Decision details

Decision:

The Cabinet Member for Environment agrees to provide delegated authority to the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste to award contractual arrangements for a waste compactor replacement programme and associated repair and maintenance servicing agreement.

Background:

Waste compactors are required at Household Waste Recycling Centres to maximise capacity of waste being disposed where the Final Disposal Outlets are not within the locality of the facility. The majority of KCC waste compactors are beyond their life expectancy with some being well over 20 years old. A replacement programme has been developed which has commenced with the most critical and urgent compactors being replaced where failure was imminent. The remainder requires a commissioning exercise alongside a repairs and maintenance schedule to ensure upkeep of the compactors.

Options:

Option 1 – Do nothing and replace compactors with containers – this is not an option as payloads will diminish by 70% culminating in more cost to the Authority.

Option 2 – Repair compactors – this is not an option as extensive repairs have already been undertaken in recent years and the plant is now beyond economical repair with some having critically failed; new HWRC contract is being let on the proviso that compactors will be renewed.

Option 3 – Undertake a commissioning exercise to complete the replacement Programme with a repairs and maintenance service agreement for all compactors – this is the preferred option to ensure that the compactors on KCC sites are operating efficiently with minimal downtime.