The Southern Waste Management Partnership (SWaMP2008) has announced that it is to terminate its procurement of a long-term residual waste treatment contract.

SWaMP2008 began the tendering process in June 2009.  The contract was intended to provide waste management services in the region, to reduce the use of landfill for domestic waste and support increased recycling. 

A spokesman for SWaMP2008 said that it had reached its decision with great regret, however the project has recently been the subject of a legal challenge, as a result of circumstances that are outside of the control of SWaMP2008.

As a publicly-funded organisation, SWaMP2008 has reluctantly concluded that its interests, and those of its stakeholders, are not best served by engaging in an expensive, lengthy and ultimately uncertain legal process, and consequently the procurement process is to be terminated.

SWaMP2008 remains resolute in its commitment to managing the waste of its constituent councils. While it is not in a position to complete the successful procurement of the residual waste treatment project, its attention will now turn to addressing shorter term waste needs in the region.

ENDS

For media information contact:

Vicki Caddy, ASG PR, Tel 02890 802000; 07814 380487, email vcaddy@asgireland.com

Notice is hereby given that pursuant to Articles 17 and 18 of the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 and the Local Government (Accounts and Audit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006:

From 3rdAugust to 31^st August 2012 inclusive between 9.00 am and 4.15 pm on Monday to Friday any member of the public, on application in advance in writing to the Head of Financial Services, Armagh City and District Council, Council Offices, The Palace Demesne, Armagh, BT60 4EL, may inspect the accounts of the above named Partnership for the year ended 31st March 2012 and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts relating to them and make copies thereof.

Notice is also given that on or after 3rd September 2012, at the request of an interested person, the local government auditor, will give that person an opportunity to question the auditor about the accounts, and that any such interested person may attend before the auditor and make objections -

(i) as to any matter in respect of which the auditor could take action under Articles 19 or 20 of the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 or

(ii) as to any other matter in respect of which the auditor could make a report under Article 9 of that Order.

No objection may be made unless the auditor has received written notice of the proposed objection, stating the facts on which the interested person proposes to rely and containing, so far as possible -

(a) particulars of any item of account which is alleged to be contrary to law

(b) particulars of -

(i) any person from whom it is alleged that the auditor should certify under Articles 20 of the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order that a sum or amount of loss or deficiency is due, and

(ii) that sum or amount, and

(c) particulars of any matter in respect of which it is proposed that the auditor should make a report under Article 9 of that Order.

Such written requests and notices should be sent to the auditor, Louise Mason at 106 University Street, Belfast, BT7 1EU.  A copy of any notice of proposed objection must be sent to the Council at the address below. The auditor plans to close the audit and certify accounts in late September or October 2012

“Interested person” means:

a local government elector for the district of Armagh, Banbridge, Cookstown, Craigavon, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Newry and Mourne and Omagh to which the audit relates;

a person liable for rates in respect of any hereditament situated in these districts; or

a representative of a person mentioned in (a) or (b).

Open to students across Northern Ireland, Environmental Youth Speak is an annual public speaking competition designed to increase awareness of environmental issues amongst young people.

Co-ordinated by all three waste management groups, alongside the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, it encourages students to research and debate arguments on a wide-range of environmental issues. The event is sponsored by the DoE, Rethink Waste fund, Cookstown Textile Recyclers and ERP (European Recycling Platform).

The themes for the 2012 competition were based on two key statements:-

• Junior ‘Shrink your bin – one less bag to landfill’

• Senior ‘WEEE waste – big problem. What can we do?’ (Waste electronic and electrical equipment)

All councils in Northern Ireland take part in the competition and hold a local heat. Approximately 1200 schools from all over Northern Ireland are invited to participate. The number of entrants in each Council area varies but approximately 390 schools at local level and 52 schools at regional level are represented by a junior and/or senior entrant.

Now in its 14th year Environmental Youth Speak 2012 was hosted by local broadcaster Pete Snodden from Cool FM who presented the winners and all finalists with their prizes at a special event held in Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey.

More on Youth Speak Competition 2012

Click on the link below for useful advice on reducing plastic bag usage and promotion of a ‘bag for life’.

http://www.rethinkwasteni.org/at-home/reuse/get-a-bag-habit/

SWaMP2008 are required to publish the Annual Audit Letter issued by the Northern Ireland Audit Office under regulation 13 of the Local Government (Accounts and Audit) Regulations.

