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CLEANING UP ON THE CONTINENT
Page 40
Page 41
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British local authorities are obliged to put their transport services out to tender, but Antwerp still runs its own fleet of 730 vehicles. Will 1 992 bring Continental opportunities for UK contenders?
• Antwerp has 400,000 inhabitants and is the second biggest port in the world. Keeping it clean is the responsibility of Antwerp's "Stadsreiniging" authority.
The job involves sweeping 800km (500 miles) of roads and keeping them ice-free during the winter, emptying 70,000 gulleys at least twice a year, and collecting 1,300 tonnes of domestic refuse every day — approximately 300,000 tonnes a year. Each of Antwerp's 160 refuse collector workers (two per truck) handles an average of some eight tonnes of refuse every day.
All street cleaning, gulley emptying and domestic refuse collecting, including the refuse from hundreds of canal ships moored in the harbour, is the responsibility of the city. Industrial refuse is collected by private companies. Larger domestic refuse, like old furniture, TV sets and refrigerators, is collected during a special tour on Wednesdays.
STREET SWEEPERS
Antwerp's less-restricted lanes and avenues are cleaned by motorized street sweepers, but smaller streets in the old town centre have to be cleaned manually with, nowadays, hard to-find labour. Most of Antwerp's refuse is burned in three incinerators, two run by the city and a third managed by an "intercomrnunale" which incoporates other smaller cities.
Fire-fighting equipment and police cars are not the responsibility of the local authorities, but are run by the Belgium Ministry of the Interior.
The city runs a fleet of 85 refuse collectors, of which 75 are on the road every day with 10 in reserve. Every vehicle is equipped with a two-way radio for constant liaison with HQ in case of accidents or rescheduling of the daily run. Older refuse collectors are of the drumscrew variety, compressing the refuse at a lower ratio than the newer push-type collector models, which therefore have a greater capacity.
Chief-supervisor Gabriels reports a strong trend towards lighter, domestic refuse with more discarded packaging. This encourages the use of higher capacity push-type systems.
Antwerp's Stadsreiniging authority is not only responsible for keeping the city clean, but also for the purchase and maintenance of the city's entire 730vehicle fleet, including 250 passenger cars, used for a variety of city services. The department responsible for refuse collection, street sweeping, gulley emptying has 250 vehicles: other vehicles are used for all sorts of civil engineering jobs, including 130 for service in Antwerp harbour; 70 for parks, trees and flower maintenance, and 80 for other social services which includes libraries on wheels (bibliobuses).
All 730 vehicles are maintained and serviced in four central workshops, employing 103 staff. Three of these workshops cover a total of 15,500m2 (60,000ft2) for maintenance and repair, while the fourth (2,500m2/27,000ft2) is used for construction work, such as making containers and major replacement parts for heavy equipment like refuse collectors.
Passenger cars and trucks are replaced after about 10 years' service, because of the low annual usage of around 10,000km a year (6,300 miles). Refuse collection vehicles are serviced and maintained according to running hours.
PANEL VANS
A total of 101 vehicles are light CVs up to 3.5-tonnes GVW, including panel vans and 62 tippers with standard and crewcabs. They are mainly used for civil engineering operations.
For street cleaning and refuse collecting Antwerp has a fleet of 16 gulley emptiers, mainly from MOL and 1PSAM, on a variety of chassis; 85 refuse collectors from
VDK, VBN and Phoenix, mainly on Daf, Mercedes and Renault chassis; and 20 suction street sweepers of various sizes.
De Getyer, in charge of maintenance, sees this large variety of different makes and models as one of his major service problems. This is also the reason why his department does not have its own stock of spare parts.
TENDERING
Because every purchase is subject to tendering, it is impossible to achieve a one-make fleet, or even to reduce the number of different makes and models. Tenders are invited from European manufacturers, with preference towards those with an industrial base in Belgium. A Japanese manufacturer, which has found out about the release of a tender on its own, will, however, be invited to compete. Technical requirements are not allowed to be restrictive, which means that even a requirement like front or rear-wheel drive cannot be specified, if one or more of the contenders cannot comply. Only in the purchase of 4x4 off-road vehicles, where European offerings are scarce, are the Japanese invited to compete from the outset.
Like many other industrial sectors, the Belgian refuse collecting and waste disposal business faces a far-reaching shake-up with the advent of the Single European Market in 1992.
UK-based Biffa Waste Services has already started a European expansion programme by paying £5.5 million for J Canivet, one of Europe's biggest landfill operators. Biffa has also acquired four other companies in Belgium: three drywaste collection specialists and a waste brokerage company.
Says Biffa's managing director, Mark Aldridge: "These acquisitions have made Biffa the largest waste operator in Brussels and central Belgium. They have not only enabled us to provide a full range of waste disposal services in that country, but also to anticipate 1992 by establishing a strategic base in Europe." Biffa is already working closely with the Belgian authorities and looking at the potential for domestic refuse services, treatment and other waste-related activities.
It is only bigger cities like Antwerp which run their own refuse collecting services. Smaller Belgian cities and boroughs are already contracting out. Because of future European regulations with regard to waste control, there is a place in the market for companies who can adapt quickly to changing requirements, especially in Belgium. Biffa regards this as an opportunity which in an organised market can only be met by a high level of quality. Biffa says that it is very pleased with the level of interest shown by local authorities.
WASTE CONTROL
It also considers waste collecting as an important part of the process of waste control and is planning to develop services such as domestic-waste collecting, street cleaning, and industrial-waste collection as it has already done in the UK. Biffa sees itself as an established representative for the introduction of proven English waste control systems on the Continent, with Belgium as a starting point, and it expects a million turnover for its new Belgian activities this year.
Major Belgian cities like Antwerp naturally like to consider cost-saving advantages from sub-contracting some or all of their waste collecting services.
Antwerp's cesspoolemptying activities were contracted out a few years ago, on a trial basis. Although the unions are now requesting the reappraisal that was promised at the time, the local authority insists on renewing the contract. The unions are also the strongest opponents of any plans for further privatisation of any of the city's services and fought the city's decision to turn to leasing for at least a part of its passenger car fleet.
by Vie Heylen.