The council is to pilot a new system using “super bags” with lids as well as nets for existing kerbside boxes to keep control of recyclables in the windy city.
The council's environment and infrastructure committee is due to agree to call for tenders for the trial, as well as a doubling in size of the city's kerbside service, tomorrow.
The wind-cheating trial will be carried out by 200 households among the first phase of the recycling service, which saw 20,000 properties given black boxes for plastic bottles, glass, steel, and aluminium cans.
Alongside the boxes, white bags were issued for paper and cardboard, with the materials being picked up in two compartmentalised vehicles. To date, 40% of residents issued with the boxes and bags use them regularly.
The council is aiming to roll out the service to a further 20,000 households by November 2004. Phase two will include the super bags and box nets should the trial prove a success.
A council report explained: “The issue of litter has arisen due to the collection of dry recyclate in open containers. In an attempt to resolve this issue, a kerbside recycling bag with a lid will be provided to the households in phase 2 of the roll-out plan to help contain waste paper and cardboard, and a net will be provided to cover dry recyclate in the kerbside box.”
Tenders
The council said tenders will be drawn up for the purchase of 60,000 kerbside boxes, 20,000 bags and 20,000 box nets. Funding for the initiative comes from a 24 million grant from the Scottish Executive's Strategic Waste Fund.
The council also intends to introduce a further 12,000 brown wheelie bins for the collection of garden waste from August. Some 8,000 people already have the bins, which are emptied every two weeks.
Part of the North East Waste Strategy Group, Aberdeen has a target to reduce the growth of household waste generation by 1% a year, and slash the amount of waste going to landfill by 40% by 2005. It also wants to see a minimum of 25% of domestic waste to be composted or recycled by 2005.
As part of its Strategic Waste Implementation Plan the council will promote home composting, introduce sites where people living in multi-storey sites can bring their recyclables and set up “mini-recycling” points in sheltered and tenement housing. A household waste audit is also planned.
A household waste guide will be sent to all of Aberdeen's residents, and the council said it would continue with its ongoing “Waste Aware Grampian” education programme promoting recycling to schools and community groups.
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