Bristol council and Kier 'mutually agree' end of £96m deal

Bristol has seen 18% more household rubbish thrown out in the past year

Waste collection services in Bristol are to be taken over by the council after a £96m deal with a contractor ended three years early.

The council and Kier, formerly known as May Gurney, "mutually agreed" to end the contract.

Employees, vehicles and facilities will move across to council-owned Bristol Waste Company (BWC) with new services due to start on 1 August.

The council said residents should "see little difference" to bin collections.

The move, which is "subject to a settlement agreement", was approved at a cabinet meeting on Thursday evening.

'Increase recycling'

Council bosses in Bristol, the current European Green Capital, had expressed concern over the increasing amount of waste being sent to landfill. The city has seen an 18% increase in the amount of household rubbish thrown out in the past year.

May Gurney, which is now owned by Kier, signed a seven-year £96m deal in November 2011 with the council.

With a target of reducing residual household waste from 67% of total waste to under 50% by 2018, the company admitted in 2012 it had made losses on the contract.

Councillor Daniella Radice said: "By mutually agreeing to end this contract we will continue to deliver a good quality service to local residents and be able to work towards reducing waste and aiming to increase re-use and recycling rates."

The council said the new system would run for a year whilst it "looks in full detail at the best long-term service model".

Julian Tranter, from Kier Environmental, said: "We have been working together to review the long term model of service, to find a beneficial solution for both parties, and this has now concluded in agreement to mutually end the contract."