The battle for south-west London’s £1bn waste management contract has come down to the final three companies.

Bids from Veolia, Viridor and WRG are being chewed over by Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton councils, who make up the South London Waste Partnership(SLWP).

The winner will manage 200,000 tonnes of household waste produced by the boroughs which would otherwise be destined for costly disposal in landfill sites.

SLWP originally planned to have chosen its final two bidders in July, but decided to give companies extra time to complete their solutions.

An SLWP spokesman said there were still three bidders remaining because the companies had all put forward plans with potential, meaning more time was needed to whittle them down further.

Strict rules mean that the details of each bid must remain confidential while the procurement process is ongoing.

Phil Thomas, Croydon's cabinet member for environment and highways, said: “Now that we are down to the final three bidders we are starting to see some of the detail behind their innovative proposals for treating the waste from our four boroughs.

“Negotiations will now continue so that we can whittle the field down still further and ensure that we get the best product for the best price.”

The SLWP’s Joint Waste Committee will meet in February next year to consider each bid, with final tenders submitted in April 2011 and the winner announced the following July.

If all goes to plan, the new facilities will be operational by spring 2014.