Waste and resource management services in Britain are under pressure to provide more value for less money. Given the predicted increase in contract tenders in the coming years, how can municipalities create effective, compliant long-term contracts with the right partners? It starts with these lessons from the industry.

Waste and resource management is perhaps the most underrated public service. It is an extremely complex industry with thousands of moving parts and partners, and ensuring that household and commercial waste is managed smoothly is a logistical puzzle. What the public sees and interacts with is only a small part of this crucial public service.

Local Authorities (LAs), through mainly private sector contracts, are legally required to provide and operate these essential services, including the following: waste and recycling collection; take places; Household Waste Recycling Centers (HWRCs); Bulk Facilities/Waste Transfer Stations (WTSs); Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs); composting facilities; Anaerobic digesters (ADs); Facilities for recovery or energy from waste (EfW); and landfill and disposal facilities. Research predicts that the waste management market in Great Britain is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% between 2020 and 2026, reaching a value of £18.10 billion ($23.72 billion) towards the end of the forecast period.

Local governments are under increasing pressure to purchase better, more complete waste and resource management providers to achieve more effective long-term solutions. The question is: how do they find the right partner? According to the experienced team of Carl Hughes, Keith Corden and Louisa Williams, success depends on using these three industry lessons and a proven track record.