AGENDA ITEM 5
BOROUGH OF POOLE
CABINET
5TH SEPTEMBER 2006
WASTE ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR NUFFIELD RECYCLING CENTRE: REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS (INCLUDING LEISURE AND RECREATION)
1. PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To consider the recommendations of the Environment Overview Group from its meeting on 27th July 2006.
2. DECISIONS REQUIRED
2.1 That Cabinet supports the introduction of the following Waste Acceptance Criteria:-
(a) Banning the acceptance of waste from vans (including hired vans) subject to paragraph (b) below;
(b) The introduction of a formal exemption permit for genuinely privately operated vans owned by residents; and
(c) Banning the acceptance of waste from large trailers (larger than 1.8 metres long and 1.2 metres wide).
2.2 Cabinet authorises Officers to evaluate the options of delivering a chargeable service to smaller medium businesses to enable them to dispose of their commercial waste legally, safely and conveniently at the Household Waste Recycling Centre.
3. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION
3.1 I enclose the Report to the Environment Overview Group, for Members information.
Councillor Don Collier
Portfolio Holder for Environmental Areas (including Leisure and Recreation)
BOROUGH OF POOLE
ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW GROUP
27th JULY 2006
WASTE ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
POOLE’S NUFFIELD HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRE
1. Purpose and Policy Context
1.1 To review Poole’s Household Waste Recycling Centre waste acceptance criteria in order to achieve the following objectives; Minimise the amount of trade/commercial waste illegally entering the site; Bring Poole’s facility in line with neighbouring authorities operating policies; To respond to health and safety recommendations on the manoeuvring of vehicle’s on site.
2. Decision Required
2.1 That members support the introduction of the following waste acceptance criteria:-
a) Banning the acceptance of waste from vans (including hired vans) subject to paragraph b) below.
b) The introduction of a formal exemption permit for genuinely privately operated vans owned by residents.
c) Banning the acceptance of waste from large trailers (larger than 1.8 metres long and 1.2 metres wide).
and recommend that Cabinet adopt the revised policy
2.2 That members recommend that Cabinet request officers to evaluate the options of delivering a chargeable service to small and medium businesses to enable them dispose of their commercial waste legally, safely and conveniently at the Household Waste Recycling Centre.
3. Information Background
3.1 The Council operates the Nuffield Household Waste Recycling Centre under a duty contained within the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The facility is for the disposal of household waste by residents of the authority and those of Dorset County Council through the permit scheme introduced in early 2006 following successful negotiations.
3.2 The facility is required to be reasonably accessible, free of charge and available at reasonable times including one day per weekend. The centre is currently open to the public 7 days a week from 08:30am to 16:30 pm. High sided vehicles can access the site Saturday afternoon or all day Sunday. A total of 18,145 tonnes of waste was deposited at the site during 2005/06.
3.3 The Council employ’s a site security guard who has authority to question suspect loads and turn away those who do not comply with the entry criteria. This is not without problems including staff being subjected to verbal abuse and aggressive situations when confronting those suspected of illegally trying to deposit waste. Furthermore provisions for high sided household vehicles have provided loopholes for traders to continue to access the site under current policies.
3.4 Currently the facility is only licensed and designed to accept household waste. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 it is illegal for someone to deposit commercial or industrial waste at the site and for the Council to knowingly accept it breaches the licence conditions controlled by the Environment Agency.
4. Research and Best Practice
4.1 Many Councils have introduced a variety of control measures similar to Poole’s including CCTV, security guards and height barriers. Some actually ban certain types of waste or make a charge for particular items.
4.2 Research into trade waste input to Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) has been undertaken by an number of organisations and local authorities. In particular detailed investigation was undertaken by Network Recycling & Future West, formerly Western Partnership for Sustainable Development in 2001 (attached at Appendix 1).
4.3 The key findings estimate that approximately 13% of all waste entering HWRC’s originates from ‘trade’ sources. Additionally traders are on average found to bring in three times as much waste as householders.
