Tender: Exeter MRF Plant Upgrade | Exeter City Council

Exeter City Council is seeking to award a Contract for the design, supply and installation of a brand-new Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) processing line at its depot at Exton Road, Marsh Barton, Exeter, EX2 8NR.

The new plant is expected to be able to handle 10,500 tonnes per annum (over 1 x 7.5 hour day shift, 5 operational days per week) of co-mingled or source separated mixed dry recyclable Material.

The main aims and objectives for the project are to:

1) Promote sustainable waste management practices

2) Provide cost effective recycling facilities to local authorities and others in Exeter and the surrounding areas.

The key performance requirements of the plant include (further detail is included within the procurement documents):

1) The recovered recyclable purity rate (by weight) should meet a minimum of 95%.

2) The recovered purity rate (by weight) should meet a minimum of 97%.

3) The maximum contamination rate of recovered products shall be a maximum of 3% contamination by weight.

4) The minimum continuous throughput of the plan in tonnes per hour will be 7 tonnes per hour.

5) The minimum availability of the plant as a percentage of the required operating hours will be 95% of the total running time period of shift operations.

The Authority reserves the right to issue updated version (Modification) of the documents to Suppliers as and when the need arises, in order to reflect the corresponding stage of the Competitive Flexible Procedure, together with any changes to the Procurement or any other new information.

The contracting authority also reserves the right following contract award, as reflected in Schedule I of the Procurement Act 2023, to make Modifications (unforeseen at this time) as the contract evolved over the full term of the agreement.

Following completion of the works and expiry of the initial two-year warranty period, the Authority reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to award an optional maintenance contract to the successful Bidder without the need for a further procurement exercise.

This optional maintenance contract forms part of the overall scope of this procurement.

The optional maintenance contract shall be for an initial period of three (3) years, with the option for the Authority to extend for up to two (2) additional years (i.e. 3 + 2 years).

Tenderers are required to submit pricing for the optional maintenance contract, including any extension period, as part of their commercial submission.

The Authority reserves the right to: include the optional maintenance contract in the award decision; and/or

exercise the option at a later date following expiry of the warranty period.

The maximum total contract duration, including the works, warranty period, and all optional extensions, shall not exceed 10 years depending on works duration.

Tenders must only be submitted via Exeter City Council’s procurement portal (ProContract) which can be accessed via the via the following link: https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View?advertId=0b1e1d19-1f54-f111-813c-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True

All tender documents are available via this portal.

1) Site Related Risks – There is a possibility that unknown hazardous substances, structural issues or adverse ground conditions may be encountered during installation. These risks are not fully identifiable at the time of tender but could materially affect delivery.

2) Legislative and Policy Risks – There is a risk that changes in legislation or policy, particularly relating to waste management and local government restructuring, may be announced during the Contract term. Such changes may alter compliance obligations or delivery mechanisms.

3) Global Economic and Supply Chain Risks due to the volatility of the international environment, including:

(a) War and conflict

(b) Trade tariffs imposed by the United States and China in 2025

(c) Broader global supply chain disruptions

These supply risks may result in scarcity of supply and increased costs for goods required under the Contract. Should such risks arise, the Bidder must provide clear and substantiated evidence of the impact on supply chain and costs. The contracting authority, acting reasonably, will determine whether they are satisfied with the evidence prior to any modification of the Contract.

Details of these risks are also set out within the associated tender documents.

This CFP will consist of a minimum of 3 stages:

Stage 1 – Invitation to Participate/Selection Stage including Conditions of Participation. The assessment of Stage 1 submissions will identify up to three 3 Suppliers to be invited to submit a bid in Stage 2 of the process

Stage 2 – Invitation to Tender

Stage 3 – Preferred Supplier Stage

The contracting authority reserves the right to introduce one or more further stages following the Stage 2 Tender submission and evaluation. This may include (but is not limited to) a second tendering round, a refinement stage, or a formal request for Best and Final Offers. Full details of the competition design and potential refinements to the process may be found in the procurement documents.

This Tender Notice will commence the start of Stage 1 of the process.

Details of the step-by-step process, and detailed requirements are provided within the documents attached to the opportunity that can be found by visiting Exeter City Council’s e-tender portal: https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View?advertId=0b1e1d19-1f54-f111-813c-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True

Civic Centre

Exeter

EX1 1JN

United Kingdom

Email: ECCProcurement@exeter.gov.uk

Region: UKK43 – Devon CC

Organisation type: Public authority – sub-central government