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Results of WIN survey December 2008:Experiences of local authorities with (1) lowest waste arisings/head; and
(2)largest decrease in waste arisings/head on previous year (according to Defra stats for 2007/8)
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Introduction
WIN conducted an informal survey in December 2008, asking councils to share what they had done to achieve low waste arisings or large decreases in waste arisings on the previous year.
This is not scientific research but we feel it makes fascinating reading. In particular, we were delighted to discover that is appears there really are things councils can do to have a major impact on arisings.
In retrospect we might have contacted more disposal and unitary authorities: perhaps we will do this in the future. The response from unitary council Barnsley, for example, was important in that it told us that the minimisation effect of introducing Alternate Bin Collections holds even for unitary councils.
We hope you find this interesting. Please let us have any feedback and also let us know of any other research which you would find useful.
Finally, we would like to thank the many councils who were able to respond in such a short time.
Anna Jones, Project Coordinator
Alice Roberts, Head of National Projects
Key messages
- Restricting residual waste is key.Responses suggest there is a genuine minimisation effect associated with introducing Alternate Bin Collections (ABCs) or other restrictions on residual waste. This minimisation effect was clearly seen in Barnsley – a unitary authority where Civic Amenity waste is of course included in figures.
- Out of date trade-to-household ratios for mixed loads may be artificially inflating household waste arisings figures. Some councils which had recently re-estimated the ratio after validating their figures (in a variety of ways) found that their household waste arisings figures dropped as the assumed % for trade waste was out of date and too low.
- Many councils with low arisings reported strong enforcement and persistent communications campaigns.In particular, councils with ABCs often had strict no side waste or closed lid policies which they enforced alongside strong communications campaigns.
- Occasionally localised factors such as a drop in tourism were the key factor.
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WIN contacted the following councils
See Table 1 and Table 2 below for responses.
20 councils with lowest waste arisings per head in 2007/8See Table 1 for responses / Collected HH waste/
head, kg / 10 councils with largest decrease on previous year 2007/8
See Table 2 for responses / Collected HH waste /head, kg / % change on previous year
Hyndburn Borough Council
Purbeck District Council
Weymouth and PortlandBC
Mid Suffolk District Council
Oxford City Council
Camden LB
Malvern Hills District Council
South Somerset District Council
East Devon District Council
Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
Worcester City Council
Exeter City Council
Crawley Borough Council
Taunton Deane Borough Council
Charnwood Borough Council
Havant Borough Council
Stroud District Council
Tendring District Council
Waverley Borough Council
Adur District Council / 293
298
298
306
313
318
319
321
322
323
326
327
327
328
332
332
333
333
336
336 / North Cornwall District Council
South Lakeland District Council
Berwick-upon-TweedBC
Barnsley MBC (unitary)
West Devon Borough Council
Cumbria CC (disposal)
Rother District Council
Redcar & Cleveland BC (unitary)
Swale Borough Council
Blackburn with Darwen (unitary) / 424.91
453.34
419.08
439.50
361.86
529.00
368.15
440.84
420.40
436.18 / -13.64%
-12.08%
-11.27%
-11.10%
-10.98%
-10.91%
-10.77%
-9.29%
-9.24%
-8.88%
TABLE 1
20 councils with lowest waste arisings per head in 2007/8
Local authority(+ contact)
HH waste/ head, kg / 1. Your council has a relatively low KG of household waste per person according to Defra statistics. Please could you tell us what factors you think are affecting this rate locally? Has your councils actively tried to reduce the kg of waste per head? / 2. How has the rate changed over the past five years? Has it gone up, down or fluctuated?
