WARRINGTON Borough Council is ready to take the lead in a £20 million deal to buy wheeled refuse bins for other authorities across the country – potentially saving millions of pounds.
In addition to the savings, Warrington would also receive an income in the form of commission on each bin sold.
Town Hall bosses would use an online auction to ensure competitive tenders are received – and councils across the North West, Yorkshire and in East Anglia have already expressed firm interest in joining Warrington in the collaboration.
The idea is to mirror the success of a similar scheme in 2006 when Warrington led a consortium of local authorities to buy more than two million bins, saving more than £2.5 million for the 35 councils involved.
This agreement expires at the end of February and the idea is to set up a new arrangement spanning the next four years.
It is expected that 350,000 bins will be required each year by the combined councils..
Bin suppliers find the scheme attractive because it means they have to take part in only one tender exercise rather than individual tenders with each council.
Funding for the auction is being made available by the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.
Warrington will receive a commission, based on a sliding scale of between 10p and 15p on each bin to cover managing the contract and if, as in the previous contract, participation increases, the council will receive more income.
