Technical spec for collection

A good technical specification should not limit itself to describing a bin, refuse compactor or piece of equipment to buy.

It must translate into verifiable requirements what the service must be able to do.

For a contracting authority this means starting from operational needs, defining required performance, setting minimum technical requirements, stating how they will be demonstrated and allowing equivalent solutions where regulation requires it.

In urban hygiene a supply can simultaneously involve containers, vehicles, emptying systems, equipment, electronic components and support services. A poorly drafted specification can unnecessarily restrict competition or, conversely, be too generic for serious technical comparison.

The current reference framework includes Legislative Decree 36/2023, provisions on technical specifications and the equivalence principle, and for affected contracts the waste-management CAM adopted with Decree 7 April 2025. The new CAM decree entered into force 60 days after publication on 19 April 2025 and repealed the previous Decree of 23 June 2022.

What should a technical specification actually do?

The specification must make clear what must be supplied and with which minimum characteristics it must function.

It should not be a catalogue sheet copied from a brochure.

For example, writing:

“supply of refuse compactor for waste collection”

says very little.

A useful specification should clarify at least:

• which collection type the vehicle must perform;
• which containers it must handle;
• which loading configuration is planned;
• which capacity is required;
• which minimum performance is needed;
• which safety and control devices are required;
• which operating conditions it must withstand;
• which technical documentation must be supplied;
• which checks will be performed at delivery.

The specification must therefore turn the authority’s need into objectively verifiable characteristics.

This principle is particularly important under the new Public Contracts Code: Article 79 refers to Annex II.5 for definition of technical specifications. ANAC has repeatedly recalled the equivalence principle and the need for technical prescriptions not to introduce unjustified restrictions on competition.

Before the specification comes service analysis

One of the most frequent mistakes is drafting starting from the product.

First define the problem the authority wants to solve.

For a container supply, for example, it helps to know:

• population and users served;
• collection model;
• fractions involved;
• planned quantities;
• emptying frequency;
• collection point locations;
• available vehicles;
• road layout constraints;
• accessibility needs;
• possible access control systems;
• possible fill monitoring.

For refuse compactor supply add, among other elements:

• collection type;
• routes;
• distance from plants;
• road conditions;
• container types;
• operator numbers;
• required capacity;
• loading mode;
• maintenance needs;
• existing fleet availability.

The specification should follow this analysis, not replace it.

Structuring the specification for readability

A well-built specification can be organised in distinct sections.

A typical structure can include:

Subject of supply

Describe precisely what is being purchased.

Example:

“Supply of bins for street separate collection fractions on the municipal territory.”

Better still when the subject identifies quantities, lots, types and intended use.

Intended use and operating context

Explain where and how equipment will be used.

This gives meaning to subsequent technical characteristics.

Minimum requirements

State what the product must necessarily have.

Required performance

Separate construction characteristics from performance the system must guarantee.

Configurations and accessories

Define elements required for complete configuration.

Documentation and proof

State which documents must be submitted to demonstrate compliance.

Delivery and verification

Define how supply will be checked.

Maintenance and support

When foreseen by contract, regulate spares, support, times and intervention modes.

Exact structure must still be adapted to procedure and contract type.

Technical specifications: write what is needed, not what identifies one product

The most delicate point is probably requirement wording.

A specification should describe the function the authority must obtain.

Rather than building the specification around a particular market solution, identify:

• capacity;
• admissible dimensions;
• emptying mode;
• vehicle compatibility;
• resistance;
• safety;
• operating conditions;
• environmental characteristics;
• service life or durability requirements where pertinent.

ANAC has reaffirmed on several occasions the relevance of the equivalence principle for supplies and correct formulation of technical specifications. In a 2024 opinion it observed that use of technical specifications is not in itself an obstacle to participation when correctly formulated and equivalence of solutions is guaranteed.

This is particularly important in waste equipment, where different manufacturers can achieve the same result through different build configurations.

How to avoid a “tailor-made” specification

An overly detailed specification is not necessarily a better one.

Risk appears when stated characteristics are not really necessary for service and happen to match one specific product.

Ask whether it is really necessary to prescribe:

• a particular geometry when functional result can be achieved in different ways;
• a specific material when equivalent materials are admissible;
• a particular build solution without technical justification;
• extremely precise dimensions without real need;
• an accessory that does not contribute to required function.

ANAC has addressed cases where compliance of offers with minimum technical characteristics and the equivalence principle become decisive in offer verification.

The goal is not to make the specification generic.

It is to make specific and justified the characteristics that are really needed.

When to use a dimensional characteristic

Dimensions are often necessary.

A bin must fit a platform.

A compactor must respect certain size limits.

Equipment must be compatible with an existing technical space.

A platform must fit a precise configuration.

