county, find out about our contractors

Latest update on SUEZ

information

What contract does Somerset Council have with SUEZ?

We have a ten-year contract with SUEZ to deliver our kerbside collections, covering:

  • Collections of refuse, recycling, food waste, garden waste, clinical and bulky waste
  • Container delivery services and assisted collections
  • Operation of Waste Transfer stations to bulk and consign recyclable material

It started in April 2020 and runs until end March 2030 and there are around 385,000 collections per week. Somerset Council currently pays roughly £24m a year for the service in a contract awarded following a competitive tendering process run by the Somerset Waste Partnership (which has since become part of the unitary Somerset Council formed in 2022).

What is happening?

The Council’s Executive Committee has agreed to the recommendations set out in this Waste Services Collection Update Report.

Including agreeing that the Council will pay SUEZ an additional £3M this financial year, and further payments until the end of the contract.

This option costs less than the others that were considered and avoids the risk of disruption to collections.

Contracts

Somerset Council is responsible for all waste services in the county, including kerbside collections of recycling and refuse, and 16 recycling sites.

These services are delivered by three key contracts.

For recycling, refuse, garden, clinical, bulky waste collections; and container delivery.

ContractorValueInitial duration of contractStart dateEnd date
ContractorSUEZValueAbout £23m per yearInitial duration of contract10 yearsStart date28 March 2020End dateMarch 2030, with option to extend for a further 10 years

For energy recovery and disposal of non-recycled household waste.

ContractorValueInitial duration of contractStart dateEnd date
ContractorViridor LtdValueAbout £14m per yearInitial duration of contract25 yearsStart date1 April 2020End date31 March 2045, extendable up to 5 years to 31 March 2050

For recycling sites, hazardous waste collection, composting, anaerobic digestion and closed landfills.

ContractorValueInitial duration of contractStart dateEnd date
ContractorBiffaValueAbout £13m per yearInitial duration of contract16 years. (Novated from Viridor Ltd in January 2023)Start date14 May 2006End date31 March 2022, extended by 9 years (in 2019) to 31 March 2031

Compliance with Waste Regulations 2011

Taking effect from 1 January 2015 with evidence guidance issued by the Environment Agency on 22 December 2014, the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (as amended in 2012) introduced measures for collectors to promote high quality recycling, including:

  • Improving use of waste as a resource by following the waste hierarchy: prevent, reuse, recycle, recover energy, and, as a last resort, disposal.
  • Separate collections so customers can keep paper, plastic, metal and glass separate from general waste.

Somerset Waste Partnership has produced a report to demonstrate compliance with the new regulations which was approved by the Somerset Waste Board in March 2015.

Last updated: January 16, 2025

Next review due: July 16, 2025

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