Hyndburn Borough Council
293 kg
/ Hyndburn have the lowest collected household waste / person in the country. A number of factors have influenced this, notably the introduction of Alternate Bin Collections. For full details, please see the new WIN case study:-
/ YEAR / WEIGHT (Kg)
2003/04 / 346
2004/05 / 339
2005/06 / 323
2006/07 / 302
2007/08 / 293
Purbeck District Council
298 kg
/ “The principal reason for our low arisings is the introduction of alternate week collections in Autumn 2005, this is in combination with a strict ‘no side waste or overflowing bin’ policy and kerbside sort collection of dry recyclables to 100% of households. The council has tried to reduce the kg of waste / head via waste policies and waste minimisation education programmes. / YEAR / WEIGHT (Kg)
2004/05 / 336
2005/06 / 305
2006/07 / 304
2007/08 / 298
WeymouthPortland Borough Council
298 kg
/ The kg per head figure has been low historically for the Borough, however, it has reduced still further since we introduced an alternate weekly residual waste collection using 180lt wheeled bins and a strict no side waste policy in 2005. This service is complemented by a weekly organic kitchen waste/corrugated cardboard collection for composting and a fortnightly dry recyclables collection.We have also worked with Dorset County Council’s Waste Reduction Officer in a countywide reduction programme. / YEAR / WEIGHT (Kg)
2003/04 / 319
2004/05 / 321
2005/06 / 311
2006/07 / 310
2007/08 / 298
Mid Suffolk District Council
306 kg
/ We have limited the size of wheeled bins provided to householders.Standard bin capacity is 140 litre for refuse and 180 litre for recycling for household of upto 3 occupants.The capacity increases as number occupantsin the household increase.We also do not collect side waste unless it is contained in an authorised pre-paid sack.The Council decided against implementing an alternate weekly collection of garden waste as in other council areas in Suffolk, as this increases total waste arisings and we believe is not a sustainable practice.TheCouncil considers that collection of garden waste (free) artificially inflates recycling statistics. MSDC is the highest performing authority in the country for dry recycling, second year in succession. / The rate has decreased steadily since we implemented alternate weekly collection of household waste in March 2003.
Oxford City Council / 313 kg
Camden Council
318 kg / This indicator is in our Local Area Agreement and is supported corporately as a key priority. Locally the demographics of the borough and the refuse collection practices in place influence the way waste is reported to Defra. The council has tried to reduce the kg of waste / head–wehave good communication resources in place to promote waste reduction, reuse and recycling. We are engaged with our waste disposal authority and the activities they have planned. / YEAR / WEIGHT (Kg)
2003/04 / 460.6
2004/05 / 396.7
2005/06 / 348.1
2006/07 / 335.0
2007/08 / 317.8
Malvern Hills District Council / 319 kg
South Somerset District Council
321 kg
/ South Somerset and Taunton Deane are in Somerset which had a figure of 519 kg/pp/pa in 2007/8.
Services are managed by the Somerset Waste Partnership. Low arisings are achieved through a combination of ABC with food waste collected with other recyclate on a weekly basis from the kerbside and a default sized bin of 180litres for residual collected fortnightly. A no side waste rule is enforced.
“Neighbouring authority Mendip also have this but have a default 240 litre bin and a higher waste arisings figure – so we feel this demonstrates quite clearly that restricting capacity is key.There is an extensive HRWC network in Somerset – with a high ratio of sites to people. The arising figure for SomersetCounty is 519 kg per person per year (2007/8) and we are determined to get this figure down. We are just rolling out automatic number plate recognition to discourage trade waste use, as well as some other measures. “CAPACITY RESTRICTION is absolutely key - !!!!”
East Devon District Council / 322 kg
Oadby & Wigston BC / 323 kg
Worcester City Council
326 kg
John Bond / We think we have a relatively low kg household waste per head because our recycling scheme is easy to use. We have an alternate weekly co-mingled wheeled bin collection using two bins – 240 litre recycling bin and grey 190 litre residual bin. Once they get used to it the public only have to put all their recyclables unmixed into the one bin(no sorting is required). By issuing a smaller residual waste bin, this forces the householder to sort their waste carefully. We rigorously enforce a flat lid policy, so there is no excess waste or side waste allowed: it will not be collected, and the public know this. The scheme covers 95% of properties and we are active in including the residue.
