Urban Mines have recently published a report titled “Delivering socio-economic benefits from municipal waste management contracts – a toolkit”, developed to assist local authorities, bidders/contractors and third sector partners to deliver social and economic benefits from municipal waste management contracts.
The toolkit provides a checklist of benefits to consider and also to look for in preparing tenders and bids, as well as delivering contracts.
The examples and the guidance have been developed through consultation with a range of organisations and individuals. These have included different types of local authorities, bidders, contractors, third sector organisations and wider stakeholders such as the UK Environment Agency Defra. A Steering Group including representatives from the above groups also provided valuable support to the process.
Whilst it is best to consider these aspects as early as possible in a procurement process (preferably prior to the Outline Business Case), examples presented show that benefits can be developed even after a contract is operational. The type of waste contract being procured (collection, HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centre), reuse/recycling, treatment) is important to what type of benefits can be delivered.
The type of social and economic benefits considered include:
- employment
- education and skills
- economic regeneration
- resources for the community
- inclusion
- third sector participation
- partnership working
- charitable support
- communication
The authors note that Enlightened bidders and an active third sector can present the opportunities, but it is the authority that ultimately decides what goes into a contract.Copies of the document Delivering socio-economic benefits from municipal waste management contracts – a toolkit (0.7 MB) are available for download from Urban Mines’ website at:
http://www.urbanmines.org.uk/assets/files/s/sainsburytoolkit_1484.pdf
