This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

07 Jul 2026 at 08:06

Summary of the contracting process

Belfast Harbour is currently in the tender stage for a contract to provide port waste management services, with an estimated gross value of £1.68 million. This selective procurement under a competitive flexible procedure is inviting bidders to supply waste management services across various operations within the harbour, facilitating waste management for commercial vessels, cruise ships, and leisure vessels. Located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, this contract falls under the Refuse and waste related services category. The procurement process includes stages such as pre-qualification, invitation to tender, and contract award, concluding with a potential award by the end of October 2026. Key deadlines include an expression of interest deadline on 11th August 2026 and an enquiry end date on 31st July 2026.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialised in waste management, particularly those experienced in 24/7 operations and managing diverse waste streams, including hazardous materials. It is an excellent opportunity for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to expand their service footprint in the logistics and environmental sectors. The contract's duration, with an option to extend for additional terms, allows for long-term business growth and stability. Companies with innovative waste reduction and recycling solutions may find the prospect of diverting over 90% of waste from landfill particularly appealing, enhancing their sustainability credentials and operational efficacy. The competitive tender process ensures that successful bidders can leverage their technical and economic capabilities to meet Belfast Harbour's rigorous standards, facilitating potential business development and new market penetration within the Northern Irish region.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Port Waste Management Services

Notice Description

BHC is seeking to enter into a contract with a suitably qualified and experienced supplier for the provision of port waste management services. BHC is seeking to appoint a supplier to provide port waste management services to facilitate the landing of waste from all vessels, excluding scheduled ferry services and other exempted vessels arriving at Belfast Harbour. The service provided shall include the provision of waste receptacles to facilitate the landing and segregation of waste from commercial vessels including cruise ships arriving at any quays and wharves operated by BHC and from leisure vessels visiting Belfast Marina. The service shall include the provision of appropriate waste receptacles on quays, segregations of waste streams, supervision of waste and recycling activities on site, the provision of appropriate waste transfer notes and receipts, transfer of waste to licensed recycling and final disposal sites and the maintenance of associated records in accordance with the Port Waste Management Plan and prevailing legislation. Currently the services consist of the collection, transfer, storage and re-use, recycling or disposal of all solid waste produced by vessels calling at Belfast Harbour. The current service is based on the provision of up to 28 covered and lockable skips for special (Category 1 international catering/galley waste), up to 28 skips for ship (non-galley) and up to 7 roll on roll off containers for cargo generated waste located in accordance with the Port's Waste Management Plan, the current draft of which is attached at Appendix 3 of the PQQ. Current facilities for Belfast Harbour Marina consist of 8 x 240L waste receptacles located at the service areas on the pontoon located in Abercorn Marina adjacent to the Odyssey Arena. All waste receptacles are required to be marked and colour coded. Any waste receptacle must be capable of being moved, removed or replaced at any time for operational reasons anywhere within the Harbour at no additional cost. The services are required 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Appropriate records of services provided must be retained and maintained and produced to BHC upon request at any time. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations and/or the Service Provision Change (Protection of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 may apply to the staff/operatives currently engaged in the provision of the services. Further information will be provided at the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Bidders will be required to seek their own advice, make their own investigations and include for this if applicable in their tender responses. Further information on the scope of services required by BHC is provided at Appendix 5 (Specification) to the PQQ. In terms of further specific functional and performance requirements for the services: (a) the services will be required on a 24/7/365 basis; (b) the successful Bidder will be responsible for the collection, removal, treatment/recycling and final disposal of ships waste and cargo waste in accordance with all applicable legislation, regulations and codes of conduct throughout the duration of the contract, including, without limitation, the legislation and regulations outlined in the draft Port Waste Management Plan enclosed at Appendix 3 to the PQQ; (c) Bidders should note that the waste services required for the Harbour Office, Harbour workshops and port operations facilities are excluded from the scope of services required; (d) the successful Bidder will be expected to deal with small quantities of hazardous waste, such as oily rags, filters, paint, fluorescent tubes, small quantities of waste electrical equipment, lubricants and spent cleaning materials within the scope of the contract awarded and at no extra cost to BHC; (e) the successful Bidder will be required to deal with all cruise ship waste, a breakdown of the composition of which is attached as Appendix 6 to the PQQ; (f) a minimum of 90% of collected non-category 1 international catering/galley waste must be diverted from landfill by the service provider by applying the waste hierarchy; (g) all requisite documentation and licences (e.g. waste transfer notes) must be retained, maintained and made available for inspection by BHC at any time upon request, both during the term of the contract and for a period of 2 years thereafter; (h) all Category 1 international catering/galley waste must be handled and disposed of to the satisfaction of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland; and (i) the only facilities BHC will make available for provision of the services are sites for the location of waste receptacles at the plan attached at Appendix 4 of the PQQ. The supplier will be required to maximise opportunities for re-use and recycling of waste streams and to ensure efficiency by identifying opportunities for improvement and waste reduction Bidders should further note that: (a) cruise ship visits to the Harbour are estimated to be likely to increase from 141 in total during 2026 to 150 in 2030 (largely during the months of April to October); (b) BHC holds a waste exemption licence for short term storage of ship's waste on designated quays within Belfast Harbour; (c) any alterations proposed to the Port Waste Management Plan, enclosed at Appendix 3 to the PQQ, must be approved in advance by the Maritime Coastguard Agency; and (d) scheduled ferry services are excluded from the services.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: BHC will have the option, at its discretion, to extend the contract for two (2) periods of twenty four (24) months each. The exercise of the option to extend will be dependent upon the terms of the contract having been complied with in full and further is subject to, without limitation, satisfactory performance of the successful Bidder.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c4c0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063419-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services


