Dry Recycling Contract

ELWA is procuring a contract for the provision of the following services (without limitation):

The scope of the Contract includes:

receiving, treating and managing onward movement of delivered Contract Waste, which is dry recycling collected from households and commercial customers by the Constituent Councils, typically comprising:

paper;

card;

plastic bottles;

plastic pots, tubs and trays;

plastic film;

aluminium cans;

steel cans;

foil;

aerosols;

cartons; and

glass bottles and jars.

Contract Waste will be delivered to the successful Bidder(s)' nominated delivery point (either a waste treatment facility or an intermediary facility provided by the successful Bidder(s)) in bulk articulated vehicles by the RHRRC Contractor after the Contract Waste has been delivered by the Constituent Councils to one of the Authority WTS. The successful Bidder(s) may also propose to receive direct deliveries of Contract Waste from the Constituent Councils to its facilities;

Contract Waste may be delivered as a single co-mingled stream;

Provision of capacity to treat dry recycling materials;

Management, recycling and treatment of products, residues and rejected waste, including transport;

Maximising the recycling and beneficial use of products, residues and rejected waste; and

Reporting and monitoring of environmental compliance. Please see "Competitive flexible procedure description" section of this tender notice and the procurement documents for full details of:

1. - the competitive flexible procedure that ELWA is conducting pursuant to s. 20 of the Procurement Act 2023; and
2. - ELWA's requirements for the Contract.

(Defined terms used in the above list of services are detailed in the draft contract and procurement documents.)

The Authority conducted initial preliminary market engagement in September and October 2025 (Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-052844). As part of the exercise, the Authority published a Market Operator Briefing Note in which it explained that the main objective of the contract is to maximise recycling of dry recycling materials. Seven organisations participated in this exercise and provided feedback in respect of:

The Authority's procurement strategy;

Assumptions for evaluation;

Contract interface as the Authority has separately procured a reception, haulage, reuse and recycling centre contract;

Waste acceptance protocols and vehicles that can/cannot be accepted at facilities;

Processes for identifying and recording contamination;

Plastic film and carton recycling arrangements;

Payment mechanisms;

Experiences of performance management frameworks; and

Social value.

In addition, the Authority conducted additional market engagement in February 2026 (Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-014917) to seek views in respect of proposals to divide the Contract into lots, or whether to procure a single contract for 100% exclusivity of all dry recycling material. Three organisations participated in this exercise and feedback in respect of approach was mixed.

Consequently, at the Invitation to Submit Initial Tenders stage, the Authority will invite Bidders to submit Initial Tenders on the assumption that an award for 25% exclusivity of the Authority's annual tonnage will be made. However, the highest-scoring Bidder will be entitled to confirm whether it wishes to have 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% exclusivity. In the event the highest-scoring Bidder selects 75%, 50% or 25%, the second highest-scoring Bidder will be invited to select what % exclusivity it wishes to deliver, and so on until 100% exclusivity has been awarded.

This approach could result in 1 - 4 Bidders being awarded a % of exclusivity of the Authority's annual tonnage.

In each of the preliminary market engagements, it was clearly specified that participation in the preliminary market engagement was/is not a requirement for participation in this procurement.

The contract value is based on ELWA's estimate at the date of publication of the Tender Notice and the draft procurement documents and includes extension of the contract for five years following expiry of the initial 5-year and 3-month service delivery term. The estimated value also includes any services which may be required during the initial 5-year and 3-month service delivery period. Therefore, the estimated value is not necessarily the final value of the Contract and ELWA reserves the right to vary this contract value (either higher or lower) in the event the scope of the contract varies throughout its term. It is intended as a guide to Bidders and the actual value is intended to cover delivery of ELWA's requirements over the full possible 10-year term.