4.4 For Poole the impact of this trade input based on the reports finding of 13% would mean that a possible maximum of 2,359 tonnes of commercial waste may be entering the site each year equating to a maximum sum of £94,360 of disposal costs.
4.5 The key recommendation from the report outlined the most robust method for eliminating trade waste is that of a commercial van ban combined with a permit system.
4.6 Waste acceptance policies including the banning of commercial vehicles have been in place at Dorset County Council since January 2003. Reports evaluating the implementation of such controls found:-
· The clear, unambiguous formal written policy ensures ease of enforcement and removes the discretion previously available which generated arguments
· Site safety and ease of use has improved for the majority of users
· Congestion on sites has decreased
· Trade abuse has reduced to virtually undetectable levels
· No negative effect has been reported on HWRC’s recycling performance
· Dorset County Council report a reduction from the original waste arisings budget 2003/04 of circa 10,000 tonnes representing a £500,000 saving. The imposition of the restrictions is the only action taken that can be viewed as a reason for this achievement.
4.7 Bournemouth Borough Council introduced similar controls in May 2006.
5. Proposed Waste Acceptance Criteria
5.1 The object of the new controls is to prevent the misuse of the Household Waste Recycling Centre for the disposal of trade waste and to maintain the facility for genuine householders to dispose of reasonable amounts of waste in safe and less congested environment.
5.2 Most trade abuse at any Household Waste Recycling Centre comes via vans and large trailers. Targeted restrictions are aimed to actually benefit the vast majority of users and ensure that ordinary householders are not left to meet the financial burden of 'inappropriate' use.
The restrictions would not apply to vehicles such as people carriers, 4X4’s, camper vans, estate cars or small trailers.
The proposed restrictions are outlined as follows
5.3 Vans and Goods Vehicles
Ban on all deliveries of waste by commercial vehicles. This would also cover all other goods vehicles, that is those vehicles that are designed mainly for transporting loads rather than people and the rear compartment is panelled rather than having seat and windows. This would include for example, pickup trucks and horseboxes.
5.4 Under exceptional circumstances, a residential exemption permit could be issued to allow a van or light goods vehicle to use the site if the van or lights good vehicle in question:
· is the only means of transport available to the household and
· is registered to a private individual, not a business, and
· is registered to a private address, not a business address, and where the application is made from that private address, and
· it has no sign writing on it that shows it is used by a business.
Note: All permits issued will apply solely to the registered keeper, who must be driving at the time of the visit. The permit will entitle the individual to access the site a maximum of 12 visits per year.
5.5 If all of these conditions are met, the Council will issue, on application, a residential exemption permit for that vehicle for one year, and provided the circumstances do not change the permit could be renewed every year as requested.
5.6 Trailers
The movement of large trailers on site has been the source of increased safety risks and congestion. It is therefore proposed that trailers towed by a car (or vehicle with a residential exemption permit for that vehicle) will be allowed on the site provided that the trailer is no larger than 1.8 metres (6 foot) by 1.2 metres (4 foot). Irrespective of the number of axles or the fitting of brakes.
5.7 Any trailers larger than that outlined above will not be permitted access to the site.
Note: Residential exemption permits will not be available for trailers
5.8 We are frequently asked by legitimate businesses how they can legally
deposit their commercial waste at an accessible, safe and clean site and
whether this waste can be recycled. As noted above the Nuffield Household Waste Centre is not currently licensed or designed for such use. The provision of such a chargeable service would support local business and support the authorities Clean, Green and Safe priority by discouraging fly-tipping and encouraging recycling. It is therefore proposed that in tandem with the review of acceptance criteria that the potential to deliver this service to business is evaluated by officers.
