Top dry recycler hails commingled approach

The top performing council for dry recycling in England has said that lower scoring councils should consider moving to commingled collections to boost their recycling rates.

The comments came after official statistics from WasteDataFlow revealed that Surrey Heath borough council was the top dry recycler in 2011/12 with a dry recycling rate of 39.2%. The council said the simplicity of its service, which includes a fortnightly collection of commingled dry recyclables, helped it to reach the top spot.

Oxfordshire councils Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire which recorded the highest overall recycling, reuse and composting rates in 2011/12 – followed with dry recycling rates of 37.3% and 37% respectively. Meanwhile Ashford borough council sits at the bottom of the table with a dry recycling rate of 13.7% for 2011/12.

The data does not include figures for 52 councils, which WasteDataFlow attributed to a change in the councils status.

Commingled

Recycling and waste collections in Surrey Heath are provided by Biffa, which in 2009 overhauled the service. The overhaul included rolling out 240 litre wheeled bins for commingled dry recyclables and 180 litre wheeled bins for residual waste. These are collected on alternate weeks. Biffa also collects food waste weekly and offers a charged for fortnightly green waste service. Previously, waste was collected in black sacks with a minimal kerbside recycling service.

Following the councils success with this service, Verity Parker, recycling officer for Surrey Heath, told letsrecycle.com that other councils could boost their recycling rates by considering a service change to commingled collections.

I think some councils should consider moving to commingled collections to boost their recycling rates. When you think about the system I understand how people have gone down the route of source separated collections but maybe it is a case of needing to move on to commingled bins.

Ms Parker said that commingled collections provide an easier option for councils as it can be difficult to estimate the average amount of each material collected per household making it harder to determine the container size needed. A commingled collection involving wheeled bin provides a one size fits all solution, she added.

However, Ms Parker acknowledged that the move would depend on the local situation and in boroughs which have had source segregated for a long time the residents may not favour a move to commingled collections. Councils proximity to materials recycling facilities (MRFs) would also have to be taken into consideration, she said.

I think it would work in the majority of places because it is so easy but maybe it might have a slightly different effect in places which have traditionally used source separated collections.

Success

However, Ms Parker said there were other factors which contributed to the councils success. These include: a non-corporate communications campaign featuring mascot Roary the tiger; the simplicity of the service; and, the wide range of materials collected at the kerbside cans, glass, plastics, paper and card, foil, plastic packaging, batteries and small waste electrical and electronic (WEEE) items.

Going forward, Ms Parker said that Surrey Heath had achieved all of the easy wins and will now be looking at smaller changes to the service such as adding textiles to kerbside collections and increasing the types of items collected at household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs).

She said: We will maybe look to do more in the reuse format or bring banks. For us it may be a case of looking at our recycling sites and looking at expanding the range of materials we take.

She said the council will aim for an overall recycling rate of 70%, but it will not be an easy task. It is going to be a very hard 5%. We can only try our best and I think as long as we can keep encouraging residents and saying thank you to them for what they have done and continue to do, we can do it.

Commenting on Surrey Heaths success so far, Councillor Vivienne Chapman, community portfolio holder for the council, which includes waste, has previously said: Surrey Heath residents are continuing to build on the outstanding recycling rates they have already achieved over the last few years. On dry recycling alone we are way ahead of any other council in the country, but we know we can still do better and want to continue improving by extending and developing our collection scheme in new way.

Oxfordshire

Vale of White Horse were the top overall recyclers in 2011/12 achieving a reuse, recycling and composting rate of 68.7% (see letsrecycle.com story). Surrey Heath came in fourth place.

Vales waste and recycling collections, along with neighbouring council South Oxfordshire, are also operated by Biffa which runs a similar service to the one in Surrey Heath.

Similarly to Surrey Heath, the Oxfordshire councils believe the simplicity of their service and the hard work of their residents has helped them achieve impressive dry recycling rates.

Councillor Reg Waite, cabinet member for waste at Vale of White Horse district council, said: Our joint waste service is designed to make it as easy as possible, but without the hard work of our residents at home, we couldnt have achieved what we have in terms of our recycling figures. We will not be resting on our laurels though we are always seeking ways of getting those numbers even higher.