Browne Jacobson to advise East London Waste Authority on major waste programme

Browne Jacobson is supporting one of the UK’s largest waste authorities to plan how it will manage its recycling and waste treatment and disposal services for the next few decades.

The UK and Ireland law firm has been appointed by the East London Waste Authority (ELWA) as a legal adviser to its procurement and contract expiry programme.

ELWA is responsible for the disposal and recycling of all municipal waste in East London, serving a population of 1.1 million people.

Working in partnership with the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, and Redbridge, it has developed a joint strategy covering the 30-year period from 2027 to 2057.

This sets out the aims, objectives, priorities and actions for the partner authorities on preventing and reducing waste, increasing reuse and recycling, supporting improvements with infrastructure, and monitoring performance.

Critical to the delivery of the strategy is to prepare for the end of the existing integrated waste management services contract, which began in 2002 and ends in 2027, and the delivery of a series of replacement contracts being procured.

Browne Jacobson, which was appointed following a two-stage process involving a tender response and interview, will provide advice on all aspects of the project, including procurement, PFI expiry, commercial, governance, property and employment law, over a four-year period.

Michael Mousdale, Consultant at Browne Jacobson who leads the firm’s waste and recycling group, said: “Local authorities increasingly find themselves under the spotlight for how they approach waste management, with reuse and recycling a central thread in the environmental agenda as we move towards a circular economy.

“Getting procurement right is a hugely important part of strategic planning, and ELWA has a fantastic opportunity to review its needs and ambitions ahead of the expiry of its existing integrated waste management services contract in 2027.

“As a firm that supports our clients in being at the forefront of society’s issues, this is exactly the type of programme in which our Government and Infrastructure team can play an influential role as we continue to build on our outstanding reputation in the waste management sector, so we were delighted to be awarded this contract.”