Derby kerbside trial success leads to scheme expansion

In ten months, the collections from 5,500 households recycled 1,730 tonnes of material – 41% of the waste those households produced.

The Rethink Rubbish-branded scheme has taken the city's overall recycling rate from the 2002/03 average of 13% up to 15%.

The service, which has run in the Chellaston and Shelton Lock areas of the city since April 2003, includes a brown bin for green waste, a blue box for glass, plastics and cans and two bags for newspapers and textiles. Black bags for residual waste are then collected every alternate week.

Councillor Lucy Care, cabinet member for planning, transport and environment, said: “People in Chellaston and Shelton Lock have really got involved in the pilot scheme and have made it a great success. Waste is growing year on year, so making better use of what we throw away is becoming ever more important.”

As a result of the trial's success, the council is now to expand the scheme to 32,000 households in the city from March to July this year.

Derby's 100,000 households produce around 118,000 tonnes of waste a year. The council needs to more than double its recycling rate to 33% by 2005/06 to reach targets set by the government.

Contract

Derby council is expected to start the tendering process for a long term waste management contract later this year. New technology company Brightstar Environmental is likely to be among the bidders.

The Australian company already has planning permission to build a Solid Waste and Energy Recycling Facility (SWERF) at Sinfin Lane in Derby, to take up to 220,000 tonnes of municipal waste per year.

Peter Cumberlidge, Brightstar Environmental’s UK general manager, said: “We have planning permission to build the SWERF but we have got to have contracts to make it commercially viable.”

Brightstar Environmental is still looking for financial backing after its parent company Energy Development Ltd pulled out last year (see letsrecycle.com story). “We as a company are in the middle of a financing round which will eventually benefit the Derby plant,” said Mr Cumberlidge.