Sustainable Recycling in Nottingham

● The UK recycling rate has decreased for the first time ever.

● The recycling rate peaked at 43.9% in 2012; EU target set at 50% for 2020.

● Nottingham is ranked 299th for recycling out of all the nations 352 local authorities, at 32.9%.

● 15% of recycling waste is contaminated by waste that is not recyclable.

● And of general waste, 15% of it is recyclable material.

● In 2015, Wastecycle placed £250,000 in penalties for waste contamination on the City Council.

The Problem

Issues in Nottingham

Budget

● Current austerity measures have given the Council targets to reduce their spending year on year.

Demographics of the City population

● Range of incomes.

● Language Barriers - over 60 languages spoken in the city centre.

Housing

● Terrace housing on busy roads with little space surrounding.

Politicians

● Councilors have to approve changes.

The Problem - Student Population

● 54.8% of students are committed recyclers, and 8.2% of students do not recycle at all.

● Over 25% of in-halls first year students are not aware of the recycling collection in their term-time residence.

● Environmental benefits; 75.5% recycle to avoid sending waste to landfill.

● 51.7% of students proposed an increase in the number of bins provided.

● Approximately 50% of the UK population believe they are doing all they can, whereas the remainder feel they need advice and further support.

The Three Cores

Broad Communication Direct Education

Strategy

Posters

DoorsteppingRecycling website pages

Social Media

Leaflets

Educational workshops

Recycling bin stickers

Multiple Bins - separating glass

Community events

Strategy

● The logistics of the waste collection.

● Lots of different methods used by different councils across the country.

● We decided to compare Nottingham’s strategy with the strategies of higher performing councils.

Current Strategy

● General Waste - Green (240 litre)

● Recycling - Brown with a Grey Lid.

● Red Textiles Bag.

● Garden Waste - Brown.

● Orange survival bag.

Alternative Strategies - Stockport

● 60.7% recycling, reuse and composting rates (#7).

Introduced the four bin system in 2009

● Black - General Waste (140 litre)

● Blue Bin or Bag - Paper / Cardboard.

● Brown - Tins/ Glass/ Cans/ Plastic.

● Green - Garden Waste.

Saved £2.7 million in disposal costs (reduced contamination cost).

● 49% recycling, reuse and composting rate in 2013.

● 53.2% (#48) in 2015.

They separate waste into 5 compulsory bins.

● Grey - General Waste (Non Recyclable).

● Brown - Glass, plastic bottles and tins and cans.

● Blue - Card / Cardboard.

● Green - Garden Waste.

● White Bag - Paper.

Alternative Strategies - Barnsley

Alternative Strategies - Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

● 40.8% recycling, reuse and composting rates (#211).

A more segregated recycling system than Nottingham.

● Green - Household Waste Bin (240 litre).

● Blue - Recycling Bin (240 litre).

○ Black - Small Caddie (40 litre) - glass and batteries.

■ may be substituted for communal bin in multi-occupancy accommodations.

● Brown - Garden Waste (subscription-based: £20/year) [Not currently receiving].

● Weekly collections from student accommodation (if enough waste is produced).

Alternative Strategies - Boxes

● 2 box idea - each box would be collected on alternate weeks, this will decrease contamination.

○ Box 1 - Card/paper and plastic.

○ Box 2 - Cans and glass.

● A box for inside the home could be introduced for flats and student accommodation:

○ Holes in plastic box - encourage people to wash out their containers.

○ Less mess in kitchen.

○ Lightweight so easy to take outside.

○ Small and compact so fit easily into the kitchen.

Alternative Strategies - Bryson's Scheme

Bryson recycling plants implement this idea and it has lead to;

● 2006 NI 25% recycling rate.

● Bryson introduction - 45% within 3 months; 76% today.

● Decrease in contamination rates - refuse collectors can easily see which materials can not be taken to the recycling plant.

● Reducing factory costs as separation happens on collection.

● Quick - Vehicles are unloaded in 7 minutes.

● Design is safer for workers as compartments are lower down and boxes are lighter than if all recycling is stored together.

● Reduced costs as more money is regenerated from selling the recycled waste to reprocessors.

Broad Communication - Improving the council’s website

● Social Media.

● Recycling web pages.

● Leaflets.

● Posters.

● Doorstepping.

● Follow up Visits.

● Recycling Bin Stickers.

● Community Events (Educational Workshops).

● University Events (Freshers and Housing Fairs).

Methods of Communication

Communication and Education - Posters and Flyers

Targeted at students

● Hand leaflets out to student letting agents to give to tenants on the collection of keys.

● Ensure that houses of multiple occupancy have the correct number of bins .

● Ensure that people in flats are aware of the “orange survival bag” .

Multi Language Households

● We have been looking into translating leaflets so that our message reaches a wider audience. ● 12.7% of Nottingham’s population moved to the UK in the last 10 years compared 7%

nationally. ● In total 19.5% of Nottingham’s population was born outside the UK.

● Language specific shops, places of worship and community centres.

School Education

● Hand them out in primary schools after educational workshops (parents learn from children).● Uni Freshers fair and Housing fair .

Educational Workshops

Tackling misconceptions on recycling - what can, and what cannot be recycled.

“Don’t throw it away, it can be used in some other way”

Direct Education

Community events

● Larger-scale communication and education than door-to-door.

● Publically increases awareness of citizens to recycling practises (large-scale).

Schools

● Targeting the main issue; Students are the worst recyclers/contaminators.

Door-to-door

● Increase awareness & educate; offer advice and answer questions.

● Target households/areas with high contamination/low recycling rates.

Stickers

● To be placed on bins with contaminated waste/low recycling -- suggestions and advice.

Response

Waste Hierarchy

Nottingham

Stockport 4 bin strategy:

Bryson Scheme implementation

● General waste● Card/Paper● Cans/Glass● Garden waste

Conclusion

● “The enforcement of government cuts has made it difficult for councils to maintain their enthusiasm, but we would be looking at 50 per cent or more waste recycled for everywhere.”

- Nigel Lee, Nottingham Friends of the Earth.

● Bryson scheme - ideal in the long term, issues with cost. (51% increase in recycling in 10 year period).

● Stockport 4 bin scheme - ideal because it can be achieved in short term, costs are lower and it has been successfully implemented elsewhere.

● However Bryson scheme could be implemented gradually over time replacing the fleet of lorrys when necessary.

● Community; target students through tenants and estate agents, distributing informative pictual leaflets to areas of multiple languages and promotion of recycling through education in local areas.

General Solutions

● Recyclable packaging

Less waste sent to landfill.

● Reduce

UK households spend £12.5 billion annually on food they throw away; food and packaging is costing the UK food industry £6.9 billion annually.

● Re-use

Just because a product has fulfilled its core purpose doesn’t mean it’s not useful to someone else or in some other way.

Q / A