An Audit Commission team inspected the waste, environmental health and consumer services provided by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and found the overall service to be “good” with “excellent prospects for improvement”. The best value inspectors praised Stockport for its high levels of recycling and ambitious recycling targets and said that “the recycling facilities make a key contribution to protecting and promoting the environment”.
Comparison on recycling rates reveal that with a recycling rate of over 13%, the council has the best recycling rate in Greater Manchester. The inspectors found that nearly all households in the borough are covered by a kerbside paper recycling service and that residents benefited from a good range of community-based recycling facilities.
The inspectors also found that the council carries out a number of initiatives that help to reduce the amount of waste produced. The report concluded: “There were also good examples of promoting waste awareness and reduction and good working across departments. Initiatives included real nappy week, to promote less use of disposable nappies, mini recycling for flats, ‘slim your bin’ campaigns and the sales of compost bins and paying charities recycling credits to encourage their involvement.”
Mark Rimmer, Stockport's waste team leader, said that the high recycling rate is a result of the council's network of bring sites. “What we have been good at is kerbside paper recycling and a high density network of 140 bring sites.”
Disposal costs
But the inspectors said that the cost of waste disposal is too high. The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) is responsible for waste disposal and it is also one of the most expensive in the country. Stockport pays a large amount to the GMWDA because fees are based on population rather than tonnage disposed. Stockport does not benefit from its relatively high levels of recycling and the method of payment does not encourage Stockport to reduce the amount of waste disposed of. The council has been negotiating for a change in the way payments are calculated.
The inspectors also found that recycling facilities could be improved with better signage to help show residents the location of neighbourhood recycling facilities. And they said that a publicity programme should target non-users of recycling facilities.
The Audit Commission said that the council should look to reduce the “very large volumes of garden waste still going to landfill”. Mr Rimmer explained that the new waste and recycling contract which the council has recently let to Greater Manchester Waste addresses this and a green waste collection service covering 70,000 households will start in the summer.
Kerbside
Mr Rimmer also explained how the council plans to increase its recycling rate by piloting a kerbside collection of glass and cans in July. The scheme will be rolled out to 10,000 properties and the recyclables will be collected on the same day as the refuse as will the existing waste paper collection. This is because research shows that residents have difficulty remembering different kerbside collection dates for different items.
Mr Rimmer also said that the council had exhausted traditional locations such as car parks and that they were now looking to target blocks of 25 flats or more with brings banks.
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