Reykjavík to tender Breiðholt waste collection from 2027
Thursday 1st October 2026 on 15:01 in
Iceland
Reykjavík plans to put household waste collection in Breiðholt out to tender, with a private operator expected to take over from May 1, 2027, mbl.is reported.
The city council approved the proposal on Tuesday. The three parties in the governing majority — the Independence Party, the Progressive Party and Viðreisn — put it forward, and the Centre Party also voted in favour. Representatives of the Socialists and the Left opposed it, while the Social Democratic Alliance abstained.
The contract is planned to run for six years, with an option to extend it by up to two years. The tender is expected to be advertised in mid-October and, because of its size and scope, will be issued across the European Economic Area. The process could take up to two months.
Friðjón R. Friðjónsson, a deputy city councillor for the Independence Party and deputy chair of the city’s Environment and Planning Committee, said Breiðholt was chosen as a suitable pilot because its housing is varied. He said contracting out the service could also allow the city to retire two ageing waste trucks rather than replace them.
The trial is intended to provide comparable data on costs, service quality, efficiency and operating arrangements. Reykjavík will assess the contracted service against collection carried out by the city in other districts, including total costs, service levels, missed or delayed collections, complaints and flexibility.
Friðjón said resident surveys showed greater satisfaction with waste collection in neighbouring municipalities where the service is contracted out. In Reykjavík, just over a third of residents are satisfied, he said. The city spent 1.5 billion Icelandic krónur on waste collection last year, with labour accounting for 74% of the cost, according to information cited by mbl.is. Breiðholt has about 15.5% of the city’s rubbish bins; using the citywide cost as a guide, collection there would have cost more than 230 million krónur last year.
The city’s governing majority has listed the tender as one of its projects and hopes the pilot could lead to tenders in other districts during its term.