Northern Ireland Audit Office – Annual Audit Letter – Issued by the Local Government Auditor February 2012

NIAO Annual Audit Letter – SWaMP2008: 2010-11

NIAO Annual Audit Letter Report – SWaMP2008: for year to 31st March 2011

For further information contact

Jolene Keys, Tel: 028 82249494 or email

jolenekeys@swamp2008.org.uk

SWaMP2008 Statement of Accounts 2010-11

Accounts to 31st march 2011

NI Environment Minister Alex Attwood congratulated the SWaMP2008 team, Jason Patterson, Graham Byrne and Councillor Pearse McAleer on the Waste Discovery Truck which has won a prestigious UK-wide Green Apple Award

SWaMP2008 has won a prestigious Green Apple Environment Award in a national campaign to find the UK’s greenest companies, councils and communities.        

 SWaMP2008 competed against more than 500 other UK nominations and will be presented with their Green Apple Award at a glittering presentation ceremony in the House of Commons in London on November 14.

SWaMP2008 has won the Green Apple Award for its innovative Waste Education Vehicle, a mobile classroom used to visit schools and community events throughout the south and west of the province.  It is providing vital education and resources to drive recycling awareness throughout the region.  more »

For all press enquiries relating to the Waste Infrastructure Project please contact Vicki Caddy on Tel: 028 9080 2000, E-mail: vcaddy@asgireland.com or for urgent press enquiries call Vicki Caddy on Mob. 07814 380487

Explanatory Note on the above NOTICE

In June 2009, SWaMP2008 published a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union advertising its procurement of a Residual Waste Treatment Contract.

This is a long term service contract (approximately 25 years) under which a contractor (the “Contractor“) would be appointed to treat residual municipal waste (i.e. waste that has not been reused, recycled or composted) and provide associated services (including but not limited to the management, sale and/or disposal of waste outputs) under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model (the “Contract“). The Contract is intended to facilitate the diversion of significant quantities of municipal solid waste from landfill in Northern Ireland to assist in meeting statutory targets and to meet all other legal requirements.

The competition for the Contract is being conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) using the Competitive Dialogue procedure.

Following publication of the contract notice, six candidates submitted Pre-Qualification Questionnaires to SWaMP2008. These candidates were assessed in relation to their financial and technical capacity to undertake the Contract. Two applicants were eliminated from the competition as they did not meet certain minimum requirements for qualification. Four candidates were selected to proceed to the competitive dialogue phase of the procurement, which commenced in May 2010.

One bidder withdrew shortly after the commencement of the dialogue phase for its own commercial reasons. Dialogue was conducted with the remaining three bidders for a number of months before one of these bidders withdrew from the process.

In October 2010, the two remaining bidders submitted detailed solutions, however in April 2011, one of these also withdrew from the process, leaving Quinn Group Limited (Company No: NI41532) as the sole remaining bidder for the Contract.

To date, SWaMP2008 has been of the view that it is in the best interests of the Project and the stakeholders to continue dialogue with a single bidder.

In order to enhance the proposal, it is now proposed that two new partners not previously involved in the procurement process are introduced – Costain Group (a leading construction undertaking in the UK which brings considerable experience concerning the construction, engineering, delivery of waste infrastructure and services) and Equitix (an asset investment company which has considerable expertise in the delivery and management of PPP/PFI contracts and infrastructure). It is also proposed that Quinn Manufacturing Group Limited (Company No: NI608284) will be involved in the project going forwards, instead of Quinn Group Limited.

SWaMP2008 recognised that the revised arrangements are a very positive step forward and considers that the combination of these three companies is likely to provide a much strengthened bid, while maintaining a similar vision for service delivery to that originally proposed (i.e. a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant (based on Entsorga technology) and an education centre based at the Lisbane site (which have the benefit of planning permission).

A summary of the principal changes proposed is set out below. Essentially, these changes are as follows:

1) Changes in the equity make-up of the Contractor or Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which will contract with SWaMP2008;

2) Changes to both the Engineer Procure Construct (EPC) and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Sub-contractors and the Guarantors of the EPC and O&M activities;

3) Potential changes to the fuel off-take arrangements.

(1) Changes to Equity in SPV

It was originally proposed that Quinn Group Limited would own 100% of the equity in the SPV established to contract with SWaMP2008 for the Project.

It is now proposed that Quinn Manufacturing Group will hold 20% of the equity in the SPV, Costain Engineering & Construction Limited (Company Number 02440829) (Costain) will hold 50% and Equitix Limited (Company Number 06026637) (Equitix) will hold 30%.