Here dimension has functional justification.

Problem arises when dimension is given with unnecessary precision.

If the project requires equipment to occupy at most a defined area, the specification should start from that constraint, not from the drawing of an already chosen model.

Correct wording can be:

“Maximum footprint compatible with installation area defined in project documents.”

and only then set necessary numerical limits.

Capacity: define value and reason

“Supply of 2,400 litre bins” can be appropriate if capacity comes from service design.

But the specification should know why it was chosen.

Capacity can depend on:

• waste quantities;
• emptying frequency;
• collection model;
• material density;
• available space;
• handling system;
• fleet characteristics.

The Bunder range, for example, includes different container and underground configurations, with different capacities and emptying modes linked to collection vehicles.

This illustrates why the specification should not be written as a simple catalogue line.

Materials, resistance and durability

When specifying material, link it to function.

For a street container relevant aspects can include:

• impact resistance;
• weather behaviour;
• corrosion protection;
• durability;
• ease of maintenance;
• resistance of moving parts;
• compatibility with emptying system.

For a compactor relevant aspects can include:

• structure resistance;
• chamber materials;
• compaction group characteristics;
• wear resistance;
• tightness;
• component access;
• protections and safety devices.

The specification should indicate characteristics needed for product life and operation, avoiding purely descriptive prescriptions without relation to service.

Safety: do not stop at “compliant with regulations”

Regulatory compliance is necessary, but a generic statement does not replace identifying requirements to be verified.

For equipment with moving parts, the specification may need to address:

• guards;
• stop devices;
• access to danger zones;
• visibility;
• signage;
• interlock systems;
• safety procedures;
• manufacturer documentation.

Which prescriptions to include depends on machine and contract.

The goal is for tender documentation to allow verification of the product actually supplied.

The specification must define how to verify compliance

This step is often underestimated.

It is not enough to write:

“The container must be resistant.”

You must be able to verify what “resistant” means in the supply context.

The same applies to:

“The machine must be high performance.”

Such wording is too generic.

Better indicate the verifiable parameter where pertinent:

nominal capacity;

payload;

size;

operating cycle;

noise level;

range;

compatibility;

resistance;

certification or planned test report.

The specification should therefore associate where necessary:

requirement → parameter → document or test → verification method.

This structure also simplifies acceptance.

How to describe a technical requirement

Effective wording can be built in four parts.

What the product must have.

How much it must have.

Why.

How it must be demonstrated.

Conceptual example:

“The container shall have nominal capacity of at least X litres, compatible with the planned emptying system, and shall be accompanied by technical documentation necessary to verify compliance.”

Concrete wording must be adapted to procedure and verified by the competent officer.

Do not confuse minimum requirements and award criteria

This distinction is essential.

A minimum requirement states what all admissible products must have.

An award criterion distinguishes offers beyond minimum where the award method provides for it.

Article 108 of the Public Contracts Code governs award criteria and requires tender documents to identify criteria pertinent to subject and contract characteristics; for best price-quality ratio, criteria must allow effective competitive comparison on technical profiles.

For example:

Minimum requirement

Capacity not less than 3,000 litres.

Merit criterion

Greater useful capacity, within dimensional and functional limits set by the project.

The distinction avoids a tender where characteristics presented as “merit” are actually indispensable, or minimum requirements improperly turned into scoring elements.

How to set up a technical matrix

For a complex supply a matrix can help.

Area	Requirement	Type	Verification
Capacity	Minimum nominal capacity	Requirement	Data sheet
Dimensions	Maximum footprint	Requirement	Dimensioned drawing
Compatibility	Compatibility with emptying system	Requirement	Technical documentation
Safety	Required devices	Requirement	Declarations/documentation
Durability	Required characteristics	Requirement	Technical documentation or test
Support	Intervention times	Contractual requirement	Offer/documentation
Additional performance	Reduction of certain times or consumption if measurable	Possible criterion	Defined assessment method

Such a matrix reduces ambiguity between technical office, contracting authority and verification bodies.

Equivalence principle: why it matters

The equivalence principle avoids artificially closing a tender to one solution using a particular technology or configuration when another can satisfy the same functional requirement.

ANAC has reaffirmed the principle in several opinions on supplies and technical specifications. In 2024 it expressly recalled Annex II.5 of Legislative Decree 36/2023; in 2025 it again addressed the relationship between technical specifications, requirements and equivalence.

This does not mean any product must be accepted as equivalent.

Equivalence must concern the required requirement and be demonstrable under tender rules.

ANAC has also examined cases on verification of non-compliance of offers with minimum characteristics in tender documents, underlining relevance of technical specifications and related assessment.

A technical specification should therefore be precise enough to define required outcome without becoming an indirect description of one specific product.

