Memorandum submitted by PM Group plc
WEIGHING WASTE ON COLLECTION
1. THE PM GROUP
PLC
PM On Board is part of the PM Group plc. The
Group, founded in 1985, has established itself as the international
market leader of on-board vehicle weighing systems and associated
software for bulk haulage and waste management. PM produces 15
weighing systems for a variety of vehicles and applications covering
two main areas—on-board vehicle management and waste management.
PM Group is only one of a limited number of
companies with Class Approval for its waste management products.
The Company employs 76 staff in manufacturing
and administration at its factory in Bradford's inner city, while
nine others are employed at distribution centres near Paris and
Ravels in Belgium.
Wherever possible, PM utilises local manufacturing
expertise for the brought-in units required for on-board weighing,
thereby benefiting the local economy.
2. LIST OF
RECOMMENDATIONS AND
CONCLUSIONS
— The status quo in waste management
has failed. New techniques are needed if the UK is to meet its
targets on waste reduction and recycling.
— Charging for waste by weight at the
point of collection is the fairest and most efficient method for
making people responsible for the waste they produce.
— The technology for the kerb side
weighing of waste in the UK is already available, and set-up costs
can be recouped in the medium-term.
— Businesses already pay directly for
waste collection; charging by weight will provide incentives for
waste reduction and prevent local authorities being landed with
the costs of collecting the heaviest waste.
— Weighing systems allow households
and businesses to effectively assess the economic implications
of producing waste, ending the laissez-faire attitude to
waste production.
— As well as reducing waste put out
by households, charging by weight will eventually have an impact
up the waste chain encouraging processors, manufacturers and retailers
to reduce the amount of packaging that consumers have to pay to
dispose of.
— Data collection involved with on
board weighing systems will also bring benefits for the customer
through an enhanced and more efficient service, while the cost
of waste disposal and collection will decrease through less waste
and more efficient management.
— Contrary to concerns of a "double
tax" on households through variable charging, waste costs
could fall with a weighing system in place, particularly for those
who are conscientious in their waste management.
— Evaluation of weighing initiatives
elsewhere demonstrate that fly tipping has not increased over
the medium term. Other issues have also been successfully addressed.
— Kerb side weighing systems for waste
management are already being used throughout Europe and elsewhere
with significant benefits being achieved, both in the reduction
of waste produced, and the percentage of waste recycled.
— The technology exists and is proven
through operations—it is now a question of political will
for the weighing of waste to be widely adopted in the UK.
3. INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS REQUIRED
FOR WASTE
MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS
New ways must be found to encourage a reduction
in the total output of waste in the UK. If recycling rates continue
to increase at the same rate over the coming years, according
to Friends of the Earth, Britain will come nowhere near European
Union targets ensuring that two-thirds of waste is diverted from
landfill by 2020. Currently, only 21% of municipal waste is recycled,
composted or energy recovered, with 78% being disposed of by landfill
in 2000-01—a decrease of 2% from the previous year.
Given that individuals presently have little
incentive to act responsibly in their production of waste, it
is obvious that before any significant waste decreases occur in
the UK, individuals will need to change their attitude towards
waste management.
The most effective way of enabling households
and businesses to properly assess the implications of their waste
is to directly charge them for their waste collection using a
structured and accurate method of charging according to the amount
and type of waste produced.
Although there are several ways of directly
charging for waste collection, by far the fairest means of doing
so is through its weight. The most difficult waste to safely dispose
of is generally the heaviest—industrial waste. Where charging
is undertaken "per unit", households are penalised for
the industrial waste that businesses produce—increasing
costs for individuals and giving little incentive for businesses
to manage their waste efficiently by cutting down and recycling.
Weighing waste at the kerb side provides a direct
incentive for people to reduce their waste and should encourage
recycling through the application of differential charging or
even a system of credits. Over the longer term, a weighing system
should lead to a reduction in the overall quantity of waste produced,
applying all the way up the refuse chain. Businesses and consumers
will not take kindly to unnecessary packaging that they have to
pay to dispose of. This will in time feed back to manufacturers
who will seek to reduce the amount of potential waste as otherwise
their goods will not be as attractive as others with less associated
waste products. This fulfils the first stage in the waste hierarchy
of reducing the actual amount of waste generated.
The status quo in waste management has failed.
New techniques are needed if the UK is to meet its targets on
waste reduction and recycling.
Charging for waste by weight at the point of
collection is the fairest and most efficient method for making
people responsible for the waste they produce.
4. ON BOARD
WASTE WEIGHING
SYSTEMS
Wheeled dustbins are equipped with a microchip
with a unique identification number that enables information about
it, including the owner's identity, address and their record of
volumes collected to be brought up on a display in the collection
vehicle when the bin is connected to the hoist. The chip is not
affected by wet or dirty conditions, and it can be installed to
existing and new equipment and computer networks. Indeed, since
1996 all European manufacturers have designed their wheeled bin
containers to take this chip. To date, up to half a million chips
have already been fitted or are currently being installed in the
UK.
The process of reading individual chips is completely
automatic, meaning no operator input is needed. The bin is weighed
as it is lifted with the waste and then on the descent without
waste so that the net waste weight is registered.
The vehicle stores the information and, after
the collection round, it sends the information to a central computer.
The central computer is able to analyse the gathered data and
send individual invoices, weekly, monthly or quarterly, to the
customer, who then pays according to the waste collected. This
service is usually contracted out.
The weighing systems have full weight and measures
certification.
5. THE COSTS
OF WEIGHING
Each bin chip costs around £1 to £3
while the fitting of the weighing equipment and IT support costs
approximately £15,000 per vehicle. The equipment can be whole
life leased over seven years, or from £10 per day.
Other costs include account database modules
to store and retrieve customer account details, bin database modules
for bin allocation, route compilation and manager module for the
creation and management of vehicle route information, and training
for operators and drivers.
It is predicted that investment costs for on-board
weighing would likely be recouped after seven years.
Financial assistance or encouragement linked
to performance could be given to local authorities to fit weighing
machines. In Belgium, Holland and Germany grants have been given
to authorities by central government to help pay for the implementation
of kerbside weighing and identification.
The technology for the kerbside weighing of
waste in the UK is already available, and set-up costs can be
recouped in the medium-term.
6. IMPACT OF
WEIGHING ON
COMMERCIAL WASTE
For the collection of business waste, 50% of
authorities have their own service, while in the other 50% collection
is contracted out to a private company. There is no monopoly,
businesses can arrange their own collection and, in addition to
the large companies there are also smaller, specialised collectors.
Presently, all local authorities and most private
contractors charge a flat fee per bin or per business premise
regardless of the weight of rubbish collected. This gives no incentive
for businesses to recycle and reduce waste output. Furthermore,
no records are kept of how much waste is produced by each business,
making it difficult to effectively manage waste collection and
dispersal.
Some private companies are already beginning
to adapt on-board weighing for their collection services, such
as the Onyx fleet serving Westminster Council. As more of the
larger private waste companies deploy on-board weighing machines,
so businesses with large amounts of waste or those that have heavy
waste such as machine parts or old engine blocks, will opt to
use municipally provided services as the disposed waste is not
charged by weight. This means that local councils end up disposing
of the heaviest, bulkiest, and, therefore, most expensive waste.
As businesses already pay directly for waste
collection, to introduce a charge by weight system does not mean
companies paying twice for collection. Instead, charges would
relate directly to the weight of their waste rather than through
a fixed payment, making the system much fairer for all concerned.
To encourage recycling, wastage placed in recycling bins could
be charged at a lower rate, or even be used as a credit against
non-recyclable waste.
Switching to an on-board weight based system
ensures a more equitable distribution of the cost of waste collection
and disposal. For example, in Blackpool, guest houses have not
been charged differently from private residences for their waste
collection despite the larger amount they inevitably produce.
In future all households in Blackpool will be charged dependent
upon the weight of their waste, so guest houses will pay their
fair share so lifting some of the extra cost burden caused by
tourists on residents who effectively subsidise guest houses at
present.
Certainly, charging companies for the weight
of waste that they produce will cause the most significant contributors
to waste production to take a serious look at reducing this burden.
Although for most businesses waste will always be inevitable,
making them directly accountable for the quantity and type of
waste they produce should ensure they undertake all measures to
cut back the quantity that needs to be disposed of.
Businesses already pay directly for waste collection.