The SPV will be governed by a shareholders agreement at financial close. It is envisaged that Costain will be the lead member of the SPV going forwards, with Equitix closely involved in the key commercial and financial aspects and the Quinn Manufacturing Group performing a significant role in operations, as explained below.

(2) Changes to both the EPC and O&M Sub-Contractors and their Guarantors

Under the Contract between SWaMP2008 and the appointed Contractor, it is anticipated that there will be two primary sub-contracts: an EPC Sub-Contract (for the construction of new facilities) and an O&M Sub-Contract (for the ongoing provision of waste treatment services during the balance of the term of the Contract).

It was originally proposed that:

a) the EPC Sub-Contract would be let to a third party which would also act as Guarantor in relation to the construction of the transfer stations and MBT plant (using Entsorga technology); and

b) a Quinn Group subsidiary company would be the O&M Sub-Contractor and Quinn Group Limited would be the Guarantor in relation to the following:

- operation of the transfer stations;

- operation of the MBT plant (possibly by way of a joint venture with Entsorga initially);

- all haulage arrangements;

- a 25 year off-take contract for waste residues to be taken and used as input fuel (known as Solid Recovered Fuel or ‘SRF’) at a Quinn cement kiln facility in the Republic of Ireland (subject to contingency arrangements being put in place);

- provision of landfill services; and

- provision of interim services pending construction of the MBT plant.

This solution has been the subject of ongoing dialogue with SWaMP2008, including the projected waste flows in the SWaMP2008 administrative area. New data on waste flows is already in the public domain and can be viewed at www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/waste-home/municipal_data_reporting.htm

The current proposals (subject to further dialogue with SWaMP2008) are as follows:

a) Costain will be the EPC Sub-Contractor and Guarantor for the purposes of the construction of both the transfer stations and the MBT plant (replacing the other third party construction contractor originally proposed). Importantly, the process technology provider will remain as Entsorga. Costain, as the EPC Sub-Contractor and Guarantor, will wrap construction and Entsorga process risks.

b) Costain will be the O&M Sub-Contractor and Guarantor of the operational services. The O&M Sub-Contract will include:

- operation of the MBT plant;

- operation of the transfer stations;

- all haulage arrangements;

- the arrangement of any necessary landfill services; and

- the provision of interim services pending construction of the MBT plant.

Quinn Manufacturing Group Limited will be responsible for the following services (which will be sub-contracted down to it by Costain, the O&M Sub-Contractor):

- operation of the transfer stations;

- all haulage arrangements.

Off-take services are dealt with below.

The requirement for interim services (prior to full operation of the MBT plant) and the arrangements for the same have yet to be fully dialogued, although these are likely to be provided by a third party contracted to the Costain O&M Sub-Contractor who will assume the risk for such services.

The technical and financial standing of the new bidding consortium and those parties whose resources are to be relied upon in the course of the performance of the Contract has not yet been considered, but it is SWaMP2008′s intention to re-evaluate the proposed consortium against the Pre-Qualification criteria to ensure that it has the technical, economic and financial ability to carry out the Contract.

(3) SRF Off-Take Solution

It was originally proposed that the “Solid Recovered Fuel” output from the MBT plant process would be used as a fuel for a Quinn cement kiln in the Republic of Ireland (subject to contingency arrangements also being put in place elsewhere) and that an off-take contract would be provided in respect of this. It is now proposed that Quinn Manufacturing Group Limited will provide the SRF off-take services at the same Quinn cement kiln in the Republic of Ireland (subject to contingency arrangements being put in place elsewhere).

Costain will be the Guarantor for the purposes of the SRF off-take under the O&M arrangements referred to above.

Land

The principal land required for the project is that which is required to host the MBT plant to be constructed by the Contractor. Transfer stations are also to be developed at sites owned by constituent councils in the region. It was originally proposed that the MBT plant would be located at Lisbane, County Armagh (which already has the benefit of planning permission for such a MBT plant). Under the revised proposals, the Lisbane site will continue to be available for the construction of the MBT plant and the consortium will be able to benefit from the planning permission which has been granted for this site.

Summary

Whilst various changes are proposed, it is important to note that the vision of the service delivery remains the same – a MBT plant based on Entsorga technology plus an education centre based at the Lisbane site, which have the benefit of planning permission.

The operational delivery of the services will now be split between Quinn Manufacturing Group Limited and Costain, with Costain assuming prime responsibility for operating the MBT plant and overall provision of operational services.

