Redcar and Cleveland Council recycling moves closer to home

Previous provider Ward Recycling Ltd went into liquidation

Household waste which was travelling more than 300 miles to be processed will now be dealt with closer to home.

Redcar and Cleveland Council had been sending kerbside-collected items for recycling to Newry, Northern Ireland, after a previous provider went bust.

It had 48 hours to find a replacement so a contract was awarded to Re-Gen group under "urgency provisions".

An agreement has now been signed with Cumbria Waste Management, which has a recycling plant in South Bank.

The three-year contract, which is worth £4.73m, comes after a joint procurement process was undertaken with Middlesbrough Council.

Last year Redcar and Cleveland Council announced a corporate plan includes measures aimed at creating a zero carbon borough.

'Local economy'

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said a report by Robert Hoof, the council's assistant director for the environment, said there had been no local alternative capacity available after Ward Recycling Ltd went into liquidation last year.

This led to items for recycling taken to the council's transfer station at Warrenby, near Redcar, before being "bulked up" on articulated vehicles and transported over the Irish Sea to Newry.

Mr Hoof's report said the South Bank facility operated by Cumbria Waste Management would sort recycling waste that can be sold back to the market.

It said: "The majority of the commodities are sent to outlets within the UK. 

"Some commodities are sent for reprocessing in Europe due to, for example, there being no reprocessing outlets for certain types of materials within the UK."

The Puddlers Lane site employs 22 staff, with the majority of support maintenance services provided by companies from the local area, "thereby contributing to the local economy".