Bulk and Persistent Organic Pollutants Waste Disposal Services - Portsmouth 2026

Descriptions

The Council is seeking to appoint an operator(s) who have the appropriate facility(s) to manage the recycling and/or disposal of bulky and POP's waste. It is expected the operator(s) will be able to provide a continuous service within the required hours; it is therefore a requirement to have a contingency site close by.

This tender provides waste operators with the ability to bid under either and/or both the following Lots:

• Lot 1 - Bulky Waste - on average typically recycling and disposing of 652 tonnes of bulky waste per annum, with an estimated annual value of £250,000.

• Lot 2 - POP's Waste - on average typically disposing of 48 tonnes of POP's waste per annum, with an estimated annual estimated value of £15,000.

This is a demand led service; therefore, actual expenditure may vary significantly for both Lots. The Council notes that the final contract value may be lower than the stated estimate; however, it may also exceed this value considerably should service demand increase, particularly due to fluctuations in the volume of waste requiring disposal.

The contract will be let for an initial 3-year term, with the option to extend by up to a further 4 years in intervals to be agreed between the parties.

Background information

As part of the Council's wider Housing, Neighbourhoods and Buildings (HNB) service, the Council's Estate Services are responsible for the upkeep of housing land across the city and surrounding environments which includes but is not limited to the social housing estates and Council owned land.

The Estate Services removes of bulk and POP's waste which has been disposed of on housing land. Whilst Estate Services will always endeavour to locate the owner of the waste and instruct them to remove it, often this cannot be achieved and so the responsibility disposing of the waste falls upon the Council.

Any waste that is collected by the Council is stored at the Estate Service depot, located on Port Royal Street, POS 4NP, for the onward transportation to a waste management operator facility.

Before the POPs legislation was introduced, the Council had been disposing of Bulky waste and POPs waste together, therefore our volume figures cannot distinguish the tonnage between the different waste streams. The Council estimated the mixed bulky load (bulky and POPs) was around 700 tonnes per annum.

Since mid-2024, the Council has implemented a pilot scheme to segregate POPs waste and deliver it to approved operators as a dedicated load, this pilot scheme is still currently in place. Since the start of the pilot scheme the Council estimated that over a 12-month period approximately 31 tonnes of POPs were processed.

Under PA23, contracting authorities must not restrict competition on the basis of "non commercial matters," which include a supplier's location if used in a discriminatory or arbitrary manner. This is rooted in the long standing principles inherited from the Local Government Act 1988, section 17, which restricts considering certain non commercial matters such as the location of the supplier where unrelated to the delivery of the contract.

However, location‑based requirements are allowed where they are justified by the needs of the contract:

• Waste must be processed within a certain radius to remain economically viable.

• Excessive transport distances conflict with environmental or service efficiency requirements.

• Locality is intrinsic to operational feasibility (e.g., time‑critical services, perishable logistics, fleet‑based services).

In these cases, the requirement is not about who the supplier is, but about how and where the service must be performed, which is a legitimate technical specification.

This condition is justified on operational and economic grounds: the Council must avoid transporting bulky waste over long distances, as extended travel times result in inefficiencies, increased fuel costs, greater fleet wear, and an overall uneconomical service model. By defining a reasonable proximity requirement, the Council ensures that service delivery remains cost effective, environmentally responsible, and operationally viable.

Scope and Specification

These services include for the removal of bulk and POP's waste which has been disposed of on housing land and surrounding environments, which includes but is not limited to the social housing estates and Council owned land.

Types of Waste

Bulky waste refers to large items of household or commercial waste that are too big to be disposed of through regular waste collection services. These items typically include furniture, large appliances, mattresses, carpets, and other oversized objects that do not fit in standard waste containers or garbage bins.

POPs waste refers to upholstered domestic seating that may contain POPs.

To ensure the waste is disposed of properly and in accordance with required legal requirements, the Council requires access to a licenced, experienced, and reliable disposal/recycling facility that will accept delivery of the waste on a continuous, regular, and all year-round basis. The Council will transport the bulky and POPs waste to the facility provided by the operator(s).

Other Waste

The Council currently has alternative channels in place to dispose of the following waste:

• tyres

• green waste

• fridge freezers

• paints

• gas cannisters

The Council reserves the right to approach either the Lot 1 and/or Lot 2 operator to dispose of these other wastes.

Operator Facility Requirements

The facility must maintain minimum opening hours of 08:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday and 08:00-12:00 Saturdays. The operator's facility(s) must be open as specified all year round (not including bank holidays).

Due to the Council's environmental objectives and to ensure value for money, the operator's main facility for this contract must be within an 8-mile drive, via road, from the Council's Estate Service Depot located at Port Royal Street, Southsea, PO5 4NP. This will be determined via the use of Google Maps.

The main facility shall be permitted and able to dispose of and is possible recycle, the waste.

Service Continuity and Contingency

In the event that the main facility becomes unavailable, the operator must also be able to provide access to a contingency facility that is no more than a 15-mile drive from the Estate Service depot.

The acceptable contingency facility of operation can be used without penalty by the Council and may be substituted on a long-term basis as the new main site.

If notice is not provided 7 days continuously, more than 3 times in any one month, or 6 times in a 6-month period, the Council will have the right to serve notice and terminate the Contract in accordance with the persistent breach provisions set out in the Contract terms.

In the event of the Council terminates the Contract under either Lots during the initial Contract term or during the extension period, the Council reserves the right to either continue the Contract by:

1. Where the services for each Lot are being delivered by different operators, approach the other operator on the corresponding Lot

2. Approach the second placed operator at the point of the tender evaluation under the relevant Lot. This is subject to capacity and performance i.e. if the Lot 1 operator is different to the Lot 2 operator, the Council could approach either operator to take on the provisions of the specific Lot in the event of termination. If the second placed operator is unable or unsuitable to undertake the services, the Council may approach the third placed operator and so forth.

Social Value

The Council are committed to continuously reviewing and improving the approach to social value delivery, and suppliers can find further information using the following link -

https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/services/council-and-democracy/social-value/

Procurement Programme

This procurement timetable is indicative and, while the council does not intend to depart from it, it reserves the right to do so at any time.

Contract notice published on FTS - Wednesday 11th February 2026

Procurement documents available on In-tend - Wednesday 11th February 2026

Deadline for requests for clarification - Wednesday 4th March 2026 by 16:00

Tender return deadline - Friday 13th March 2026 by 12:00

Assessment Summaries Published - Wednesday 8th April 2026

Contract Award Notice Published -Wednesday 8th April 2026

Standstill start -Wednesday 8th April 2026

Standstill finish -Friday 17th April 2026

Contract Award - Monday 20th April 2026

Contract Commencement - Friday 19th June 2026

Should the tender return deadline change, all Suppliers will be informed of this change via In Tend. Failure to meet these deadlines may result in a supplier's submission not being considered.