A report to the council’s neighbourhoods and streetpride cabinet member meeting recommended that weekly waste collections be introduced on a “small number of streets” in the New Zealand area of Mackworth in the city, due to local residents’ concerns about the “large number of bins on streets”.
Currently, these streets – like the majority in Derby – have alternate weekly recycling and waste collections, but from later this month recycling collections will be removed as part of the change in service.
The report argues that large numbers of bins on streets can obstruct the pavement for “pedestrians, wheelchair users, the visually impaired and prams/buggies” and also make use of mechanical street sweepers “impossible”.
It also lists issues such as large numbers of bins making the area look “unattractive”, as well as the potential “serious fire” risk to householders where bins, which are flammable, are adjacent to the property.
Education and enforcement campaigns to improve bin clutter and recycling contamination were ruled out and declared “ineffective” and “relatively costly” by the council due to the high turnover of residents in the New Zealand area, including an annual influx of students from outside the city.
And, although the Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 requires the council to provide separate collection of two types of recyclable waste in addition to a collection residual waste, the report states that there are exemptions “where the cost of collection is unreasonably high or comparable alternatives are available”.
Changes
In place of the recycling collections, two bring sites will be introduced at nearby locations yet to be confirmed, although the council expects “negligible” impact on the city’s recycling rate due to the small number of properties affected.
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Introducing a weekly residual waste collection alongside two bring sites in the affected area is expected to cost £7,000 a year.
The change will halve the number of bins on streets and will last for a trial period of 12 months from February 17 2015, after which the service will be reviewed before a decision is taken as to whether to make the change permanent.
Previous trials
The affected streets in New Zealand are just the latest in Derby to have recycling collections removed in favour of more frequent residual waste collections, with changes already introduced in several other streets in the Mackworth ward since early last year (see letsrecycle.com story).
This followed the removal of recycling collections for around 3,300 properties as part of a trial in nearby Aboretum in 2013, which is due to be reviewed by the council this year (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, since December 2014, this trial was expanded to include an additional eight streets in the Aboretum ward and 18 streets in Normanton in a bid to tackle recycling contamination (see letsrecycle.com story).
According to the council report, indications from the previous 2013 trial in Aboretum are that people affected by previous changes are “finding the system of presenting their waste for collection now much easier to understand”.
Contamination
Local campaigners as well as Green Party leader Natalie Bennett have been critical of the removal of recycling services in various parts of the city for adversely impacting on recycling rates and encouraging fly tipping.
Previously, one of the main reasons given for the changes in some areas has been high levels of contamination of recycling boxes, which the council said put it at risk of fines from waste contractor Biffa for rejected loads of material.
However, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request put to the council by waste and anti-incineration campaigner Simon Bacon revealed that Biffa did not reject any loads of blue bin recyclable materials at the Victory Road sorting facility in 2013/14, because rejects are taken out during the sorting process.
The FOI response stated that the average percentage of rejected material from the start of the roll out of the new blue bin collection system on June 4 2013 until March 31 2014 was 5.8%.
Mr Bacon said: “This latest kerbside recycling removal continues the council’s attempts to dismantle what had been a successful recycling service in the city which reached a high of 48% in 2010/11 but is now predicted to fall to a new low of 32%. Freedom of Information requests show the council does not hold data to justify service removal and shows that no loads of recyclate have been rejected by their contractor Biffa.”
The streets in the New Zealand area of Mackworth affected by the latest recycling collection removal trial are:
- Stepping Lane/Handford Court
- Wild Street/Leake Street
- Campion Street
- Brough Street
- Peach Street
- Langley Street
- Cecil Street
- Manchester Street/Cross Street
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