Charging by weight will provide incentives for waste reduction
and prevent local authorities being landed with the costs of collecting
the heaviest waste.
7. IMPACT ON
RESIDENTIAL WASTE
COLLECTION
A recent survey, carried out by the Environment
Agency, where 2,516 households were interviewed in England and
Wales, found that 90% of those questioned would recycle more if
it were made easier by their council—highlighting that the
will is there for enhanced waste management.
Given that the amount of waste produced will
have a direct economic effect on households under a weighing system,
there will be a direct incentive for householders to better manage
their waste. If an incentive to recycle were introduced—such
as "zero" weighting or even a rebate on charges for
recyclables, with councils further aiding individuals with kerbside
collections, this would have a significant impact on the production
of waste in households and how much of that waste is re-used for
environmental benefit.
Kerbside recycled collection schemes are already
available for 51% of households in England and Wales, but many
are limited to paper and bottle only. With no economic incentives
to recycle, take-up of such services, although improving, is limited,
with only the environmentally aware likely to take the time to
pick out waste that can be re-used.
Further to direct recycling through kerbside
collections, if consumers have to pay directly by weight for waste
collection, they will wish to see more lightweight, recyclable
materials for packaging goods and may even discriminate in favour
of these when making purchasing decisions. Therefore, producers
will act to reduce waste for the consumer, with the environment
benefiting from the knock-on effect.
Weighing systems allow households and businesses
to effectively assess the economic implications of producing waste,
ending the laissez-faire attitude to waste production.
As well as reducing waste put out by households,
charging by weight will eventually have an impact up the waste
chain encouraging processors, manufacturers and retailers to reduce
the amount of packaging that consumers will have to pay to dispose
of.
8. IMPROVING
EFFICIENCY AND
CUSTOMER SERVICE
A further advantage of on-board weighing of
waste for collection is the efficiency gains that can be achieved
through its use. Detailed analysis of the data can be utilised
to plan collection routes and to assess present and future waste
management strategies.
Currently vehicles only know how much waste
they are carrying when they are weighed at the disposal point.
With on-board weighing systems, vehicle operators are able to
measure the weight of waste being collected, carried and delivered
by their vehicles so that the vehicles are consistently loaded
to the permitted maximum without being overloaded or, indeed,
being underused.
If it is found that any bins had been missed
from a collection point, the information collected enables the
waste to be collected from the nearest collection point the next
day, negating the need for individuals to have to complain before
action is taken. This reassures the public and leads to fewer
complaints through enhanced services.
As the system can identify and monitor recycled
materials and show seasonal changes in waste disposal, customers
are able to be advised on the best methods for managing waste,
increasing recycling and cutting down on their waste disposal.
Furthermore, a bin that is regularly overloaded
or, in the case of a recycled rubbish bin, contaminated, can be
detected and the householder given a call to enquire, and eventually
warn them, about this situation, with advice on how to cut down
on wastage and recycling tips.
Together, these efficiency gains and incentives
to recycle will lower both the cost to the authority of waste
management and also to the economically and socially aware individual.
Only those who fail to manage their waste are likely to see any
extra cost accrue.
Data collection involved with on board weighing
systems will also bring benefits for the customer through an enhanced
and more efficient service, while the cost of waste disposal and
collection will decrease through less waste and more efficient
management.
Contrary to concerns of a "double tax"
on households through variable charging, waste costs could fall
with a weighing system in place, particularly for those who are
conscientious in their waste management.
9. ADDRESSING
CONCERNS
Although increased fly tipping has been raised
as an inevitable by-product of introducing any form of weight
based charging system, the evidence from Europe suggests that,
if on-board weighing systems are put in place, fly tipping is
not likely to rise significantly in the medium term. Many of the
weighing schemes highlighted below reported an increase in fly
tipping in the short-term but, after a year, when the schemes
were bedded down and individuals had become used to the options
available to them, tipping normalised.
For example, when charges for waste were introduced
in Ghent, Belgium, initial concerns were that it would lead to
fly tipping in the city. This fear proved unfounded as although
there was an initial 5% increase in fly tipping, after four years
this had now started to fall. Strict police regulations have been
utilised to bring individuals to justice who flout fly tipping
laws, while the availability of "bring sites" also helped
to reduce the amount of illegal tipping.