CPV Codes

90500000 - Refuse and waste related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,400,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,400,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Jul 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
31 Jul 20263 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Dec 2026 - 30 Nov 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
BELFAST HARBOUR
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BELFAST
Postcode
BT1 3AL
Post Town
Northern Ireland
Country
Northern Ireland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLN Northern Ireland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLN0 Northern Ireland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLN06 Belfast
Delivery Location
TLN Northern Ireland

Local Authority
Belfast
Electoral Ward
Duncairn
Westminster Constituency
Belfast North

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-06c4c0-2026-07-07T09:06:49+01:00",
    "date": "2026-07-07T09:06:49+01:00",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-06c4c0",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PGGW-7911-WZGZ",
            "name": "Belfast Harbour",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PGGW-7911-WZGZ"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Harbour Office, Corporation Square",
                "locality": "Belfast",
                "postalCode": "BT1 3AL",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKN06"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "ppa.procurement@belfast-harbour.co.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "publicUndertaking",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "description": "Public undertaking"
                    },
                    {
                        "id": "GB-NIR",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_DEVOLVED_REGULATIONS",
                        "description": "Northern Irish devolved regulations apply"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PGGW-7911-WZGZ",
        "name": "Belfast Harbour"
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-06c4c0",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Port Waste Management Services",
        "description": "BHC is seeking to enter into a contract with a suitably qualified and experienced supplier for the provision of port waste management services. BHC is seeking to appoint a supplier to provide port waste management services to facilitate the landing of waste from all vessels, excluding scheduled ferry services and other exempted vessels arriving at Belfast Harbour. The service provided shall include the provision of waste receptacles to facilitate the landing and segregation of waste from commercial vessels including cruise ships arriving at any quays and wharves operated by BHC and from leisure vessels visiting Belfast Marina. The service shall include the provision of appropriate waste receptacles on quays, segregations of waste streams, supervision of waste and recycling activities on site, the provision of appropriate waste transfer notes and receipts, transfer of waste to licensed recycling and final disposal sites and the maintenance of associated records in accordance with the Port Waste Management Plan and prevailing legislation. Currently the services consist of the collection, transfer, storage and re-use, recycling or disposal of all solid waste produced by vessels calling at Belfast Harbour. The current service is based on the provision of up to 28 covered and lockable skips for special (Category 1 international catering/galley waste), up to 28 skips for ship (non-galley) and up to 7 roll on roll off containers for cargo generated waste located in accordance with the Port's Waste Management Plan, the current draft of which is attached at Appendix 3 of the PQQ. Current facilities for Belfast Harbour Marina consist of 8 x 240L waste receptacles located at the service areas on the pontoon located in Abercorn Marina adjacent to the Odyssey Arena. All waste receptacles are required to be marked and colour coded. Any waste receptacle must be capable of being moved, removed or replaced at any time for operational reasons anywhere within the Harbour at no additional cost. The services are required 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Appropriate records of services provided must be retained and maintained and produced to BHC upon request at any time. The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations and/or the Service Provision Change (Protection of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 may apply to the staff/operatives currently engaged in the provision of the services. Further information will be provided at the Invitation to Tender stage of the process. Bidders will be required to seek their own advice, make their own investigations and include for this if applicable in their tender responses. Further information on the scope of services required by BHC is provided at Appendix 5 (Specification) to the PQQ. In terms of further specific functional and performance requirements for the services: (a) the services will be required on a 24/7/365 basis; (b) the successful Bidder will be responsible for the collection, removal, treatment/recycling and final disposal of ships waste and cargo waste in accordance with all applicable legislation, regulations and codes of conduct throughout the duration of the contract, including, without limitation, the legislation and regulations outlined in the draft Port Waste Management Plan enclosed at Appendix 3 to the PQQ; (c) Bidders should note that the waste services required for the Harbour Office, Harbour workshops and port operations facilities are excluded from the scope of services