A new downloadable guide designed to help local authorities deal with procurement plans and waste contracts has been launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The procurement plan provides a link between councils’ Municipal Waste Management Strategies and the contract toolkit, to assist authorities in implementing their strategies.The toolkit has been drawn up to guide a local council through this process and to help highlight risks, identify issues and signpost essential information from Government and from professional institutions to help in drafting contracts.The Waste Implementation Programme will provide a range of support measures and good practice advice for councils, covering areas such as procurement, strategy-making, kerbside recycling, waste collection from high-density housing estates, civic amenity sites and collecting bulky goods. It also provides information about new technology and will help to motivate the sector to make decisions and changes through procurement and specialist waste management advice. The toolkit has been developed by Enviros Consulting.

The software has already been tried out by a number of authorities. Roy Osborough of Bournemouth Borough Council said authorities were facing challenging times in procuring waste facilities and services in order to meet stringent government targets. He believed the Defra toolkit would be a benefit to councils and to the industry and would empower waste managers and clarify the contract development process.

“Waste managers are charged with procuring contracts that provide value for money and meet government objectives in an efficient and effective manner. The toolkit will enable local authorities to take more meaningful ownership of the process and provide consistent and cost effective solutions to the procurement of major projects, ” he said.

The free Waste Procurement Toolkit software is available to download from http://lasupport.defra.gov.uk  under Support Products/Toolkits – Procurement.