The Wasters Blog » local authorities

UK Sees Sustained Drop in Waste to Landfill

waster — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 16:42:51 +0000

Waste for landfill reduced by 3.1% since last year. How much is truly related to increased recycling and how much to the recession is not known.

The amount of waste going to landfill in the United Kingdom has continued to fall in 2009, according to figures from the government environmental department Defra.

Provisional estimates from the department’s survey of municipal waste in England incorporate the first quarter of the 2009/10 financial year and are based on information supplied by local authorities to WasteDataFlow.

To minimise the effects of seasonal fluctuations, comparisons are made between the year April 2008 to March 2009 and the year July 2008 to June 2009, that is, encompassing the provisional results for the quarter April to June 2009.

Total municipal waste decreased by 0.28 million tonnes in the year to end June 2009, to 27.06 million tonnes. A decrease in total household waste was observed, from 24.3 to 24.1 million tonnes, or 1.1%. Waste going to landfill dropped by 3.1% (13.4 million tonnes).

There was also an increase in the household recycling rate, from the average rate of 37.6% between April 2008 and March 2009 to 38.3% between July 2008 and June 2009. The average residual household waste (which is the amount of household waste which is not recycled) decreased from 295 kg per head between April 2008 and March 2009 to 289 kg per head between July 2008 and June 2009.

Defra explained that the data are provisional as not all returns have completed full validation and returns to WasteDataFlow can be revised by local authorities during the scheme year. “There are also seasonal effects on waste arisings and management which means care needs to be taken when assessing trends,” it explained Final figures will be released in the annual National Statistics release in November 2010.

For April to June 2009, all local authorities submitted data to WasteDataFlow and at the time the data were downloaded for this release, all authorities (358) had completed validation.

Tags: recession, seasonal waste, provisional landfill estimates, landfill statistics release, landfill waste fluctuations

Encouraging Recycling Quality of Service Matters

waster — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:27:02 +0000

It is heartening to see that WRG’s values are well enough grounded in the basic essentials which in the end are so important to raise recycling rates, that they publicise individual successes by the staff at the sites they develop and run, and that they have issued the press release duplicated below.

However, the Waster especially commends WRG and it’s WRG’s Site staff for the survey in which; “…99% rated it as “good or very good” and 94% said that they had found staff helpful during their visit”.

Something really quite special is being achieved, and public recycling rates can only be improved as a result.

Press Release:
Public “thumbs-up” for Smallmead recycling centre

12/10/2008
The new state-of-the-art Smallmead Household Waste Recycling Centre in Reading has been given a huge thumbs up by the people that matter most – the residents who use it.

A recent customer satisfaction survey of people visiting the facility – which is managed by Waste Recycling Group Ltd (WRG) on behalf of the re3 Partnership – found that 99% rated it as “good or very good” and 94% said that they had found staff helpful during their visit.

The centre opened to the public in January this year and has been developed by the Central Berkshire Waste Partnership known as re3. It replaced the former civic amenity facility on the same site, and customer satisfaction rates show significant year on year increases in all areas.

“This is a great result for re3 and the Smallmead team and emphasises the benefits of good customer service,” said Mike Snell, WRG’s General Manager of External Affairs. “WRG are proud to be part of a partnership whose facilities are so well regarded, and we are committed to developing all of our services for local authorities and residents alike.”

re3′s household waste recycling centre at Smallmead is an indoor, all-weather facility which makes it easier for local people to recycle more of their waste. Unwanted items can be deposited over a low-height wall or directly into containers, making it more convenient and safer for people to recycle. There are also facilities to recycle new materials like light bulbs, household batteries and printer cartridges.

The site – open seven days a week between 8am and 6pm – has also improved the flow of traffic and eased traffic congestion, which used to blight the old civic amenity site.

The re3 project was set up nine years ago between Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham borough councils and in 2006 they signed a Private Finance Initiative contract with WRG to develop and manage waste solutions over the next 25 years.

Earlier this year, as part of the PFI contract, re3 have also began redevelopment works at the Longshot Lane Civic Amenity Site in Bracknell. The works are due to continue until summer 2009, and have led to restricted opening times for residents using the site. Despite this, 82% of visitors to the site rated it as either good or very good. The full release is here.

Tags: central berkshire, local authorities, waste recycling group, wrg, household waste

Britain’s Recycling Strategy Suffers as Paper Price Colapses

waster — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:48:48 +0000

Paper price collapse blows hole in Britain’s recycling strategy

* Mark Milner, industrial editor
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday November 11 2008 00.01 GMT
* The Guardian, Tuesday November 11 2008

Paper being recycled

Britain’s paper recycling strategy is under increasing strain after a collapse in waste prices in recent weeks, according to a leading industry organisation.

Britain lacks the capacity to handle the rising amount of paper being recovered for recycling, and its dependence on exports has left it vulnerable to a rapid price collapse, the Confederation of Paper Industries said yesterday.

Far Eastern buyers had been snapping up about three-quarters of Britain’s exports of paper for recycling, but demand from the region has almost disappeared recently, the CPI said.

“With no obvious signs of Far East buyers returning to the market soon there is a serious possibility that storage of recyclables may end up being a high-risk strategy with huge costs to those requiring storage, including the taxpayers through local authorities,” the CPI said in a statement.

“The worst-case scenario is that some material collected for recycling could go to incineration or landfill,” CPI recovered paper sector manager, Peter Seggie, said.

The UK collects about 8.6m tonnes of paper and board for recycling every year but UK paper makers can only handle 4m tonnes, resulting in dependence on export markets, primarily the Far East and Europe, to take the remainder. More …

Tags: local authorities, industry, landfill, paper recyling strtaegy, paper sector