Viridor and Kent County Council have agreed a 12-month extension to their dry mixed recycling contract with the £6.2m renewal of a contract first signed six years ago.
Viridor’s Head of Local Authority Development & Integrated Contracts (Recycling) Simon Prior said the new contract covered more than 62,000 tonnes of recycling, including glass, paper, card, household plastics and aluminium cans from Ashford, Maidstone, Swale, Gravesham, Dartford and parts of Tonbridge Wells and Malling.
The contract will see Kent County Council’s recycling processed through Viridor’s Crayford Materials Recycling Facility which receives 300,000 tonnes of co-mingled recyclate from 29 local authorities each year.
Prior said: “A crucial aspect of this contract has been Viridor’s ability to demonstrate the onward journey of recycling, particularly plastic, through our investment in specialist recycling and reprocessing plants here in the UK, specifically at Rochester in Kent and Skelmersdale in Lancashire.”
Head of Waste Management Services at Kent County Council, David Beaver, said “Processing recyclable materials as close to the point of collection remains the strategic goal for the disposal authority, but for Viridor to treat and reprocess materials within the UK is of equal importance and valued by the Authority.”
Viridor Commercial Director Paul Ringham explained: “We know local authorities want to demonstrate to their residents that taking the time to recycle at home and reduce contamination has a massive impact on our everyone’s recycling targets.
“Increasingly, residents and their local authorities want to demonstrate their commitment to environmental and sustainability goals in a meaningful way, and investment in advanced recycling infrastructure is how Viridor is able to support the commitment councils make to residents.
“Our commitment to investment in this crucial infrastructure, addressing the reprocessing gap and returning UK resources to UK manufacturers and consumers brands will continue. Viridor will prioritise opportunities to link this infrastructure with our fleet of energy recovery facilities, the combined heat and power plants, which demonstrates Viridor’s emphasis on both resource and energy efficiency.”