The furniture collection firm dumped by Liverpool Council after two decades has broken its silence on the end of the partnership.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the local authority was ending its agreement with Bulky Bob’s after more than 20 years working together. Since 2000, the council has used the company, part of the FRC Group, to collect and dispose of large furniture items for residents across the city.
Distinctive purple trucks have been a regular sight in wards throughout Liverpool picking up pieces from outside homes. The latest seven-year contract between the two partners ends on November 7 after they were unable to reach an agreement.
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In a statement on its website, FRC Group said it could no longer subsidise the service itself and needed the contract to cover its costs. The statement said: “Bulky Bob’s has a fantastic partnership with Liverpool City Council starting over 20 years ago, redistributing millions of items of furniture and helping thousands of families.
“Along with many other providers of council services, we agreed to a large reduction in the contract value during austerity. Coupled with rising costs, we had to take the decision to financially subsidise the service ourselves, because we knew how many people we were able to help.
“Sadly as a responsible charity, we got to a point where we could no longer do this and we needed the bulky household waste contract to cover its costs. When Liverpool Council asked if we could continue for a further period, we had to submit a break-even price.”
The statement said the charity “fully appreciates” the difficult position the local authority was in as a result of its “huge financial pressures”. The charity said it planned to continue to work with the council to end furniture poverty.
Cllr Dan Barrington, cabinet member for environment and climate change, in a written answer to a question from Cllrs Richard Kemp and Liz Makinson, said the failure to agree terms was as a result of Bulky Bob’s offer being “unaffordable to council and exceeded the budget available to fund the service.”
As a result, an interim arrangement for removals is being put in place with Liverpool Streetscene Services Limited (LSSL) for a six month period while the council goes out to full tender for a new provider. The service will continue as normal apart from the vehicles and staff providing it.
Cllr Barrington said the interim service would provide continuity and to comply with its statutory duty to provide a household collection service for bulky waste. During its tenure, Bulky Bob’s diverted an average of 1,300 tonnes of material away from incineration and Cllr Barrington said in his written response that during the next five months, the replacement service would seek to replicate similar levels.
An average of 47% is sent to incineration annually, the answer said. The cabinet member added that despite the change in service, no increase in fly tipping is expected.
Despite the financial differences between the two parties, Cllr Liam Robinson, interim cabinet member for neighbourhoods, told a meeting on Tuesday that the impasse “isn’t the end of the road for Bulky Bob’s” but any new terms must represent “best use of taxpayer’s resources”.
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