The consortium is now in the final stages of dialogue with SWaMP2008. It is currently anticipated that dialogue will conclude in Summer/Autumn 2012 and that SWaMP2008 will be in a position to invite a final tender shortly thereafter.

SWaMP2008 Double Win at Environmental Youth Speak Finals

Pupils from two schools in the SWaMP2008 Waste Management Region scooped the Junior and Senior Northern Ireland Environmental Youth Speak titles when the annual schools’ environmental speaking competition reached its climax at the Craigavon Civic Centre.

Sean King from Saint Joseph’s Primary School Meigh, in Newry and Mourne District Council, won the NI Junior title and Christopher Corry from Lismore Comprehensive, in Craigavon Borough Council, won the NI Senior title.

Both pupils had to fight off stiff competition to win their Regional SWaMP2008 heats and then faced the winning pupils from the arc21 and North West Waste Management Regions – the two other NI Waste Management areas.

More than one thousand pupils from right across Northern Ireland took part in the competition which began initially at Council level in March. Two representatives from all twenty six Councils then travelled to Craigavon on Thursday 14th April to compete in the Regional and NI Finals.

Environmental Youth Speak is designed to encourage environmental awareness among young people by giving them the opportunity to research and debate environmental issues. The topics for this year’s competition were “Rethink Your Waste – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” and “Love Food hate Waste”. The competition, organised by Northern Ireland’s three waste Management groups  – arc21 (Eastern region), SWaMP2008 (Southern Waste Management Partnership) and North West Region Management Group – with sponsorship from  Cookstown Textile Recyclers, continues to be a highlight in schools’ environmental calendar in Northern Ireland.

Sean and Christopher are pictured with Nuala Mc Keever, who compered the NI Final, and Deputy Mayor of Craigavon Borough Council Councillor Kieran Corr.

Nuala McKeever, Sean King St Joseph’s PS Meigh (Junior NI Winner), Christopher Corry Lismore Comprehensive Craigavon (Senior NI Winner), Councillor Kieran Corr, Deputy Mayor Craigavon Borough Council.

Mayor welcomes “Love Food Hate Waste”

 Cookery Demonstration to Newry

Mayor, Councillor Mick Murphy welcomed the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, and Chef Paula McIntyre from Radio Ulster, to Newry Buttercrane Shopping Centre. Shoppers were able to see great meals being cooked from leftovers which otherwise would be thrown away. The cookery demonstrations are part of the Department of Environment’s Rethink Waste campaign which is travelling around  Northern Ireland.

Councillor Murphy said “This event is a fantastic idea. I am amazed at just how much food we throw away annually. It is important that everyone in Newry and Mourne thinks about how they can reduce their food waste by, for example, using leftover food in imaginative ways.”

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign aims to raise awareness of food waste and therefore reduce the amount of food waste we send to landfill. In the UK £12 billion is spent every year buying and then throwing away good food which costs the average family £680 a year equating to around £50 per month. The campaign shows that by doing some easy practical everyday things in the home we can all waste less food, which will ultimately benefit our purses and the environment too.

Tara Cunningham, Recycling officer added “Each year Newry and Mourne District council landfills approximately 40,000 tonnes of waste of which food waste is a large percentage. I would encourage everyone to visit the Love Food Hate Waste web site for lots of useful tips and ideas for reducing their food waste – helping not only the environment but also saving them money.”

Why not  check out over 170 recipes using typical leftovers at www.lovefoodhatewasteni.org .  For additional tips and ideas on how you can reduce, reuse and recycle log on to www.rethinkwasteni.org. 

Pictured are :

L-R Peter Murray Manager Buttercrane Shopping Centre, Michele Shirlow Food NI, Tara Cunningham Recycling Officer Newry and Mourne District Council, Mayor Councillor Mick Murphy, Paula McIntyre BBC Radio Ulster Chef, Hazel Audley Rethink Waste NI and Patrict McShane Environmental Co-ordinator Newry and Mourne District Council.

Web Site LFHW Newry 11.02.11

SWaMP2008 AR 2009 2010 Departmental Version

SWaMP2008 has confirmed that it is making good progress with the two shortlisted bidders tendering for the contract to provide waste management infrastructure and services for the southern half of Northern Ireland. 

 The project is tasked with finding alternative ways of dealing with domestic waste in order to avoid dumping it in landfill.  The resulting infrastructure will be required to sort and treat waste, with a view to increasing recycling, recovering more reusable materials and using the residual waste as an alternative, sustainable energy source.

