Memorandum by Mid-Beds District Council
(RC 11)
1. INTRODUCTION
(a) Mid Beds District Council (MBDC) is pleased
that the Committee is carrying out an inquiry into refuse collection
particularly at this time when the subject is receiving so much
media coverage.
(b) MBDC is a largely rural district comprising
54,000 properties and 129,000 population. It is an area that expects
significant housing growth over the next few years.
(c) Waste management is at the heart of MBDC's
primary aims and objectives. The Council fully appreciates that
most residents regard the collection of waste and recycling to
be the principal service they receive and is equally aware that
the service forms the most valuable single contract the Council
procures.
2. METHOD
(a) In October 2004, the Council commenced
a 12 year Waste Management Contract with Verdant Group Plc and,
in so doing, introduced an Alternate Week Collection (AWC) system.
Residual waste is collected by wheeled bin on one week and dry
recyclables (paper, plastic bottles, card and cans) by wheeled
bin or orange sack on the following week. Garden waste is collected
in two reusable, polypropylene sacks. The collection of dry recyclables
and garden waste is carried out through the use of twin-pack vehicles,
ie vehicles with two compartments split 70/30. It was decided
to use these vehicles as it negates the need for another fleet
of vehicles and creates a finite capacity thus promoting waste
minimisation.
(b) The wheeled bins provided are of 240-litre
capacity unless the householder can show that there are six or
more persons in permanent residence whereby a 360-litre bin is
provided. We do not collect extra sacks of residual waste. Together
these measures contribute to minimising waste.
3. OUTCOMES
(a) Adopting AWC has directly and significantly
affected MBDC's Best Value Performance Indicator results. Before
AWC our recycling rate was 16% but in 2005-06 this had risen to
29.5%. Similar improvement was shown in waste reduction with a
fall of 8.7% of total waste collected per head of population in
2005-06 compared to the previous year with no increase in flytipping
or weight of refuse taken to Civic Amenity Sites. We are confident
that 2006-07 results will show a further rise in recycling rates
to more than 33% and waste reduction of more than 5% per head
of population.
(b) Mid Beds has focused on minimisation
and recycling of paper, plastics, glass etc. rather than chasing
high "recycling rates" through large scale collection
of garden waste. This is reflected in the 33% figure for 2006-07
comprising 25% recyclables and 8.7% compostables.
(c) In terms of cost MBDC has shown that
by adopting AWC and the method of work using twin compartment
vehicles, the Council has saved around £700,000 per annum.
4. JOINT WORKING
(a) MBDC was the instigator of the Bedfordshire
Authorities Waste Partnership (BAWP) and has been a leading member
throughout. BAWP is a Member-led group comprising South Beds District
Council, Bedford Borough Council, Beds County Council and MBDC.
The Partnership meets every two months and discusses all waste
management issues but has primarily concerned itself with the
improvement of recycling across the county. All three Waste Collection
Authorities deliver their dry recyclables to a single Materials
Recycling Facility provided by Beds County Council. This arrangement
has removed the need for Recycling Credit Claims to Beds CC by
the collection authorities.
(b) Another important result of joint working
is the acceptance by BAWP of a single communications style and
logo. The "Recycle Now!" branding has become extremely
well known throughout Bedfordshire.
5. THE FUTURE
(a) The County Council has stated that its
preferred means of dealing with residual waste is via an Energy
from Waste plant. However, it has been made clear that the drive
to carry out as much "front end" recycling as possible
will continue.
(b) MBDC has taken the principled stance
that it will not chase recycling targets at the expense of waste
minimisation and as such there are no plans to increase the size,
number or type of container for green waste. The Council will
continue to promote home composting through its partnership with
neighbour authorities and WRAP.
(c) Beds CC have stated that they intend
to refurbish the Materials Recycling Facility shortly and in so
doing will improve the sorting machinery in order that the range
of recyclables currently collected can be increased, eg more plastic
types, tetrapak and textiles.
(d) MBDC is currently trialling a weekly
food waste collection to 6,000 households. Early data shows that
a system rolled out across the whole district could result in
around 3,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste being diverted from
landfill.
(e) On the subject of variable charging,
MBDC has yet to develop policy but officer recommendations are
currently that it is unnecessary and, in Mid Beds, will do little
to minimise waste to any significant degree. Officers also feel
that the extra administrative resources required to operate such
a complex system could easily outweigh any financial benefit.
We are also concerned that variable charging would most seriously
affect those households that have large families and would find
it difficult to pay.
6. CONCLUSION
(a) MBDC is a forward-thinking authority
that recognises the potential future costs of waste management.
We therefore seek to develop measures now that are sustainable
in both environmental and financial terms. MBDC strongly feels
that the key to improvement and cost efficiency is through partnership
working.
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