A LAW firm played a vital role in the appointment of a waste management company – a deal that will see half of all rubbish collected in Darlington recycled.

North-East law firm Ward Hadaway provided legal advice to Darlington Borough Council as it carried out the process which eventually led to the appointment of the John Wade Group.

The new contract should mean recycling rates increase from 22 per cent to 50 per cent.

It included the construction of a recycling plant near Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which opened in April.

The site uses mechanical biological treatment to speed up waste decomposition and automatically separates metals, plastics and other recyclable materials from the rest of the rubbish. It will process all of Darlington’s household waste for the next 11 years.

Members of the law firm’s commercial, property and public sector teams were involved in all aspects of the process, from negotiating with potential bidders for the waste management deal to drawing up contracts.

The process used the new competitive dialogue procedure, which allowed the council to carry out negotiations with a number of potential contractors before deciding on the John Wade Group.

It was one of the first times that such a process has been used on a waste management contract.

Ward Hadaway also advised the council on the complex issues surrounding the change of waste management contractor and the change of operator for Darlington’s civic waste site.

Colin Hewitt, partner and head of commercial law at Ward Hadaway, led the firm’s team on the deal, assisted by property solicitor Stephanie Muirhead.

Mr Hewitt said: “We are really pleased to have helped Darlington Borough Council to conclude this new waste management agreement.

“This is a very important deal for the council and for the people of Darlington because it should provide significantly improved recycling rates across the town.

“Using our extensive experience in public/private sector agreements, we were able to employ an innovative structure to the arrangements in order to secure best value for the authority and for its council tax payers.”

Nick Wallis, the council’s cabinet member for sustainable environment and climate change, said: “The new mechanical biological treatment plant that has been built in the county will make a big difference to the amount of waste going to landfill from Darlington, transforming how we manage our waste.”

Ward Hadaway has advised on a number of other waste management agreements involving local authorities.

Last year, the firm advised on more than £2bn worth of projects across the public sector.