Wyre Council profits from Blackpool green waste collection

Wyre Borough Council, which has a recycling rate of 18.6%, has implemented a high-tech green waste collection system in neighbouring Blackpool, which recycles just 9% and has not collected green waste from the kerbside before.

Wyre council's in-house team won the contract in August after bidding against other collection companies. The team is run by Wyre Council's Direct Works Division, which also organises refuse collection and street cleaning, with some input from outside companies.

In a statement, Wyre explained that it had won because it offered a competitive price and had expertise in green waste recycling. Wyre's head of operations Alan White said: “We are into this as a commercial venture and it makes a significant contribution to the finances of the Direct Works Division.”

Revenue

Wyre spokesman David Pearce explained: “Initially, revenue from the contract will go into the funds of the DWO. This is very much making money for Wyre.”

Under the Blackpool collections, a three-man collection team handles 1,000 bins a day. They use a refurbished N-registered Dennis Eagle vehicle, which cost 53,000, rather than around 120,000 – the price of a new truck.

Microchips

The green waste is collected in 240-litre wheeled bins which contain microchips. These chips are read during loading by the Zoeller bin lift and PM Onboard gadgets which record the weight of the bins' contents. Wyre is currently developing software to allow more sophisticated analysis of these results than at present

Wyre councillor Len Jolley said: “Wyre is particularly proud of its scheme to recycle green waste. Since a free collection scheme began in April 1999, the amount of green waste collected in parts of the borough has risen dramatically.” By spring 2003, the Wyre scheme will be expanded to a total of 34,500 households, including the town of Fleetwood and 10,000 properties in the Over Wyre district.

The Blackpool collection will remove an estimated 6,000 tonnes a year of material from the waste stream for compost manufacture by Greenacre Plus Grow Compost of Poulton. Blackpool is now planning to extend their collections to another 17,000 homes.