We also run an effective promotional programme. Once a month or more there is at least one recycling news item appearing in the local papers, or piece of literature distributed. We use various formats for different communities: e.g. illustrated materials for ethnic groups. We run face-to-face recycling road-shows, we employ doorknockers, giving individual help, and we have been promoting recycling though our local schools for the last 15 years. We also take part in WRAP initiatives: Worcestershire County Council has acted on behalf of the Districts to promote compost bins. We are currently taking part in the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. Some of the other local initiatives, which help a little, include running a garden shredder service, where the public can book a machine and operator to reduce their green waste bulk, and sink waste digesters. / Waste has declined steadily over the past five years. Apart from the methods described above, we actively tell the public of the fines which will be incurred by the Council tax payerin the future if we landfill too much waste (landfill tax). We also promote the link between land-filled waste and climate change. This message seems to have resonated locally.
Exeter City Council
327 kg
/ About 70% of the city is on fortnightly refuse collections – with a restriction on the amount that is collected (240 litres unless the household has special circumstances). For the houses on weekly collections – wherethere is no room for wheelie bins– thenumber of bags is limited to 3 per property. There is a ban on side waste that is strictly enforced by the collection crew. Recycling is collected fortnightly in 240 litre wheeled bins – theco- mingledmix includes alltypes of plastic bottles/food containers/wraps/bags plus paper and card, steel and aluminium cans/aerosols/foil. Our dry recycling rate is over 28%and wefeel this has a direct effect onthe amountof residual waste we collect.The council has tried to reduce the kg of waste / head only by enforcing the ban on side waste.
Crawley Borough Council
327 kg
/ I think a lot of this is down to the fact that we don't provide wheeled bins or sacksfor domestic refuse.From experience, whatever size wheeled bin youprovide,residents will fill them up and dispose of items within them that perhaps they would have otherwise taken to the household waste recycling site or not disposed of at all. Also, weprovide an opt-in chargeable green waste collection service for 9 months of the year.This ensures that residents who do not have a garden, who home compost, or do not wish to use this service do not pay for it through their Council Tax.This, although means our composting rate is kept lower thansome other local authorities who provide a free regular collection service,keeps the overall amount of waste collectedto a minimum. By providing a free garden waste collection service when there is no statutory duty todo so means you are increasing the amount of overall waste you collect.However, this in turn meansyour composting rate will not beas high as those who provide a free service.It just so happens that in Crawley the majority of housing is terraced with small gardensand a vast proportion use compost bins and so there is not that much garden waste actuallyrequiring collection.
The council has tried to reduce the kg of waste / head–wework in partnership with West Sussex County Council to actively try to reduce the amount of waste generated through subsidised home compost bins, food waste digesters, real nappies and promotion of the Love Food, Hate Waste Campaign. ANot for profit Community Interest Partycalled Better Tomorrows has recently been set up within West Sussex with an overall target of diverting 80,000 tonnes per annum by 2015. / Not available to handat present
Taunton Dean Borough Council
328 kg / South Somerset and Taunton Deane are in Somerset which had a figure of 519 kg/pp/pa in 2007/8.
SEE RESPONSE FOR SOUTH SOMERSET ABOVE
Charnwood Borough Council
332 kg
/ We believe our strong communications and education work, combined with Alternate Weekly Collections and a very comprehensive recycling service have affected our waste arisings rate.
The council has tried to reduce the kg of waste / head through waste minimisation initiatives and promotion as part of the Zero Waste Strategy, along with the recycling and composting work that we promote.
We plan to continue the downward trend in waste arisings into the future, through the on-going implementation of the Zero Waste Strategy. / Following the introduction of wheelie bins in 2004, there was an increase in the total waste arisings, most likely due to the types of waste that can be disposed of in a wheelie bin rather than black sacks. Since then, we’ve seen a year on year decrease.
Havant Borough Council
332 kg
/ Since the Council introduced Alternate Weekly Collections (AWC), this has helped dramatically to reduce the Council’s waste arising as AWC enforces the message of Waste Minimisation and encourages residents to recycle.
