The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a final determination that grants authorisation to a number of inner-Sydney councils to jointly tender and contract for the processing of dry recyclable material.
These councils are Burwood Council, Ashfield Council, Auburn Council, City of Canada Bay Council, Leichhardt Council and Strathfield Council.
Council residents’ dry recyclable material is collected from kerbside bins and taken to a materials recovery facility for processing. The councils are negotiating with tenderers for the contract to provide materials recovery facility services for ten years as the current contract expires on 30 September 2013.
“Granting authorisation will allow the councils to jointly negotiate and contract for the processing of their kerbside dry recyclables. This gives the councils better buyer power and is likely to result in them securing recyclables processing services at a lower cost than they would be able to individually,” ACCC Deputy Chair Dr Michael Schaper said.
“The collective process should allow the councils to negotiate better terms and conditions from their chosen service provider, which will flow to councils and their residents.”
The ACCC grants authorisation until 30 September 2023.
Authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
Further information about the application for authorisation and the ACCC’s decision is available on the Authorisation register.