required; (d) the successful Bidder will be expected to deal with small quantities of hazardous waste, such as oily rags, filters, paint, fluorescent tubes, small quantities of waste electrical equipment, lubricants and spent cleaning materials within the scope of the contract awarded and at no extra cost to BHC; (e) the successful Bidder will be required to deal with all cruise ship waste, a breakdown of the composition of which is attached as Appendix 6 to the PQQ; (f) a minimum of 90% of collected non-category 1 international catering/galley waste must be diverted from landfill by the service provider by applying the waste hierarchy; (g) all requisite documentation and licences (e.g. waste transfer notes) must be retained, maintained and made available for inspection by BHC at any time upon request, both during the term of the contract and for a period of 2 years thereafter; (h) all Category 1 international catering/galley waste must be handled and disposed of to the satisfaction of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland; and (i) the only facilities BHC will make available for provision of the services are sites for the location of waste receptacles at the plan attached at Appendix 4 of the PQQ. The supplier will be required to maximise opportunities for re-use and recycling of waste streams and to ensure efficiency by identifying opportunities for improvement and waste reduction Bidders should further note that: (a) cruise ship visits to the Harbour are estimated to be likely to increase from 141 in total during 2026 to 150 in 2030 (largely during the months of April to October); (b) BHC holds a waste exemption licence for short term storage of ship's waste on designated quays within Belfast Harbour; (c) any alterations proposed to the Port Waste Management Plan, enclosed at Appendix 3 to the PQQ, must be approved in advance by the Maritime Coastguard Agency; and (d) scheduled ferry services are excluded from the services.",
        "status": "active",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "90500000",
                        "description": "Refuse and waste related services"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKN",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "value": {
            "amountGross": 1680000,
            "amount": 1400000,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "procurementMethod": "selective",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Competitive flexible procedure",
        "procedure": {
            "features": "It is anticipated that the tender process will proceed through the following stages: 1. Tender Notice published and pre-qualification documentation made available. 2. Pre-Qualification responses evaluated and shortlist of Bidders selected. 3. Invitation to Tender and associated documents issued to shortlisted Bidders. 4. Tender submissions evaluated. 5. Optional BAFO stage. 6. BAFO submissions (if requested) evaluated. 7. Issue assessment summaries and publish contract award notice. 8. Standstill period 9. Contract award finalised. BHC reserves the right at any time to: - reject any or all responses and to cancel or withdraw from this tender process at any time; - award a contract without prior notice; - change the basis of, the procedures and timescales set out or referred to within the tender documents; - require a Bidder to clarify any submissions in writing and/or to provide additional information. The costs of responding to this notice and participation in this process will be borne by each Bidder. All discussions and correspondence will be deemed strictly subject to contract until a formal contract is entered into. The formal contract shall not be binding until it has been signed and dated by the duly authorised representatives of both parties. If at any time during the tender process or post award it comes to the attention of BHC (by whatever means) that a supplier has become 'excluded' or 'excludable' (as defined by section 57 of the Procurement Act 2023) BHC, after complying with its obligations under the Procurement Act 2023, reserves the right to exclude that supplier from the procurement process or terminate any contract awarded to that supplier. Bidders are advised that BHC has appointed Carson McDowell to act on its behalf in relation to this procurement process, as per the terms of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. Given Carson McDowell's prior involvement in the preparation for and/or during the procurement process, Carson McDowell may not be a part of a Bidder's Team or act as a Bidder's advisor in relation to this procurement process. Bidders must not contact Carson McDowell, directly or indirectly, with a view to obtaining information in relation to this procurement process."
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "specialRegime": [
            "utilities"
        ],
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "coveredBy": [
            "GPA",
            "CPTPP"
        ],
        "submissionMethodDetails": "Requests to participate (i.e. completed Pre-Qualification Questionnaires) must be submitted by email to tendersfc@belfast-harbour.co.uk in accordance with the instructions specified in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. The pre-qualification documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at https://www.belfast-harbour.co.uk/corporate/tenders Bidders who wish to participate in this tender process will be required to provide their contact details before downloading the pre-qualification documents. Bidders who fail to provide their details to BHC or register in this manner will not receive any clarifications or updated information provided by BHC during the tender process. Bidders are advised not to include marketing information, brochures or links to other documents within their Pre-Qualification Questionnaire responses. Emails which contain suspicious contents or links to third party servers or websites may be quarantined or rejected by the BHC email filtering systems. It is the Bidder's responsibility to ensure that a delivery receipt is received for Pre-Qualification Questionnaire submissions. BHC does not accept any responsibility for the premature opening or mishandling of PQQ documents that are not submitted in accordance with these instructions.",
