At the moment we just can't seem to get away from articles, newspaper column inches and political interviews surrounding Climate Change and Green House Gases and how sustainable waste management has a significant role to play in their mitigation.
Professor Adam Read leads a team of waste and resource management consultants at AEA specialising in resource efficiency, product design, clean technologies, waste management strategy, procurement, training and behaviour change. The emphasis seems to be about the choice between MBT, autoclaving, gasification or mass burn incineration, yet aren't we missing a trick here? Surely, recycling remains a critical issue for waste collection authorities and businesses across the UK, helping to meet statutory targets or make important cost savings in these difficult economic times. Recycling can also make a telling contribution to reducing our carbon footprint and minimising our climate change impacts and is a topic with huge public support – in theory if not always in practice!
We all know that at the core of any good recycling system is a willing and able population who know how to participate, believe in the value of taking part, and are supported in doing so by their authority. So with ever more pressure on local government budgets and the obvious visibility of waste management in the media, and to the general public, surely it makes sense to spend a little more time and effort on working with the ‘service user' (the public) before deciding to re-invent your scheme or build a large residual waste treatment facility? There are authorities with recycling rates in excess of 50%, and I have seen data from pilot schemes in some areas exceeding 70%, so there is plenty of scope for most authorities to improve what they do.
In a climate where we are all trying to squeeze those extra recycling percentage points out of our well defined schemes, some of us are left scratching our heads as to how we can achieve the necessary improvements with limited time and budgets?
In many cases most collection authorities could gain those essential ‘extra' recycling points by introducing very simple and minor changes to your frontline services to create the ‘happy customer' that we know will drive forward the efficiency and effectiveness of your scheme. After all, happy customers will be more likely to react to your communication messages, participate in the recycling / waste prevention schemes, and act as advocates for your service – helping build momentum in the field!
So, the question is, how do we create a ‘happy customer' whilst striving to meet challenging targets. It may not be feasible to revert to a weekly collection, or agree to collect unlimited amounts of residual waste, provide a daily service or clean the bins as you go etc (all things the public say they want), BUT you can ensure the level and type of service provided is ‘top class'; whether it be black bags, wheeled bins, co-mingled or an AWC service. Quality service, customer care and cleanliness after collections will almost always guarantee a happy customer – most of the time anyway.
A quality service is not just about the collection crews, but we must also consider the contact (call) centres, the website and the customer's ability to report problems, request actions or pay online for services or containers etc. In particular we need to think about providing services outside of normal operating hours (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.00 pm) to reflect people's changing lifestyles and routines.
The most common customer complaints surround:
• Missed collections
• Blocking driveways when returning bins / boxes
• Not returning bins / boxes (in particular lids)
• Damaging containers or property when ‘throwing back' containers
• Not clearing up spillage
• Abusive staff behaviour
• Obstructing the road at busy periods (near schools during drop off and pick up times)
If we consistently fail to address these complaints, by choosing to ignore them or by our inability to correct them, then the customer will inevitably (and rightly so) become dissatisfied and may even stop participating in the scheme. Once they are ‘lost' from the service they are always that much harder to re-engage and motivate – we all know this is true. So the key lesson here is don't upset your customers from the outset!
By tackling these issues head-on, you will ensure these bad practices are ‘nipped' in the bud quickly and help to build a population of ‘happy customers' – the motivated recyclers that we all recognise are critical for the success of our schemes.
So what can we do? Eliminating bad practice comes down to little more than sensible, and often cheap, housekeeping:
• Train staff (collection crews, call centre etc.) in customer care;
• Make sure all staff have up to date information on days, times, materials etc. – ensuring consistent messages to the public;
• Work with operational staff to develop better working practices;
• Record and evaluate all complaints made (and learn lessons);
• Have call centre phone lines open later in the evening and on Saturday mornings – when people have got home from work and perhaps identified an issue and wish to talk to someone;
• Encourage call centre staff to ‘shadow' collection crews and vice versa so both parties understand the day to day issues encountered and can have more empathy with each other; and
• Develop website / on-line reporting.
There are many examples of best practice out there – so share and learn from one another. As we enter the awards season we will hear more and more about the best crew, best recycling team, best innovation, or most successful service etc. Let's listen to our customers and learn from one another to make those small changes that could really impact on the way our services are perceived and participated in, without breaking the bank or overhauling our schemes when, really, there is very little need!!
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