Waste collection bid result contested

RIGA - Waste management group Eco Baltia will contest the results of the Getlini Eko tender to outsource services connected with preparing household waste for burying, Eco Baltia representative Jana Duhovska told the Nozare.lv business portal.

The winner of the tender was announced on Sept. 3. “Just as Eco Baltia had expected, Vides pakalpojumu grupa, a company closely associated with ex-politician Andris Skele’s family, has won the tender,” emphasized Duhovska.

Eco Balti companies have been trying to become participants in the establishment of a waste recycling plant in the Getlini territory, outside of Riga, for several years now, explained Duhovska. Unfortunately, all of these attempts have been futile due to Getlini Eko’s unlawful actions, she pointed out.

This year again, Eco Baltia companies - Eco Baltia Vide and Eko Reverss, submitted their bids to participate in the Getlini Eko tender for preparing household waste for burying, even though Getlini Eko withheld part of the information required by the bidders.

In response, Getlini Eko representative Linda Vitola-Baranova said that Eco Baltia’s bid had not been considered because it was submitted too late. Eco Baltia council chairman Maris Simanovics emphasizes that the offer from Eco Baltia Vide and Eko Reverss would have certainly cost less those of any other bidder. “I believe it unacceptable that a bidder is denied participation in the tender so just one bidder would meet all requirements,” added Simanovics.
Eco Baltia companies manage a total of almost 100,000 tons of household waste annually; the group’s total turnover in 2012 was 21 million lats (30 million euros).

What Eco Balti proposed in its bid was not to incinerate waste, but to sort waste in order to separate it for recycling. This is a much more environmentally-friendly proposal, notes the company.

Simanovics also said, Getlini Eko should explain the fact how just one bidder met all the tender requirements, and that the other two bidders were closely associated with the former.

Vitola-Baranova said in turn that Getlini Eko would comment on Eco Baltia allegations in the coming days.
Vides pakalpojumu grupa won the tender by waste management company Getlini Eko regarding the preparation of household waste for burial, according to a statement posted on the Procurement Monitoring Bureau’s Web site. Vides pakalpojumu grupa’s bid offered to do the job at 6.66 lats per ton of waste. The total amount of the pending contract is 19.9 million lats.

The competition was announced at the end of 2012, the other bidders besides Vides pakalpojumu grupa were Daugavpils specializetais ATU and Ekodoktrina.