        "submissionTerms": {
            "electronicSubmissionPolicy": "notAllowed",
            "languages": [
                "en"
            ]
        },
        "expressionOfInterestDeadline": "2026-08-11T12:00:00+01:00",
        "enquiryPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2026-07-31T17:00:00+01:00"
        },
        "awardPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2026-10-31T23:59:59Z"
        },
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "status": "active",
                "value": {
                    "amountGross": 1680000,
                    "amount": 1400000,
                    "currency": "GBP"
                },
                "awardCriteria": {
                    "criteria": [
                        {
                            "type": "quality",
                            "name": "Quality",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 40,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "price",
                            "name": "Price",
                            "numbers": [
                                {
                                    "number": 60,
                                    "weight": "percentageExact"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "secondStage": {
                    "maximumCandidates": 5
                },
                "selectionCriteria": {
                    "criteria": [
                        {
                            "type": "economic",
                            "description": "Conditions of Participation are as stated in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire."
                        },
                        {
                            "type": "technical",
                            "description": "Conditions of Participation are as stated in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire."
                        },
                        {
                            "description": "Subject to a sufficient number of compliant responses being received, BHC intends (in accordance with the process described in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) to invite a maximum of the top five (5) ranked compliant Bidders to the Invitation to Tender stage of this process, provided that BHC, acting at its discretion, reserves the right to invite less than five (5) Bidders to tender. Where there is a tie for fifth (5th) place, all Bidders in fifth (5th) place will be invited to tender. For the purposes of this exercise, a tie for fifth (5th) place is deemed to occur where two or more Bidders have identical scores.",
                            "forReduction": true
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true
                },
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2026-12-01T00:00:00Z",
                    "endDate": "2029-11-30T23:59:59Z",
                    "maxExtentDate": "2033-11-30T23:59:59Z"
                },
                "hasRenewal": true,
                "renewal": {
                    "description": "BHC will have the option, at its discretion, to extend the contract for two (2) periods of twenty four (24) months each. The exercise of the option to extend will be dependent upon the terms of the contract having been complied with in full and further is subject to, without limitation, satisfactory performance of the successful Bidder."
                }
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "conflictOfInterest",
                "documentType": "conflictOfInterest",
                "description": "Not published"
            },
            {
                "id": "L-1",
                "documentType": "biddingDocuments",
                "description": "List of associated tender documents is provided in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, which is available at: https://www.belfast-harbour.co.uk/corporate/tenders/",
                "url": "https://www.belfast-harbour.co.uk/corporate/tenders/"
            },
            {
                "id": "063419-2026",
                "documentType": "tenderNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK4",
                "description": "Tender notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063419-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-07-07T09:06:49+01:00",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ],
        "contractTerms": {
            "financialTerms": "Payment terms will be set out in the contract. Bidders should note that: * BHC reserves the right to require bonds, deposits, guarantees or other forms of security to ensure proper contractual performance. The financial capacity Conditions of Participation for this tender process (as set out in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) also set out specific requirements in this regard. * Subject to the status and involvement of the parties, BHC may require the parties to commit to joint and several liability in respect of the contract. Alternatively, BHC may require the lead operator to take total responsibility or a consortium to form a legal entity before entering into any contract."
        }
    },
    "language": "en"
}