Through education the cost of fly tipping should
be made known. Most individuals wishing to fly tip will have to
transfer the waste to its destination with the aid of private
transport, most likely a car. Running costs mean that, in most
circumstances, the bill for tipping will exceed charges for the
waste being legally collected.
A further concern regarding charging for waste
is that unscrupulous individuals may seek to transfer their refuse
to other households in order to reduce or avoid payments. Although
there is always a possibility of this occurring, if complaints
are made about waste transfer, long-term data capture can analyse
the likelihood of any transfer, and who might be responsible,
through looking at neighbouring households with frequent over-loaded
bins. Bin locks could also be introduced in order to stop this
taking place.
Given that households will wish to reduce their
payments associated with waste production, individuals with the
capability may decide to dispose of their waste at refuse tips.
To counter this, it may be appropriate for changes to be levied
at tips unless it is recyclable.
Multi occupancy units and community bins are
dealt with through share initiatives, where waste charges are
calculated by weight and shared by various calculated methods
between the occupants and invoiced individually or as a management
charge.
Evaluation of weighing initiatives elsewhere
demonstrates that fly tipping has not increased over the medium
term. Other issues have also been successfully addressed.
10. CASE STUDIES
It is likely that on-board weighing will become
the norm in Europe, for both residential and industrial waste.
Systems for weighing household waste at the
point of collection have been in use on the Continent for more
than a decade, with several European cities operating types of
charge-by-weight systems. To date, in Germany alone more than
1,300 vehicles have been equipped with weighing systems and more
than six million chips fitted to containers. France, Italy, Spain,
Belgium, Holland and other western European countries have also
adopted the technology for both domestic and industrial waste.
Koerich and Kopstal in Luxembourg had collection
times reduced by 30% over two years, with the amount of waste
being reduced by 52% and 47% respectively due to improved accuracy
in the information collated.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany has seen waste
disposal amounts reduce by 40% from 1995, while recycling has
increased by 90%. In Lebach, Germany, collection costs for MSW
have been reduced by a third.
These cases suggest that more recycling took
place after the introduction of on-board weighing than before
and that consumer behaviour changed dramatically towards home
composting and waste reduction.
In Australia the amount of household waste recycled
was negligible until the 1990s, when kerbside recycling collections
were introduced. Within eight years, 59% of waste was being recycled.
A similar figure for recycling was found after Flanders, Belgium
started a kerbside collection. In seven years, recycling went
from 18% to 59%.
One authority almost ready to introduce a charge-by-weight
scheme for household collections using the on-board system is
Dublin based Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The move from
bags to wheeled bins, with the aim of eventually introducing a
charge-by-weight billing system, produced significant cost savings
in itself. According to the council's waste management section
the system will:
". . .prove useful as a management tool
to organise refuse collection in a more efficient manner and to
keep an eye on costs. The radio link will enable us to monitor
what is happening. If a route proves to be light and the crew
finishes early on a regular basis we'll know about it and be able
to redistribute the workload."
The number of routes necessary to serve its
65,000 households have to date been cut by almost a half, from
20 to 11, while manning levels have been reduced from five to
three men per vehicle. Furthermore, routes have been designed
to allow approximately 1,200 bins to be handled daily, equivalent
to almost doubling the number of bags and bins moved before waste
weigh was introduced.
The other key advantage of waste weighing highlighted
by this case has been that it is "fairer than the present
method where a fixed charge is levied. This will mean an elderly
couple with minimal waste will not have to pay as much as a large
family."
Kerb side weighing systems for waste management
are already being used throughout Europe and elsewhere with significant
benefits being achieved, both in the reduction of waste produced,
and the percentage of waste recycled.
11. CONCLUSION
Without incentives for individuals, although
marginal improvements may occur, there will not be the sea change
in attitudes or action over waste management that is required
to meet targets over the medium and long-term. The "polluter
pays" principle for waste collection and disposal would seem
a logical step.
In other countries, weighing individual bins
has been able to achieve a substantial cost saving as well as
the reduction in waste disposal that the UK requires. Given this
evidence, there is no reason to believe that similar waste management
projects in the UK will be any less successful.
The technology exists and is proven through
operations—it is now a question of political will for the
weighing of waste to be widely adopted.
PM Group plc
16 December 2002
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