Kirklees Council has signed a three-year extension to its waste management contract with SUEZ, taking it up to the 30-year maximum.
The council’s original 25-year contract, signed in 1998, was one of the earliest local authority-private sector waste contracts and, while innovative in its day, is now widely acknowledged to be out-dated.
In 2023 the council had a recycling rate of around 26% against the national average of 43%.
SUEZ currently handles 190,000 tonnes of household waste each year and operates 10 facilities across Kirklees, including an energy-from-waste facility, a materials recovery facility, four household waste recycling centres and two waste transfer stations.
However, Kirklees is behind other West Yorkshire councils in what it offers residents. In Wakefield, for example, householders have a garden waste bin collected free of charge. In Kirklees a garden bin costs an extra £40 a year.
Calderdale Council collects glass and food waste but Kirklees does neither. It stopped kerbside glass collections in 2013 to save money.
The public strongly called for a return of glass collections after a consultation and Kirklees launched a trial. However, talked about changes in national policy – such as a deposit return scheme for bottles – meant the trial was scrapped pending the outcome.
The Government also sought to make food waste collection mandatory, though it is understood Kirklees would be exempt from that until 2028 when its new waste contract is due to start.
Household waste recycling centres are operated by SUEZ under the contract but earlier this year the council closed one site at Nab Lane in Birstall and reduced the opening hours at Meltham and Upper Cumberworth to save money.
Opposition councillors claim fly-tipping has increased as a result and there are longer queues, particularly at Dewsbury, which is now the only tip in North Kirklees.
Kirklees has moved to improve the ageing waste contract. In 2022 plastic pots, tubs and trays were allowed in green bins for the first time and in June this year two of the tips – Huddersfield and Dewsbury – started to accept household DIY waste from the public including rubble and concrete, bathroom ceramics and plasterboard.
The council extended the original 25-year SUEZ contract by two years and in April 2024 agreed to a further extension until 2028, which has just been confirmed.
The council has bought itself time to negotiate a new, modern waste contract, blaming uncertainty over what statutory requirements the Government will impose on local authorities – and who would pay for it.
SUEZ welcomed the three-year extension and said: “Over the life of the partnership, the service has delivered a number of key achievements.
“These include diverting 91% of waste from landfill and the addition of plastic pots, tubs and trays to household collections. This change was supported by upgrades to the materials recovery facility (MRF) including the installation of a near-infrared sorter to enhance material quality and recycling efficiency.”
SUEZ also pointed to the success of the Reuse facilities at its household waste sites where the public can donate items instead of dumping them.
Donated items are then sold at the Revive charity shop in Upperhead Row, near Huddersfield Bus Station, and at Pass-It-On-With Revive in Batley.
In 2024-25, the shop sold over 217 tonnes of items and served over 100,000 customers, raising money for good causes, including the SLATE and St Vincent De Paul charities.
SUEZ added: “This contract extension provides a strong foundation to embrace upcoming changes in waste and recycling legislation, including the Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging.”
Victoria Crabtree, regional manager at SUEZ, said: “This has been an innovative contract that has evolved significantly over the last 30 years. We’re proud to continue supporting the borough’s environmental ambitions.”
Clr Tyler Hawkins, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet member for highways and waste, said: “We have a long-standing working relationship with SUEZ in Kirklees and the extension of the SUEZ contract was approved by Cabinet in April 2024.
“A process will soon begin to appoint a new operator going forward.”
