Colas, a world leader in the construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure, has announced the appointment of Reconomy as its exclusive waste management partner in the UK.
The decision to appoint Reconomy, and consolidate Colas’ waste management to a single supplier, follows a successful trial on the company’s National Highways Area 9 contract. This high-profile maintenance programme covers 3,760 km of motorway and trunk roads within Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire as well as parts of Gloucestershire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
Once fully implemented, Reconomy’s nation-wide service will cover 19 depots and multiple satellite sites including a number of major projects such as Portsmouth Highways Management. Mobilisation of the contract has already begun and will be complete by the start of 2023.
Colas’ Senior Category Manager, Mathew Baffin, said: “Following a formal tendering process and trial period, we are thrilled to announce Reconomy as our exclusive waste management partner in the UK. We have been impressed with Reconomy’s sector knowledge and experience and are confident they are the right supplier to support our continued growth. Consolidation of our waste services coupled with access to market-leading management information and automation will play an important role in ensuring we deliver against our environmental and commercial objectives over the next 3 years.”
Colas’ CSR and Environmental Manager, Emma Murray, also commented saying: “Waste duty of care can be an administrative burden but with the help of Reconomy, the portal allowed us to store duty of care records including licences and waste transfer notes. We also took advantage of using the API so waste data is added automatically into Smartwaste which we use for carbon and waste reporting. The relationship has just started but Reconomy have been keen to help us in using local suppliers, reducing waste going to landfill and increasing compliance to waste regulations.”
The move to a single supplier for waste management demonstrates Colas’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact and will ensure a cost-effective and consistent level of service. It will also provide Colas with access to Reconomy’s extensive experience and its ability to operate at scale. Both companies have made commitments to drive down waste intensity across the estate over the course of the contract and set challenging targets. Implementation of Reconomy’s reporting solution will ensure that environmental performance is accurately monitored and measured. This granular management information will also support continued environmental and operational improvements.
Reconomy’s Sales Director (Managed Services), Ben Angove, said: “We’re excited to be partnering such a dynamic and fast-growing business and look forward to our continued collaboration. Reconomy has a proven track record of helping customers set and achieve ambitious sustainability goals and we can’t wait to support Colas on their journey. Plugging Colas into our data, insight and digital tools will play a key role in reducing and better managing waste to maximise environmental and commercial value.”
