Programme of Research on Municipal Waste Composition

Tender description

The objective of this procurement is to procure two contracts to enable Defra to conduct a programme of work to improve Defra’s understanding of the composition of mixed waste from households and from businesses. The first contract is the most significant and will involve 1) designing, carrying out and reporting on a programme of primary data collection, 2) carrying out research to understand the drivers of waste composition and, based on this, developing a model for updating data in years where primary data collection is not carried out and 3) conduct research to review and recommend near-market approaches to measuring the composition of waste that might make routine waste composition analysis more affordable in the future. The second contract is for a quality assurance auditor for item 1) of the first contract. The outputs from the project will be used to inform policy development and evaluation and will deliver important evidence on which to base waste and resources actions to achieve Defra’s contribution to net zero ambitions. They will: 1. Play a crucial role in determining levels of fees and payments in packaging EPR by generating a new estimate of the amounts of different types and formats of packaging being managed by local authorities in mixed residual waste 2. Inform policy work on implementing a Deposit Return Scheme in England, by providing more granular data on in-scope drinks packaging found in residual waste 3. Inform policy thinking on how to tackle garden waste going to landfill in a context where local authorities are increasingly charging for its collection. In landfill, it may degrade and emit methane. 4. Inform our work to reform WEEE and batteries producer responsibility and to introduce EPR for textiles, by providing evidence on the extent to which these items are disposed of rather than recycled