CPV 90-5 Waste collection services

About CPV 90-5

CPV 90-5 is the Common Procurement Vocabulary group covering refuse and waste related services. It sits inside division 90 and is the operational core of it: collecting, transporting, treating, and disposing of waste.

The group covers household refuse and recycling collection, garden and food waste collection, bulky waste and special collections, commercial waste collection, household waste recycling centre operation, waste transfer and haulage, treatment and disposal, and clinical and hazardous waste services.

The work is statutory and continuous. Waste collection authorities have a duty to arrange household collection and disposal authorities a duty to dispose of what is collected, and neither duty can be paused. That gives this group unusual stability, and it means contracts are procured to firm timetables well ahead of expiry because a gap in service is not an option.

Active CPV 90-5 tenders

Live activity is dominated by the recompetition of collection contracts on seven to ten year cycles, and by procurement brought forward by recycling policy reform. Requirements for greater consistency in what is collected from households have forced many authorities to reconsider container provision, vehicle specification, and collection frequency, and those changes are frequently substantial enough to require a new contract rather than a variation.

Household waste recycling centre operation is a distinct stream, procured separately from kerbside collection and requiring site management rather than fleet operation. Clinical waste is a specialist market with its own regulatory regime, procured largely by NHS bodies.

Active sub-category	Typical procurement route	Primary buyer pattern
Household refuse and recycling collection	Long-term competitive procedure	District or unitary council
Food and garden waste collection	Bundled with refuse or separate	Collection authority
Recycling centre operation	Site management contract	Disposal authority
Bulky and special collections	Smaller term contract	Collection authority
Clinical and hazardous waste	Framework call-off	NHS body or council

Top buyers procuring CPV 90-5

The buyers are almost entirely local authorities, and the structure matters. In two-tier areas the district or borough council collects and the county council disposes, so the two functions are procured by different bodies on different cycles. Unitary authorities hold both and can let integrated contracts.

In our own corpus South Ayrshire Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Lancashire County Council, Renfrewshire Council, Perth and Kinross Council, and East Ayrshire Council are among the more frequent publishers under this group. Lancashire's presence as a county council reflects the disposal side rather than collection, illustrating the split directly.

Typical contract values under CPV 90-5

The median notice sits above a million pounds, and values reflect multi-year terms rather than annual cost. A household collection contract for a mid-sized district typically runs in the low tens of millions across its full term, which is a substantial commitment for both parties and explains the length of the procurement processes involved.

The capital requirement is what shapes competition. An incoming contractor must usually provide a fleet of collection vehicles and, often, containers for every household, which is a large investment made before any revenue arrives. That requirement, more than any evaluation criterion, determines who can realistically bid, and it is why some authorities now purchase the fleet themselves and let a service-only contract, deliberately widening the field of bidders.

Compliance and certifications for CPV 90-5 bidders

Environmental permitting and registration are fundamental: waste carrier, broker, and dealer registration for collection and haulage, and environmental permits for any transfer or treatment facility used, covering the specific waste codes in scope. Buyers verify these directly and check the permit scope rather than accepting a general assurance.

Operator licensing through the traffic commissioner is required for the vehicle fleet, with a qualified transport manager. Safety accreditation through CHAS, SafeContractor, or an equivalent scheme is standard, and ISO 14001 is commonly required. Duty of care documentation and waste transfer note handling are examined closely because the buyer retains legal responsibility for its waste. Clinical waste carries consignment note requirements and specified treatment standards. TUPE applies on virtually every recompetition and transfers a large operational workforce, so employment cost modelling is central to pricing rather than peripheral, and buyers score how the transition will be managed for staff.

Frequently asked questions

Why do so few contractors bid for household collection?

Chiefly the capital requirement. Providing a fleet and containers before the contract generates revenue demands financing that only established operators can raise, and the specialised vehicles have limited alternative use if the contract is lost. Authorities that want a wider field increasingly buy the fleet themselves and tender a service-only contract, which removes the barrier and typically attracts more bidders. Where the contractor must provide the fleet, the realistic bidder list is short and authorities plan their procurement accordingly, often engaging the market early to confirm appetite.

How have the recycling reforms changed procurement?

They have brought contracts to market earlier than the ordinary cycle would and made specifications less settled. Requirements for consistent household collections affect what must be collected, how it must be separated, and therefore the vehicle and container specification. Extended producer responsibility changes the financial flows behind collection. For bidders this means the specification may change during the contract term more than has historically been true, so the change control and risk allocation provisions deserve close reading, and pricing should account for the possibility of a service change rather than assuming a static scope.

Is there a route in for a smaller operator?

Yes, away from kerbside household collection. Bulky waste and special collections, commercial waste, recycling centre operation, clinical and hazardous waste, and waste haulage are all procured separately and at a scale a regional operator can serve. Some authorities also lot collection geographically in larger areas. Subcontracting to a major operator for specific waste streams is another established route, particularly for hazardous and specialist materials that the main contractor does not handle itself.

Who is the buyer in a two-tier area?

For collecting waste from households, the district or borough council as waste collection authority. For treating or disposing of it, the county council as waste disposal authority, or a joint waste authority where one has been established. Household waste recycling centres are usually a disposal authority responsibility. Getting this wrong wastes considerable business development effort, and the arrangements vary because some areas have joint working agreements that cut across the standard split, so it is worth confirming locally rather than assuming.