To assist in the effective management of the AWC the Council introduced a very strong Policy with easy rules for all residents to understand and this has helped to enforce the Councils political message for the Waste Minimisation programme. One of the main rules regarding the collection of domestic waste is that the Council will only collect and empty the domestic wheeled bin, no domestic side waste is allowed. This is enforced with daily monitoring / supervision to ensure this rule is adhered too. Should a second domestic waste bin be required (we charge for these) Waste Advisors first visit the property to ensure residents are recycling all they can and that the family have at least 5 people living at the residence before the bin is issued. / YEAR / WEIGHT (Kg)
2003/04
2004/05 / 381kg
2005/06 / 359kg
2006/07 / 333kg
2007/08 / 332.5kg
2005/6 First phase of AWC
2006/07 Second, thirdand finale phase of AWC
Stroud District Council
333 kg
/ Stroud is in Gloucestershire which had a figure of 520 kg/pp/pa in 2007/8.
Stroud want to take waste minimisation as far as possible. Stroud has always been one of the leading recyclers, with a huge awareness of recycling and it is considered a fairly green council. That and the public’s general wish to recycle more which has always been there has been important. People who want to do more than the norm!
We have spent alot of money on awareness and have pushed some innovative schemes which don’t necessarily do much to alter the bottom line but have kept people’s focus on recycling and waste generally.
We have been selling bins since 1995 – we’ve sold approximately 15,000 bins to date.
We have spent about 20,000 per year on keeping the recycling and waste minimisation message alive. No garden waste is collected.
We recently rolled out ABCs on a trial basis to 1,700 properties (out of 48,000) working with a focus group. We split the properties into two for the trial. There was a huge ‘minimisation effect’ on the properties with restrictions on their side waste.
- One half were given 180litre bins with closed lid / no side waste policy but with the type of recycling people wanted including food waste (collecting 2.5kg per household and increasing recycling to 55%)
- Other half – no limit and sacks for the other half.
We received a CIWM excellence award.
Tendring District Council
333 kg
Michael Talbot / Tendring District Council does not collect green waste from households. Residents have purchased 22,000 subsidised compost bins, plus domestic composting arrangements without bins where suitable. This means a very large quantity of waste never enters the collection stream.
We have 63,700 properties and the County Council provide five Civic Amenity sites in the district which last year collected 10,000 tonnes of green waste from our residents who are unable to compost. A rough estimate of the total green waste diverted from Landfill would be some 20,000 tonnes or an additional 145 kg of waste to landfill per head of population.
On 1 January 2007 we introduced a weekly collection of recyclables. We continue to encourage the establishment of local bring sites(see Annex 1 for more info) and where the site is provided by a voluntary organisation we will pass on to them a sum equivalent to the recycling credits we receive. The total number of such sites now exceeds eighty.
We use all methods available to publicise the value to the community of recycling and feel, as an authority, that our residents are ‘on our side’. / As our recycling percentage collecting only dry recyclables has increased, this has obviously resulted in a reduced tonnage of waste sent to Landfill. Tendring has a low Council Tax base so our expenditure is limited but currently the cost of waste collection including recycling £36.30 per household.
Waverley Borough Council
336kg
/ Waverley is in Surrey which had a figure of 542 kg/pp/pa in 2007/8.
The main driving force for change wasmoving to Alternate Bin Collections, pushing residents down the line of increasing recycling but also minimisation too.The recycling rate is now around 41% and arisings figures are much lower since the introduction of ABCs.Before ABCs Waverley had a one-bin-only policy – 240litre. Residents can have 120litre bin if they want. They can have a bigger bin if large household.
Next year budgets are reducing considerably which will impact on Waveley’s ability to, e.g. introduce food waste collections. The council has pushed green cones and composters – heavily subsidised, though this has not been as popular / successful as hoped. Car park sales are encouraged.
Kerbside recycling collections are for plastic bottles & cans mixed, glass and paper. A subscribed garden waste collection operates with £40 for 2 bags, for fortnightly collection, or £60 for 4 bags (90litre bags). It is subsidised a small amount – but this is to ensure it is priced realistically.
The low arisings figure may also have something to do with an elderly population. They have no commercial waste.
Adur & Worthing Council Services
336 kg
/ Lots of old people!We have quite an elderly population and smallish households. We have now introduced wheeled bins with limited capacity which will further encourage recycling at the expense of refuse. / Went up for a while until about 4 years ago. Since then has been coming down steadily.
TABLE 2