These are two of the key findings in the latest survey of council waste and recycling services and related infrastructure during the pandemic; 180 authorities responded.
In terms of treatment infrastructure, almost 10% of the UK’s energy from waste plants are not operating normally, the survey found.
However, ADEPT and the associations involved said they will now be looking ahead to start planning for how ‘business as normal’ might look (see below) and future survey work will reflect this.
Normal
Overall, a greater level of several types of collection services are operating as normal compared to the end of March and collection services for residual and clinical waste have been least disrupted, said the survey which is coordinated by ADEPT, the Association of Directors of Environment, Planning and Transport. The latest findings are for the week 13-19 April.
The study says that sorting of recyclables at materials recycling facilities appears to be faring well despite a substantial volume increase reported by a number of MRF operators. The survey says that 78% of plants are operating as normal while 22 are experiencing minor disruption, with just one plant severely disrupted.
Energy from Waste
The survey notes that 9% of energy from waste plants are facing minor disruption although the situation is better for landfill. Little information is given about the impact that the disrupted plants are having on local authorities
Recycling
Recycling services in almost 25% of the councils surveyed are also being disrupted, with just one authority reporting services stopped. The survey does not name the authority; in recent weeks Cardiff has had to collect recycling with residual waste for incineration and the London borough of Redbridge had halted recycling services.
On garden waste services, it was found that only half (52%) of garden waste collection services are reported to be operating as normal. Some 29% of garden waste collections are reported to be unavailable, which is down from 39% in the week commencing the 30 March.
Future services
The survey is carried out by ADEPT with the support of the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), the Local Government Association (LGA) and the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO), working alongside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Speaking on behalf of the organsiations, Ian Fielding, chair of ADEPT’s Waste Group said: “The survey shows how hard our waste services are working to keep the disruption caused by Covid-19 to a minimum and I want to pay tribute to our teams on the ground.”
“As we plan for coming out of lockdown, we are beginning to see how social distancing will impact on future services. We are monitoring this situation closely and reviewing how a new ‘business as usual’ might look. This week’s survey will try to get a better understanding on when councils are preparing to open HWRCs. The reopening of HWRCs is something we all want to see happen as soon as possible, but our highest priority must be to keep our workforce and members of the public safe. Sites will need to operate in line with police and government guidance on enforcing continued social distancing measures, and we look forward to understanding more about how councils are responding to these pressures in future weeks.”
Related link
The full survey can be seen HERE
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