6. Recommendations
6.1 That members note the proposals outlined above and recommend their formal adoption and implementation.
Contact: Shaun Robson
Head of Environmental & Consumer Protection Services
Tel: 01202 261701
TRADE WASTE INPUT TO CIVIC AMENITY SITES:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Charlotte Cameron-Beaumont (Future West) & Eric Bridgwater (Network Recycling)
A: Increase in CA site waste since 1996/97
1. Since 1996/97, Civic Amenity site waste has been increasing at over double the rate of the overall household waste stream (Chapter 1). Over a third of this increase was found to be attributable to rises in the amount of trade waste illegally entering CA sites under the guise of household waste. The main focus of this research was the trade waste input to CA sites, but other causal factors contributing to the CA tonnage increase were also investigated (Chapter 5):
2. The other factor found to be significantly driving the CA tonnage increase is the increased use & awareness of CA sites due to improvements to recycling & composting facilities on sites.
3. Other factors assessed as minor causal factors include the increased price of skips, and the increase in numbers of people undergoing home & garden DIY jobs, possibly as a result of the popularity of home & garden ‘make-over’ TV shows in recent years.
B: Trade waste input to CA sites
1. The study found that approximately 13% of Civic Amenity site[1] waste is brought in by traders under the guise of household waste (2001 figures by weight). Some sites are hit worse than others, with the most affected site in the study experiencing up to 17% of its waste from trade origin (costing the said authority approximately £90,000 a year). This 13% corresponds to 830,000 tonnes of trade waste across England and Wales entering CA sites in 2001[2]. This can be compared to a figure of 7.6% of CA site waste being of trade origin in pre-landfill tax years, highlighting that the proportion of trade input has almost doubled since landfill tax introduction. See Chapter 2 for further details.
2. As a result of this rise in trade waste input, an increasing number of local authorities are implementing controls at their CA sites. We investigated the different methods of trade control at CA sites (permits, van bans, barriers, amongst others), using case studies to assess the successes & problems with each scheme (see Chapters 3&4). Height barriers were found to cause a dramatic initial effect, but this was not sustained, as traders find other ways to use the site (parking outside, using trailers). The most successful methods involved permit systems combined with van/trailer bans, sometimes with added barriers, whilst entrance security checks also showed promising results.
3. At the same time the study attempted to look at the problem from a trader’s point of view (Chapter 6). Traders using CA sites were found to be mainly manual traders (builders, house clearance, gardeners, for example) from small sized businesses. We therefore researched the legal disposal options for these particular types of traders, in order to investigate why some traders are choosing to avoid the legal option.
4. The main problem was found to be price & minimum charge. Transfer stations and skip hire firms generally charge full general waste rates, including landfill tax, regardless of whether the type of waste disposed is recyclable[3] (with the exception of rubble). Options to reduce prices through recycling and re-use were practically non-existent for small-sized manual businesses. (See Chapter 6, Page 93). The implications of this may become critical as landfill tax rises in the future. Transfer stations and skip hire firms report that they sort and recycle some waste ‘behind the scenes’, and that this practice may bring down the price of general waste disposal per tonne. However, financial drivers for recycling remain at contractor level, rather than at trader level (for the types of manual trader in question).
- Furthermore, minimum prices for waste at transfer stations were frequently set at one tonne of material (an average cost of £38+VAT). We found that the average weight brought to CA sites by a trader was 0.2 tonnes. Therefore, for this type of trader, producing under one tonne of waste, at ad-hoc times, and from varying locations, there is a strong incentive to use illegal disposal routes such as CA sites and flytipping.
6. The report’s recommendations include the developing of ‘trade recycling centres’ by councils and/or private contractors. These trade centres would be able to dispose of all types of waste, while offering a reduced price for sorted recyclables, with no minimum charge. A set up similar to a CA site could enable small traders to sort their waste as they dispose of it. This facility could be combined with systems for selling back recycled and/or re-usable goods such as bricks, crushed hardcore, compost and wood to other traders. A similar approach is in its initial stages in Wales, by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, which differs in that it uses an existing CA site and allows traders to only dispose of only recyclables, but for free.
7. As landfill tax increases, this lack of recycling facilities for small-sized manual businesses, combined with the tightened restrictions at CA sites, may lead to a rising flytip problem, if not addressed.