| Recovery of plastic bottles and other plastic packaging contributed to success of scheme St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC) in Suffolk are one of the top-performing local authorities in the country (2005/06) with a 48.6% recycling rate. The recovery of plastic bottles as well as other plastic packaging has contributed to this successful scheme.
Details The council operates a 3 bin (240 litre) kerbside system, collecting blue recycling bins and brown composting bins on alternate weeks to residual waste. This service is provided throughout the borough to 44,050 households. Plastics were introduced into the kerbside recycling scheme between September 2003 and March 2004 after a successful trial took place in 6 areas of the Borough in summer 2002. SEBC learnt that by providing a 240litre bin for the dry recyclable material the volume of the black bin waste decreased meaning that residual waste would require collecting less frequently. DEFRA funding via the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund provided a grant for the purchase of the wheeled bins and communication material through which residents were kept informed about the changes to their scheme. SEBC accept not only plastic bottles for recycling but also plastic pots and tubs. However, in contrast to other ‘mixed plastics schemes’ householders are discouraged from putting plastic bags and packaging film into their blue bins. Blue bins that have carrier bags inside them will not be emptied by the collection crew. Polystyrene is not accepted in recycling bins and should be put with residual waste for collection. Communication through leaflets and especially stickers on bins has helped to relay individual messages to residents, and has reduced contamination, particularly plastic film and carrier bags. More work is required to ensure that material presented for recycling is clean and rinsed out. Results have shown that some residents do not recycle their pots and tubs as it is too difficult to wash these items out. SEBC are currently running a campaign to encourage people to make the effort to clean out and recycle these materials. As part of a follow up to the campaign work a doorstepping scheme was carried out to measure customer satisfaction levels. Results from the customer satisfaction survey showed that:- • 84% of residents are either very or quite satisfied with the practicality of the three-bin kerbside collection system. • 88% of resident are either very or quite satisfied with the blue bin collection system overall. • 81% of resident are either very or quite satisfied with the black bin collection system overall. Through this scheme, 12kg of plastic bottles per household was collected for recycling. This is more than double the UK average and could be linked to adding a greater range of plastics to a kerbside scheme and the alternate weekly service. “Since the blue bin scheme has been put in place residents in St Edmundsbury have embraced recycling. The high satisfaction levels recorded have been achieved through introducing an effective scheme with the right policies and a thorough communications campaign.” (Councillor Jeremy Farthing – Portfolio Holder for Waste) By removing large volumes of material from the residual waste bin to the recycling bin, SEBC have been able to successfully move to alternate weekly collections. The alternate weekly collection has allowed for a sufficient kerbside recycling service to be introduced across the Borough at low cost. The net collection cost per household is approximately £51. There are 56 bring sites and three Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) in the Borough. The bring sites are operated by various contractors and the HWRC at Haverhill, Ingham and Bury St Edmunds are operated by Suffolk County Council. At only one of these sites is there facilities provided for plastic bottles recycling. Part of the success of SEBC can be contributed to the Suffolk Recycling Consortium, a partnership of district and borough councils and Viridor Waste Management. The Suffolk Waste Partnership has enabled major investment to upgrade and improve the sorting technology at the Great Blakenham MRF in Ipswich, which in turn increased the capacity and the volumes of material that could be handled in the region. SEBC have been recognised as a leading example of good waste management practice both in Suffolk and in the UK and awarded with Beacon Council status by the Government for ‘Sustainable Development: Dealing with waste 2000/2001” and again, as part of the Suffolk Waste Partnership, for “Waste and Recycling” for 2006-08. Further information www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk |