We are experts in waste and recycling projects - these projects play to our technical strengths and involve innovative finance structures as well as detailed legislation.
Our projects team has a national scope and this is well illustrated by the range of waste projects that we have been instructed on.
We have the technical expertise to provide clients with the best legal advice. We also have sufficient resource within the firm to be able to deploy multi-disciplinary teams to deal with the complex web of commercial contracts, funding structures, development issues and property arrangements.
We have set out below a few of the waste and recycling projects that that we have advised on:-
 | We advised Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council in relation to litigation relating to its Materials Recovery and Energy Centre (MREC). We conducted litigation defending the Council against a claim from the external funder, the Bank of Scotland, regarding a charge over the assets of the project. This two year legal battle prompted 79 Freedom of Information Act requests. The Bank was unsuccessful in its £44 million claim and lost its action to recover the assets.
We are advising the Council in respect of the re- procurement of the initial scheme, involving a 25 year contract to accept, treat, transfer and dispose of municipal waste arising in the county and in the county borough of Bridgend. This scheme is to be procured using a competitive dialogue procedure. |
 | We are advising West Sussex County Council on the procurement of a ca. £100 million+ 'Materials Resource Management Contract' (MRMC). We are the lead advisers to the Council on the project which involves innovative funding structures and extremely detailed legal terms.
We also advised the Council on a £30m+ waste disposal contract with Viridor Waste Management Limited, following a competitive procurement process. |
 | We are retained advisors of Silent Valley Waste Services Limited, the Waste Management local authority disposal company of Blaenau Gwent County Council. We are currently advising the Company on the procurement of anaerobic digestion waste technology by the Local Authority. |
 | We are advising Celtic Energy Limited, the successor to British Coal in Wales on opencast mining, on a number of projects including advising on a major new landfill site expected to be some 20 million cubic metres in size. |
 | We are advising a consortium, including the shareholders of Black Bag Energy Limited on a project involving the construction of an autoclave and power generation plant at Tythegston in South Wales. The scope of our advice to the consortium members includes advice in relation to commercial and property arrangements for the scheme, which will involve a major equity contribution from an institutional investor. |
 | We are currently advising Neath Port Talbot (Recycling) Limited, a waste plant operating company, not only in relation to their ongoing corporate and commercial matters but also specifically in relation to two commercial agreements for the supply of over 40,000 tonnes of RDF for use as an alternative fuel in cement kilns. |