The eight original contenders for the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership`s waste treatment contract have been further reduced to three.

MVV Umwelt GmbH, SITA UK Ltd, and United Utilities PLC have made the Partnership`s shortlist. The companies will now be asked to work up detailed proposals for further consideration.

All initial bids, which proposed how and where the rubbish could be treated and what resources could be recovered from it, were carefully evaluated. The three shortlisted companies submitted bids that scored best against strict criteria including sustainability, performance, deliverability and environmental considerations.

Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland City councils are working together as the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership to double recycling rates to 50 percent by 2020 and find a treatment solution to deal with the rubbish that`s left.

The preferred bidder will be announced in the summer of 2010 and the treatment facility is set to be up and running in 2014.

John Robinson from the Partnership, said: “Landfills are not good for the environment and the cost of landfill is rising, which ultimately comes out of our residents` Council Tax so we have to find alternative ways of managing waste.

“Reducing, reusing and recycling as much of our rubbish as we can is our priority but there will still be rubbish that remains and we have to find more sustainable ways of handling it.”

In July last year the Partnership was awarded £73.5m of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) money from Defra to go towards the development of a waste treatment facility.

In an effort to boost recycling a new kerbside system will be introduced from April next year. The current black boxes will be phased out and replaced by one blue wheeled bin that will allow residents to recycle plastic and cardboard, as well as the current paper, glass and cans.

A vacant industrial site that may be suitable for a waste treatment facility has been identified in Felling, Gateshead, and is available as an option to all companies bidding for the contract. However, this site may not be used; bidders could propose to use another site or use an existing treatment facility. Any development on this site will be subject to a full public consultation as part of the planning process.

A raft of other new waste contracts designed to divert waste away from landfills and create a more sustainable future for waste services are also being developed.