Sorting in Lokeren counts as 'processing', pre-treatment in Hamme doesn't — Verko's own contradiction suspends the award
Verko unilaterally moved Van Werven's 'processing site' from Hamme (8.6 km) to Lanaken (149 km), wiping out 20 environmental points — but accepted Renewi's sorting as 'processing'; that asymmetric reading sinks the award.
What happened?
Verko, the intermunicipal operator of ten recycling parks around Dendermonde, tendered a two-year contract in September 2019 for collecting and processing hard plastics — estimated at €148,894.34 per year (€595,577 over the full term, two years plus two one-year extensions). The specifications used two award criteria: price (80 points) and 'environmental measures' (20 points). The latter boiled down to a single Google Maps measurement: the distance between the processing site and the Appels recycling park. Under 20 km earned 20 points; over 50 km earned zero. Two bidders submitted offers: Renewi and Van Werven België. Renewi listed Lokeren (19.6 km, 20 points). Van Werven explicitly designated its Hamme site as the processing location. Verko ruled this a 'clear error', unilaterally — without asking for clarification — declared Hamme to be merely a transhipment point, and substituted the Lanaken site (149 km, 0 points). Final scores: Renewi 96.25, Van Werven 80, despite Van Werven scoring the maximum on price. The contract was awarded to Renewi on 21 November 2019. The Council of State spotted something striking. In the contested decision, Verko justified its choice solely by arguing that sorting, transhipment and storage in Hamme were not 'preparatory operations preceding processing' — that Hamme simply hosted no processing. Only at the hearing did Verko propose a different test: only the site where the plastics are physically reduced to raw material counts as the processing location. The Council called that position 'not entirely illogical' — but it wasn't in the contested decision. Worse: in its own pleading on Renewi, Verko wrote literally that 'sorting is a processing activity' performed in Lokeren. What counted as 'processing' for Renewi was suddenly mere 'transhipment' for Van Werven. The Council ruled that Verko had not interpreted the central concept of its own award criterion uniformly, suspended the award under extreme urgency, and reserved the cost ruling.
Why does this matter?
A single word in an award criterion can make or break the entire contract. Whenever a specification rests on a distance, capacity threshold or sustainability indicator, everything depends on what you measure and where. If the contracting authority fails to define that concept clearly in the tender documents — and then applies it differently to different bidders — the award collapses on equality and transparency grounds. For bidders this means you don't have to swallow a unilateral 'correction' of the coordinates of your offer: that goes to the heart of the criterion.
The lesson
If a contracting authority unilaterally reinterprets a key element of your offer (a location, date, capacity, distance) without asking for clarification, check whether the same yardstick was applied to the winner. Compare the reasoning in the award decision with how the authority describes the other bidders — that's where contradictions often surface. And if you're the contracting authority: define critical concepts in the specifications themselves, not in the motivation, and certainly not at the hearing.
Ask yourself
Did the contracting authority apply exactly the same concept to the winner as to you? If 'processing' includes sorting for one bidder but not for the other — or if 'delivery' counts at one address but not at another — you have a serious ground.
About this database
The Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État) is Belgium's supreme administrative court. In disputes over public procurement — from contract awards to tenderer exclusions — the Council of State is the final arbiter. The rulings in this database are summarised by TenderWolf in plain language, with practical lessons for tenderers and contracting authorities. View all rulings →