Brands and trade names

In public tender it is preferable to describe function and required technical characteristics.

Indicating a specific product or brand can have competition implications and must be handled under rules on technical specifications and equivalence.

ANAC has analysed cases where brand indication was considered admissible with correct reference to equivalence and conditions provided by law.

For specification authors the operational principle is simple:

do not start from the product you want to buy; start from the performance you want to obtain.

CAM must enter supply design

This point is particularly important in 2026.

Applicable waste-management CAM are those of Decree 7 April 2025, on procurement of municipal waste collection and transport service, street cleaning and sweeping and supply of related vehicles, containers and bags. The decree entered into force on 18 June 2025 and repealed Decree 23 June 2022.

A tender specification for containers or equipment should not be built referencing material updated only to 2022.

Citing CAM is not enough: translate them into tender documentation

CAM reference should not be a generic sentence in the specification.

The contracting authority must verify which decree criteria apply to the specific supply and how they must be incorporated in tender documentation.

Practical work therefore links:

CAM criterion → requirement or clause → required document → verification method.

This is one of the steps deserving most attention because an environmental requirement poorly translated into documentation can be hard to verify at tender or supply stage.

CAM 2025 also replace the previous 2022 CAM framework for the scope covered by the new decree, so specification models built on earlier documentation must be updated.

Waste containers: what to specify

For bin or container supply the data sheet should be built around real use.

Potentially relevant elements:

Capacity

Define required nominal capacity in relation to collection model.

Dimensions

Maximum or minimum footprints only when really necessary for installation, handling or compatibility.

Materials

Specify pertinent performance and environmental requirements.

Handling

Define wheels, grabs, attachments, lifting systems or other necessary elements.

Deposit

Openings, lids, mouths or devices for the specific fraction.

Safety

Stability, handling and pertinent protections.

Identification

Colours, markings, recognition elements and customisation if needed for service.

Monitoring

Access control or fill-level systems only when part of the operating model.

Bunder offers a range including domestic, door-to-door, street, bell, underground, underground bin and semi-underground systems, many of which can include access and fill-level control.

Refuse compactors and vehicles: the specification must describe service

For a compactor the specification should avoid a generic description like “vehicle for waste collection”.

At least establish:

• loading configuration;
• collection type;
• body capacity;
• compaction group characteristics;
• handling systems;
• container compatibility;
• safety devices;
• visibility and cameras when required;
• chassis characteristics;
• mass and payload;
• consumption or range where pertinent;
• maintenance;
• support;
• applicable environmental requirements.

Bunder offers refuse compactors, press containers and skips, loaders and cranes and other urban hygiene equipment, so the specification may need to account for integration between several components of the same service.

Compatibility: the requirement that is often missing

A supply can be technically compliant individually and still not work in the existing system.

Example:

a new bin may meet all required dimensions but not be compatible with compactors already in the fleet.

Or a new platform system may require a grab type the current fleet does not have.

The specification should therefore verify compatibility between:

container → equipment → vehicle → collection mode.

This is particularly important in underground supplies, where platforms, bins and vehicles must be designed as a set.

Maintenance and support: do not leave them as commercial detail

When equipment is used daily, downtime cost can exceed initial difference between two offers.

The specification may therefore need to regulate, according to contract:

• spare parts availability;
• support times;
• maximum intervention times;
• training;
• scheduled maintenance;
• extraordinary maintenance;
• documentation;
• warranty;
• management of wear components.

Distinguish what must be a minimum requirement from what can be subject to assessment in the technical offer.

Example:

Maximum intervention time: minimum requirement.

Further improved times: possible merit criterion if foreseen and correctly defined.

This distinction makes comparison between offers clearer.

Purchase cost and life cycle cost

The cheapest product at purchase is not necessarily the lowest total cost.

For vehicles and equipment relevant factors include:

• consumption;
• energy;
• maintenance;
• spares;
• tyres;
• downtime;
• life;
• intervention frequency;
• residual value;
• disposal or end of life.

Article 108 of Legislative Decree 36/2023 also contemplates cost or cost-effectiveness comparison as possible award basis, with reference to life cycle cost under applicable rules.

When contract justifies it, specification and award criteria can usefully be built considering life cycle rather than purchase price alone.

How to write a verifiable specification

A practical rule: every important requirement should allow answering four questions:

What am I asking for?

Why am I asking for it?

How do I prove it is met?

What happens if it is not?

That does not mean the specification must become excessively bureaucratic.

Important characteristics must not remain open to interpretation.

For example:

“The vehicle must be easily maintainable.”

is weak wording.

Much more useful is to specify components that must be accessible, planned operations, maximum times or objectively verifiable characteristics.