 The two short-listed bidders are Greenstar/Biogen and Quinn Group. more »

In accordance with the Local Government (Accounts and Audit) Regulations(Northern Ireland) 2006, notice is given that the audit of the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2010 has been concluded by the local government auditor.

Any member of the public may:

(a) inspect and make copies of the statements of accounts (or any part of it) prepared by the Council;

(b) inspect and make copies of (or any part of it) any report made to the Council by the local government auditor;

(c) require copies of any such statement or report (or any part thereof) to be delivered to him/her on payment of £10 for each copy.

The above documents may be inspected at The Council Offices, The Palace Demesne, Armagh or at the SWaMP2008 offices, Omagh Enterprise Company Ltd, Great Northern Road, Omagh, between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Fridays.

In addition the statement of accounts may be viewed on the SWaMP2008 website www.swamp2008.org.uk

 SWaMP2008 Accounts 2009-10

In a bid to reduce the amount of plastic bags used within the SWaMP2008 (Southern Waste Management Partnership) area, each council has launched its annual Need a Bag? Week.   The initiative will help the 8 SWaMP2008 councils to avoid sending over 1 million plastic bags to local landfill!

The Need a Bag campaign aims to help shoppers think twice about using plastic bags and encourages them to move towards a more sustainable, environmentally-aware lifestyle. There are many helpful habits we can encourage:

• Switch to using reusable shopping bags.
• Keep your re-usable bags where you are likely to remember them e.g. in your handbag, jacket or car.
•  Say NO when offered new plastic bags in shops.
• Reuse the plastic bags you already have e.g. bin liners.
• Place unwanted plastic bags in the recycling points available in larger stores.

The Chief Officer of SWaMP2008,Graham Byrne, said, “Over 230 million plastic bags are sent to landfill in Northern Ireland each year- that’s 316 bags per person! We are running this campaign to encourage shoppers to take a few minutes before they leave the house to remember to take their re-useable shopping bags and to say no when offered more bags in the store. Each one of us as consumers needs to take an active role in minimising plastic bag usage and do all we can to maximise waste reduction.”

SWaMP2008 is also encouraging retailers to get involved in the Need a Bag? initiative by reminding staff to ask customers the simple question, “do you really need a bag?”

As part of the scheme SWaMP2008 has produced 8,000 limited edition ‘bag for life’ (re-usable) shopping bags for the 8 Member Councils to distribute. The shopping bags have been given to local shoppers at locations across the region.  As a result, over the course of next year, the equivalent of 1.2 million plastic carrier bags will be averted from landfill.

If you would like any more information on this campaign please contact the Recycling Officer at your local council. Use your ‘bag for life’ and reduce your waste!

SWaMP2008, The Southern Waste Management Partnership, has now short-listed four bidders to develop their proposals for the construction of waste management infrastructure for the southern half of Northern Ireland. 

The short-listed four are: Biffa Waste Services Ltd (with Natural World Products Ltd and Ros Roca Environmental SL), Greenstar Holdings (with BioGen Power Ltd, Strabag Umweltenlagen GMbH and Orchid Environmental Ltd), Northern Ireland Sustainable Solutions (Cyril Sweett Investments Ltd, Urbaser SA and John Sisk & Son Ltd) and Quinn Group Ltd (with Entsorga Italia SRL).

more »

Councillor Allan Rainey, Councillor John Campbell, Graham Byrne, Operational Director, Councillor Jack Patterson, Councillor Charles Rollston and Councillor Pearse McAleer pictured in Brussels

A delegation from SWaMP2008 has attended a conference in Brussels to hear the latest update on important European Waste Management legislation which is due to come into effect in Northern Ireland.

Waste is currently a high profile issue across Europe as every member state considers how to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and how to reduce the consumption of raw materials through increased recycling.

In Brussels, the delegation attended a reception at the Northern Ireland Executive Offices, at which they met with MEPs Jim Nicholson, Bairbre de Brun and Diane Dodds. The SWaMP2008 party also met with MLAs from the NI Assembly Committee for Agriculture & Rural Development (DARD) including Committee Chairman, Ian Paisley Jnr, Tom Elliott, UUP MLA for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, George Savage, UUP MLA for Upper Bann and William Irwin, DUP MLA for Newry & Armagh.

more »

9-Year Old Anna Marley from Portadown has won a prestigious schools competition to create the name for a new multi-million pound Waste Management Project in the Southern Region of Northern Ireland. more »

Pupils and staff at McClintock Children’s Centre in Seskinore, Co Tyrone are enjoying their new green accolade: more »

Council’s pioneering project will divert household furniture from landfill

more »