Competition Authority Rebukes Pirkanmaan Jätehuolto over €320,000 No‑tender Activated Carbon Orders

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) has issued a reprimand over purchases made for Pirkanmaan Jätehuolto's bio-waste treatment plant in 2024–2025, YLE reported.

KKV found the company placed repeated orders totalling about €320,000 without written procurement decisions, contracts or public notices. No public tender was held. The orders, typically €30,000–€40,000, arrived every two to three months. While each purchase was treated as a separate contract, the authority said the series formed a single procurement package that should have been assessed against the national €60,000 threshold.

Pirkanmaan Jätehuolto told the authority it initially relied on a single supplier for the specific activated carbon it wanted. The authority rejected that justification, saying it was unclear whether other technical solutions were available and noting that a second supplier later entered the market, so the exception for direct procurement did not apply.

The reprimand follows earlier warnings and probes into local firms and services, including KKV's earlier warning to Tampere window‑cleaning firms and a recent probe of possible price‑fixing by Tampere veterinary clinics.