A practical specification sheet model

For a professional supply a table like this can help:

Item	Required specification	Type	Documentation
Subject	Equipment type	Descriptive	Data sheet
Capacity	Minimum/maximum value	Requirement	Data sheet
Dimensions	Limits compatible with site	Requirement	Dimensioned drawing
Materials	Performance requirements	Requirement	Sheet/materials
Compatibility	With existing vehicles and systems	Requirement	Technical declaration
Safety	Required devices	Requirement	Technical documentation
CAM	Applicable criteria	Requirement	Required evidence
Support	Times and modes	Contractual	Declaration/service
Improved performance	Measurable parameter	Merit if foreseen	Technical offer
Acceptance	Planned tests	Verification	Report

This structure is particularly useful when comparing technical offers from different manufacturers.

A technical specification should not design the product for the manufacturer

This is one of the most delicate points.

The contracting authority must design the outcome it wants to buy.

It need not design every construction detail.

If a construction characteristic does not serve to guarantee performance, including it can unnecessarily restrict the market.

Conversely, when a characteristic is indispensable for safety, compatibility, installation or operation, it must be stated precisely.

The useful question is always:

“If I change this characteristic, does the service I must run stop working?”

If the answer is no, assess whether that characteristic must really be a mandatory requirement.

Frequent mistakes in urban hygiene specifications

Copying a commercial data sheet

A data sheet describes a product.

A specification describes what the authority must obtain.

Requirements that are too generic

“High quality”, “excellent performance” and “high resistance” do not allow objective verification.

Over-specific requirements without justification

An extremely precise specification can become unnecessarily restrictive.

Forgetting compatibility

Container, vehicle and emptying system must be considered together.

Treating CAM as a standard paragraph

CAM must be translated into tender documentation under the decree in force and the concrete supply. In waste sector current reference is Decree 7 April 2025.

Confusing minimum requirement and merit criterion

The first delimits what is admissible.

The second, when foreseen, distinguishes offers qualitatively.

Not defining acceptance

A requirement not verifiable at delivery loses much of its usefulness.

Forgetting maintenance and spares

For equipment used daily, after-sales service is part of real supply value.

From specification to tender: documents that must align

The specification does not stand alone.

It must be coherent with entire tender documentation.

In particular verify alignment between:

technical specification

minimum characteristics, performance and supply modes.

tender rules

participation rules, offer content and evaluation criteria.

tender documents

criteria, weights, sub-criteria, submission and verification modes.

economic framework and quantities

numbers, lots and configurations must match required technical characteristics.

possible project documents

plans, dimensioning, constraints and site conditions must match supply.

Inconsistency between these documents can create problems even when a single technical requirement is correctly worded.

Article 108 requires tender documents to set award criteria pertinent to nature, subject and characteristics of contract and effective qualitative comparison.

A useful approach for contracting authority or technical office

For a new supply the sequence can be:

1. Define service objective

What problem must the purchase solve?

2. Collect data

Quantities, volumes, users, fleet, routes, space and constraints.

3. Define functional solution

Which system is needed to run service?

4. Separate minimum requirements and improved characteristics

What must necessarily be there and what can differentiate offers?

5. Verify regulatory framework

Public Contracts Code, CAM in force and other pertinent rules.

6. Build technical specifications

Only after defining operation.

7. Define verification modes

Documents, tests, acceptance and checks.

8. Verify equivalence

Ensure specification does not unnecessarily identify a single solution.

9. Verify coherence of entire tender

Specification, rules, criteria, quantities and documents.

10. Validate specification with whoever will actually run the equipment

Operational manager can spot problems not visible from documentation alone.

Bunder and supply design

Bunder states it operates in supply of integrated systems for waste collection, transport and treatment and also offers support for tender participation, product design and development and rental of equipment and vehicles.

This competence can help when the specification concerns complex systems, because choice is not necessarily a single product.

A project can simultaneously involve:

• containers;
• underground systems;
• platforms;
• collection vehicles;
• refuse compactors;
• lifting systems;
• monitoring;
• software;
• maintenance.

In these cases the greatest risk is designing each component separately.

A supply that really works must consider interactions between elements.

An effective specification starts from the question: “what outcome must I obtain?”

Specification quality does not depend on page count.

It depends on ability to turn a real need into requirements that are:

clear, pertinent, measurable, verifiable and coherent with applicable regulatory framework.

In waste collection this means designing service, containers, vehicles, emptying systems, safety, maintenance and operating conditions together.

Legislative Decree 36/2023 governs technical specifications through Article 79 and Annex II.5, while Decree 7 April 2025 is today the CAM reference for waste management and for supplies of containers, vehicles and equipment within the decree.

A specification built on these principles allows the contracting authority to describe more precisely what is needed without turning the tender into a search for an already chosen product.