A NEW contract to operate Torfaen’s household recycling centre and waste transfer station has been approved.
Only one firm bid for the contract to run the facility, at Panteg Way in New Inn, Pontypool, on behalf of the borough council.
The existing contract runs until March and without a new agreement it would have had to operate without one in place, or the council would fail in its duty to operate waste services.
The possibility of bringing the service back in-house was considered but discounted as it was felt it didn’t have the resources to do so and benchmarking, shows costs per household are lower than those of comparable authorities.
Residents are able to take items to the recycling centre which also operates a van permit scheme and the centre has to ensure at least 80 per cent is recycled.
Food waste, garden waste, street sweepings and non-recycled waste from households, collected by the council, is also brought to the transfer station.
The operation of the centre is seen as key to the council achieving the Welsh Government target that 70 per cent of the borough’s waste is recycled this year.
Highways director Mark Thomas told the cabinet, which approved the five-year contract that has options to renew, it was within the “financial envelope” agreed and he was confident it demonstrated value for money. Mr Thomas said he couldn’t go into financial details in the public meeting. The council only publicly confirms contract holders after a specified time.