Environmental Protection Act 1990

Procedure for putting waste disposal contracts out to tender

20 (1) A waste disposal authority which proposes to enter into a contract for the keeping, treatment or disposal of controlled waste shall comply with the following requirements before making the contract and if it does not any contract which is made shall be void.

(2) The authority shall publish, in at least two publications circulating among waste disposal contractors, a notice containing—

(a) a brief description of the contract work;

(b) a statement that during a specified period any person may inspect a detailed specification of the contract work free of charge at a specified place and time;

(c) a statement that during that period any person will be supplied with a copy of the detailed specification on request and on payment of the specified charge;

(d) a statement that any person who wishes to submit a tender for the contract must notify the authority of his wish within a specified period; and

(e) a statement that the authority intend to invite tenders for the contract, in accordance with sub-paragraph (4) below.

(3) The authority shall—

(a) ensure that the periods, place and time and the charge specified in the notice are such as are reasonable;

(b) make the detailed specification available for inspection in accordance with the notice; and

(c) make copies of the detailed specification available for supply in accordance with the notice.

(4) If any persons notified the authority, in accordance with the notice, of their wish to submit tenders for the contract, the authority shall—

(a) if more than four persons did so, invite at least four of them to tender for the contract;

(b) if less than four persons did so, invite each of them to tender for the contract.

(5) In this paragraph—

• “the contract work”, in relation to a contract for the keeping, treatment or disposal of waste, means the work comprising the services involved in the keeping, treatment or disposal of the waste under the contract; and

• “specified” means specified in the notice under sub-paragraph (2) above.

21 A waste disposal authority, in taking any of the following decisions, namely—

(a) who to invite to tender for the contract under paragraph 20(4)(a) above, and

(b) who to enter into the contract with,

shall disregard the fact that any waste disposal contractor tendering for the contract is, or is not, controlled by the authority.