Official UK procurement notice
Food Waste Treatment Services Contract
Authority: Essex County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionEssex County Council (ECC) is planning to issue a tender in early January 2027 for a contract(s) relating to the anaerobic digestion treatment and disposal of food waste collected from households in the Essex area. The required treatment services must start on 1 April 2028. ECC currently manages approximately 55,000 tonnes per annum of separately collected household food waste.
The contracting authority is Essex County Council and any Successor Body meaning one or more entities which assumes any of the Council's functions (as applicable) as a result of Local Government Reform (LGR). Such successor body or bodies may be, without limitation, a local authority, a combined authority, a combined county authority, a strategic authority or any other status determined pursuant to the Devolution and LGR Legislation.
CPV: Refuse and waste related services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 8 yrs from 1 Apr 2028
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “Food Waste Treatment Services Contract” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Essex County Council buys Refuse and waste related services (CPV 9050), and who usually turns up
Essex County Council’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Refuse and waste related services (CPV 9050) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in the delivery region.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 80 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid40%
2–30%
4–617%
7+43%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 9050Published estimate£8.0m
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 122 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid7%
2–342%
4–633%
7+19%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waste-A-Way Recycling LimitedEarlier contract | Bulk Waste Haulage Services Contractnotice published Aug 2021 | — | £27m | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Birch Airfield Composting Services LtdLive contract | 0981 Bio-Waste Treatment, Transfer and Transport Servicesruns to Mar 2028 | Lot 1: Treatment of Green Waste Only – ECC – 40,000 tonnes per annum | £8.2m | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Envar Composting LimitedLive contract | 0981 Bio-Waste Treatment, Transfer and Transport Servicesruns to Mar 2028 | Lot 2: Treatment of Green Waste Only – ECC – 20,000 tonnes per annum | £7.0m | Matched as the earlier contract |
| East London BiogasLive contract | 0981 Bio-Waste Treatment, Transfer and Transport Servicesruns to Mar 2028 | Lot 6 – Treatment of Food Waste Only - ECC and SCC – 20,000 tonnes per annum | £4.2m | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Biogen UK LimitedLive contract | 0981 Bio-Waste Treatment, Transfer and Transport Servicesruns to Mar 2028 | Lot 3: Treatment of Green Waste Only – ECC – 16,000 tonnes per annum | £3.9m | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
41% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
41% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (41% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
0981 Bio-Waste Treatment, Transfer and Transport Services — held by Birch Airfield Composting Services Ltd and Envar Composting Limited (+1 more); the published contract ends 31 Mar 2028.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Jul 2025, 13:46 BST
- Last source update
- 5 Oct 2026, 13:30 BST
- Authority reference
C009PA- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-093835- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-055798Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
2 Jul 2025 → 1 Apr 2028 · 5 dates- Planning notice published2 Jul 2025, 13:46 BST
- Latest notice published15 days ago5 Oct 2026, 13:30 BST
- Market engagement6 days ago14 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
As part of the ongoing development of its procurement strategy and tender documentation for the provision of food waste treatment services, Essex County Council (ECC) is seeking further market feedback on a number of aspects of the proposed procurement approach.
In particular, ECC is seeking views on the proposed Open Framework structure, Service Contract duration, procurement process and evaluation approach.
Feedback received will help inform the final procurement strategy.
Potential Bidders are invited to request a copy of the questionnaire from:
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 76 days4 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts1 Apr 2028, 00:00 BST
Notice history
7 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Jul 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published2 Jul 2025, 13:46 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published5 Feb 2026, 18:39 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Jul 2026, 08:01 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Jul 2026, 11:36 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published5 Oct 2026, 13:28 BSTUK2
- Published value updated to £8,000,0005 Oct 2026, 13:28 BSTwas £7,000,000
- Preliminary market engagement notice published5 Oct 2026, 13:30 BSTUK2
Published amendments (3)
Food Waste Market Engagement Questions 2026 Introduction to market engagement: Essex County Council (ECC) is planning to issue a tender in late 2026 for a contract(s) relating to the anaerobic digestion treatment and disposal of food waste collected from households in the Essex area. The required treatment services must start on 1 April 2028. ECC manages approximately 50,000 tonnes per annum of se…
Additional questionnaire and lotting information provided.
Updated the Market Engagement submission deadline date.
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2026-07: 1 release · 20 Jul 2026
- 2026-02: 1 release · 5 Feb 2026
- 2025-07: 1 release · 2 Jul 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender