22 July 2026

Questions and Answers

Number Question Answer 1 We have noticed that the Contractor is responsible for acquiring and maintaining Flight Line Driving Permits as required to access sites at each installation. Please can you confirm which waste streams at each of the sites involved in the tender will be classified as "Flight Line" so we ensure this is reviewed and considered asap?

RAF Mildenhall has nothing requiring permits, everything on flightline is escorted. RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth, Blenheim Crescent, RAF Welford and Detachment 6 all have nothing as there is no flightline. RAF Lakenheath has FELs (general waste), food waste and liquid waste on flightline.

RAF Croughton and RAF Fairford have FELs (general waste), recyclables, and food waste.

2 We have reviewed the documents for phase 2 made available via the portal, however, we haven't been able to find a clear brief for what is required as part of the submission. We have found a document named 'Section L - Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors' which was submitted as part of Phase 1 and has the previous dates on. Can we please confirm whether there is an updated version of this document available or whether we are to use the draft version shared at Phase 1?

The requirements are in the current solicitation, Section L, starting on page

47. The version included in the solicitation is the final version for submission.

3 Please can you share the relevant contact for the TUPE information on behalf of the Incumbent supplier?

This document has been attached.

4 We are also unable to see that there has been any sort of deadline stipulated for the clarification period, can we please confirm whether there is a separate deadline for this or whether this runs up until bid submission on the 15th July?

This can be found in Section L of the solicitation. The deadline for all clarification questions was 29 June 2026.

5 Can you please share an update on site visit following our request on the 15th June?

This can be found in the solicitation in Section L- Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors. A site visit will be conducted if three or more prospective offerors submit a request to attend.

6 In reference to the 'Past performance questionnaire' (attachment 5) - there are some

This has been fixed. We separated the signed letter from the actual editable sections with boxes that allow us to respond, however, other parts of the documents are locked and un-editable, so we are unable to insert information for these questions e.g.

'Section 1: Contract Identification A. Contractor (Company/Division) - please can an editable version be provided?

questionnaire and made it an editable word document.

7 Can you please re-issue the attached document in word format so that the completed company can populate – being a PDF they cannot complete.

This has been resolved. Please see the response to Question 6. An editable version has been provided as part of the updated Attachment 5.

8 Can we please confirm which drivers (considering sites and waste streams) will need to undertake the vetting process? Please can you also then confirm the time period that will be provided between award and commencement (considering any applicable TUPE), noting that driver vetting requires a period of 180 days for approval. Can we also please confirm if vetting is not able to be completed prior to commencement, that an escort will be available to allow collections during the interim period prior to vetting completion?

All personnel requiring access to the bases will require vetting. We are estimating a 60 day turnover period following contract award. If vetting is not completed within this time, escorts will be provided.

9 Before submitting our bid, we must clarify the terms governing contract extensions. While we are prepared to confirm fixed monthly costs for the five year base period (Years 1–5) as required, we require your agreement that any contract extension for Years 6, 7, and 8 shall be by mutual consent and contingent upon successful completion of a rate review process. Specifically, pricing for the extension years would need to be negotiated and mutually agreed upon during a formal rate review conducted prior to the extension period, rather than being locked in at contract inception or exercised unilaterally at pre-determined rates. This structure protects both parties' interests and ensures sustainable service delivery. Can you please confirm this will be acceptable?

No, this is not acceptable. Under Revolutionary Far Overhall (RFO) rules, all option-year pricing must be evaluated at the time of proposal submission.

Offerors are required to submit fixed pricing for the entire eight-year period (the five-year base period and all three option years) in their initial proposal. The Government retains the unilateral right to exercise options at the pre-established rates evaluated at contract inception.

The Government cannot agree to bilateral rate renegotiations or "mutual consent" requirements as a condition for exercising option years.

10 We understand that the Contracting Officer may pursue price reductions or payment withholding when service deficiencies occur, using a "reasonable estimate" of damages. Could you

Any price adjustment or withholding will correspond directly to the reduced value of the service received or the actual cost incurred by the Government to correct provide more detailed guidance on what magnitude of price adjustment would typically apply in such situations?

the deficiency. Whenever feasible and safe for base operations, the Contractor will be given an opportunity to cure the deficiency before any price reduction is initiated.

11 Do any of the sites have a weigh bridge that we could use?

Please see section 1.1.10 in the PWS.

12 Could you confirm the EWC code for the below waste type: 1.6.5 Hazardous wood

20 01 37* (Closest EWC to what we are likely to dispose of)

13 Piddle packs - Could you confirm if these are drained or placed into any other container, prior disposal into 770ltr euro bin.

They are placed in to 30ltr containers, which are sealed on collection and removed from site. The 770ltr bin, is just for consolidated storage.

14 Could you provide a breakdown of what an average load may contain. This will allow us to more accurately price this element of service: 1.6.6 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE).

This is rather subjective, as the items vary but in short it is household electrical items (TV’s/Microwaves/Hoovers/Kettles/Fridge Freezers).

15 Could you confirm if the new contract would be with the Defence Infrastructure Org (DIO)

This is a contract with the United States Air Force.

16 For the avoidance of all doubt, please can you confirm whether ad hoc and emergency collections for bulk tanker streams that fall under CLIN 0019 must be accounted for and included within the flat monthly service fee, or if these collections may be charged separately outside of the standard service schedule?

This is a firm fixed price contract.

Pursuant to Section 4.1 (Hours of Operation) of the Performance Work Statement (PWS), any costs for work outside of normal duty hours—including emergency response services—must be factored into the monthly Firm-Fixed- Price line item and cannot be billed as a separate or additional cost to the Government.

17 Emergency Tanker Collections- Would it be possible to confirm the waste streams collected for each of the emergency collections stated?

Different waste streams have different disposal costs. Would it also be possible to confirm tonnages collected for each scenario?

Historically, emergency calls are primarily for septic waste from pump/lift stations, typically utilizing a 26-ton tanker. Historically, the Government has permitted onsite tipping at the final lift station or Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW), resulting in no external disposal costs. While the Government intends to maintain this practice, the Contractor remains responsible for fulfilling the emergency requirement under the FFP terms of this contract.

18 Ad-hoc Tanker Collections- Please can you confirm if the ad-hoc tanker collections are built into the volumes provided in Appendix B, or

The volumes have been included in the Appendix B.

whether these are in addition? If they are in addition, can you provide a list of all ad-hoc collections confirming which site and waste stream they were for, and if possible, the tonnage of the load collected?

19 Liquid Waste Tankers- Please can you advise, for the avoidance of all doubt, how the equitable adjustment scheme works for liquid tankered wastes? Specifically: Can it be used to charge for additional ad-hoc and emergency loads? Can it only be applied for changes to the standard collection schedule and in the event of legislative changes?

Equitable adjustment is not intended for billing additional ad-hoc or emergency collection loads. Per sections 1.5.1.4, 1.6.2.1, and 4.1 of the Performance Work Statement (PWS), all emergency and outside-of-normal-hours services are considered part of the standard service requirement and must be included in the firm-fixed monthly price for the relevant CLIN. An equitable adjustment would typically be considered only in the event of a formal, Government-directed change to the contract terms, such as a result of significant legislative changes that materially impact the scope of work.

20 From your clarifications, we understand that 28 emergency collections occurred in 2025, with most requiring on-site septic waste transfer.

Could you please advise on the following as this will have a significant impact on our cost model:

• How many of the 28 emergency requests were responded to during standard working hours, Mon-Fri (07:00-17:00)?

o How many of the 28 emergency requests responded to Mon-Fri were outside of standard business hours?

• How many of 28 emergency requests were responded to on weekends during standard hours (07:00-17:00) o How many of the 28 emergency requests responded to on weekends were outside of standard business hours?

RAF Mildenhall- The majority of the issues are found on a Monday morning 5/6am. Other times it was during an exercise where support was required but could not be told to the contractor in advance.

While issues are normally found Monday morning, they often require additional support multiple days in a row. This is why Mildenhall’s original number of call-outs was so high. In the past, support has been provided Monday – Friday mainly in hours but can extend into after hours.

The latest a driver has been here is 8pm each night. Lift/Pump station support has been a tanker here all day from 5am, visiting various lift stations and disposing at the final lift station before the sewage treatment works. The support has been a week, due to pumps breaking down and the time it takes to get authorization and the repair completed. The tanker has been present during the repair to allow personnel access into the chambers by sucking the incoming flow. Whatever is collected is tipped at the lift station after the repair, which is what we hope to be able to continue but cannot always be guaranteed.

AFFF Activations – This was during normal working hours. Last known activation was September 2020. In total, 8 qty 26-ton tankers to remove the waste over a 3-month period. The initial call was an emergency, after the first collection, the remainder were scheduled.

The last known call on a weekend was a Sunday, summer of 2018/2019. It was an issue with a valve at the sewage treatment works. The initial call out was on a Sunday lunch time and 1 tanker attended, collected a load. The following day, the tanker was present 5am to reduce the flow into the works and for the repair. Tipped on site after repair completed.

RAF Lakenheath-So far 50% of the calls, have been in normal business hours.

However, one lift station has resulted in 2-3 out of hours calls during the work week.

RAF Molesworth, Alconbury, Welford- All emergency call outs have so far been within business hours. The call outs are an average of two per year total for these bases, not per base.

21 For liquid wastes, we have been asked to provide a fixed monthly fee for 8.5 years covering both scheduled and ad hoc/emergency work, with only 1 year of historical spend data provided. To enable all bidders to competitively and responsibly price this requirement, we respectfully request extended historical data beyond 2025 data (3-5 years of emergency collection data and if possible, adhoc collection requests). This would enable all competitors to evaluate risk on an equivalent basis and submit competitive proposals.

RAF Mildenhall- Many of the ad hoc works are planned and performed on a weekend due to personnel volumes on the installation, the flows are considerably less than a weekday.

There are occasions in the summer months, Interceptor waste collection requires 2 tankers, due to the size of the OWS/Interceptors on the Airfield. This again is planned in advance.

2020– 2021-

• 2 planned ad hoc - Lift station grease clean out – performed on a Saturday during the summer, approx. 2000kg removed for offsite disposal.

• 10 ad hoc lift station repair support, onsite disposal. Work performed on a weekend, 2021 – 2022 –

• 2 planned ad hoc - Lift station grease clean out – performed on a Saturday during the summer, approx. 2000kg removed for offsite disposal.

• 1 emergency processed sewage removal, approx. 10000kgs tipped offsite.

2022 – 2023 –

• 2 planned ad hoc - Lift station grease clean out – performed on a Saturday during the summer, approx. 2000kg removed for offsite disposal.

• 1 emergency – period of 5 days lift station failure support tipped onsite.

• 2 emergency DISAB clean, approx.

40000kgs processed sewage removed to offsite disposal.

2023 – 2024 –

• 2 planned ad hoc - Lift station grease clean out – performed on a Saturday during the summer, approx. 2000kg removed for offsite disposal.

• 1 emergency – period of 5 days lift station failure support tipped onsite.

• 1 emergency fuel spill 13000kgs removed to offsite disposal.

• 1 AFFF activation collection, approx.

10000kgs offsite disposal.

2024 – 2025 –

• 2 planned ad hoc - Lift station grease clean out – performed on a Saturday during the summer, approx. 2000kg removed for offsite disposal.

• 1 emergency- period of 5 days lift station failure support tipped onsite.

• 2 planned ad hoc AFFF collections approx..

55000kgs removed to offsite disposal .

• 1 emergency gully/ drain clean out of mud;

tanker used the pressure washer on the back of tanker. No waste removed.

2025 – 2026 –

• 2 planned ad hoc - Lift station grease clean out – performed on a Saturday during the summer, approx. 2000kg removed for offsite disposal.

• 1 emergency – period of 5 days lift station failure support tipped onsite.

2026 – 2027 –

• 2 planned ad hoc - Lift station grease clean out – performed on a Saturday during the summer, approx. 2000kg removed for offsite disposal.

• 1 emergency Septic collection, approx.

10000kgs removed, offsite disposal.

No other base has the data of each individual call-out but RAFM did have the majority of them.

22 For section 2 'L-3.4 Environmental Permits and Compliance' we have inserted a table with permit numbers into our main response document as each permit can be around 40 pages long, which would take us well in excess of the 15 page limit for this section. Would you like us to attach copies of these alongside our submission or are you happy to confirm that the table with permit numbers will suffice for the purpose of the bid and we can provide actual copies of permits post award?

The solicitation has been updated to accommodate for the longer permits. Please see section L-3.4(b) in the solicitation.

23 Can we please clarify whether we are able to attach essential supporting documents, such as a gantt chart for mobilisation? If so, will these detract from the page limit for each section?

Please see L-1.4 in the solicitation. This counts toward the page limit.

24 With regards to 'L3.1.1 - Cover Page and Table of Contents (Required for each volume)' can we please confirm whether the cover page and 3x tables of content can be excluded from the page count?

Please see L-3.1.2 in the solicitation.

These are excluded from the limits.