WASTE INFRASTRUCTURE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT – A UK TOOLKIT

Dr Adam Read – Practice DirectorWaste Management & Resource Efficiency, AEA

AWMA 201219th – 22nd JuneSan Antonio, Texas

A world leadingenergy and climatechange consultancy

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An Overview …. In 20 minutes …..

+ Personal Welcome

+ Introduction to the topic

+ What was the issue?

+ Why a toolkit?

+ Development and production of the toolkit

+ The training programme

+ What’s happening now?

+ Use of the toolkit

+ Some conclusions

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A personal welcome

+ Adam Read

- Practice Director @ AEA for Waste Management- 18 years of operational expertise in recycling service

design, roll-out and monitoring- Staff of > 75 consultants (UK and US)

+ Role on the project

- Project Director+ Acknowledgements

- Sarahjane Widdowson, Gareth Morton and Gwyndaf Parry- AEA for their support in allowing me to be here today

My sponsors ….

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Our US sponsors

+ We are here exhibiting with ERG

- we acquired them in 2010+ Come and see us on Booth #118

- ERG and AEA Technology Group+ Franklin Associates (ERG division)

- extensive experience in all aspects of solid waste management (over 30 years of practice)- integrated solid waste master plans- full life cycle analyses of solid waste- waste stream evaluations for local,

regional, state, and national agencies

Introduction

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The UK Context

+ Landfill disposal cost is increasing each year- Landfill tax is increasing by £8 per tonne (currently £64/tonne)

+ EU Waste Framework Directive requires:- 50% recycling 2025 - 75% reduction on 1995 levels of BMW going to landfill by 2020

+ Recycling targets set by Devolved Administrations in the UK- 70% target for Scotland by 2020- 70% target for Wales by 2025

+ These are driving local authorities to introduce comprehensive services to reduce, recycle and recover waste

+ An estimated 750 new waste treatment facilities needed- before 2020 so the UK can meet its obligations

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Community Engagement is key ….

+ UK is a tiny island!- 2.5% of the US land mass

+ Land is in competition- retail, domestic, industry

+ Planning is a local political issue

+ People power is an increasing trend

+ A Government who are encouraging ‘localism’

+ Waste facilities are not popular neighbours!

+ Yet waste facilities should be ‘urban’- feedstock & markets

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Public consultation

+ Is a fact of life…- By law- By encouragement - By popular demand …

But…

+ People no longer trust decision makers!

Waste management systems alone cannot deliver less waste,

increased recycling and carbon reduction.

Success will only come with public buy-in and support!!

The basic problem...1

The basic problem...2

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The basic problem...3

The Unsustainable vs. The Undeliverable

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UK EfW facilities – May 2012

Operational, proposed & in planning

The NIMBY response!

+ Hull Opposing The Incinerator (HOTI)

People need to have their ‘say’

The results of ‘not listening’

Cost of Residual Waste Procurement?

+ Authority X have spent £3/4 million on- Strategy & Outline Business Case- Procurement (EOI to full tender)- Staff & Advisors- 3-5 years of work

+ Value of contract procured?- £3 billion (over 30 years)

+ Value of communications budget = insignificant!- £300,000- Would you mind paying £900,00 if it guarantees success?

+ But what is the cost of not operational on Day 1?

Opposing Cornwall

+ A vociferous and effective opposition movement developed- Campaign website- Logo- Literature- Mobilised local

people- Led public opinion

SITA Public Meeting in a Marquee in St Dennis attracted 800 people

from all parts of Cornwall

Cost of delays ? Every month ….

+ Contract penalties- £100 per tonne (£3 million)

+ On-going landfill fees & taxes- £100 per tonne (£3 million)

+ Planning Appeals & Enquiries- £500,000 - £1 Million

+ Main reason for infrastructure delays = PLANNING- Driven by local concerns and NIMBY activists!

+ Spending wisely on community engagement = INVESTMENT!21

Reality check ….

What are the sustainable solutions?

+ Ones that help the UK meet its statutory targets+ Ones that are affordable+ Ones that are environmentally acceptable+ Ones that generate jobs+ Ones that protect human health+ Ones that are deliverable in the time available+ Ones that are robust and flexible+ Ones that are politically acceptable+ Ones that are publicly acceptable

- Ones that have been fully consulted on……

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What is the public concerned about?

+ Fear of impact to health

+ Effects on quality of life

+ Damage to natural environment

+ Lack of trust in authority

+ Traffic movements

+ Local house prices (NIMBY)

+ Local landscape

+ What technology will be used

+ These need to be addressed

- design them into your engagement plan right from the start

Overcoming public fears

Public Engagement is vital to

+ Provide people with accurate information

+ Understand public concerns

+ Gain the support of the wider community

+ Encourage positive action

+ Provide a sense of ‘ownership’

- of the problem- and of the solutions

+ Develop a proposal which is mutually beneficial

+ Providing a community benefit

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Key issues

+ Stakeholders are not obliged to co-operate

+ They are giving their time and therefore determine how long they wish to spend in consultation

+ They have the right to confidentiality

+ They have a right to receive information in return

+ Need to set out clearly the use of information and commitment to acting on results

- consultation for fact finding or for making decisions?- conversation is important!

Business Case Development

Contractor PQQ & Procurement

Permitting

Construction

Commissioning

Procurement Strategy & Market Engagement

Outline Business Case

Options Appraisal

Strategy and SEA

Focus Groups

Strategy Consultation

Preferred Option Communication

Public Information Giving

Waste Planning Guide and Site Selection

Site Selection Criteria Consultation

Site Specific Consultation

Public Information Giving

Planning and site acquisition

When to consult

A procurement timetable and consultation/engagement opportunities

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Decide and defend?

+ If ‘consultation is left until as late as the site planning stage:

- effectively no consultation with public- either a Yes or No decision- undoubtedly local opposition will block the application or

at least slow down its acceptance- public will react with hostility to this type of ‘decide and

defend’ approach to facility development+ This has been the UK approach….

+ Must move beyond this traditional ‘them and us’ approach:

- a position based on participatory planning- focusing on engagement and joined up thinking

Waste Management - WALESMillennium Stadium, Cardiff, 1st November 2007

How to Consult?

+ The team conducting the consultation need to be active and believe in the process

+ There is no point carrying out a consultation if it is just a tick box exercise- Stakeholders will see through this quickly and won’t engage

+ Options- Public Meetings / Focus Groups- Shopping Centre Roadshows- Newspaper articles- Radio and TV advertising- Leaflets / Website- Home visits / School visits- Community Advisory Groups / Citizen Juries

Literature

Online Surveys & Information

Waste Management - WALESMillennium Stadium, Cardiff, 1st November 2007

Waste Management - WALESMillennium Stadium, Cardiff, 1st November 2007

Waste Management - WALESMillennium Stadium, Cardiff, 1st November 2007

The Toolkit

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About Wales

+ Part of UK

+ 3m population

+ 22 local authorities, including a mix of rural, urban and valley regions

+ Devolved Government

+ Target of 70% recycling by 2025

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Setting the Scene in Wales …

+ European and UK legislative drivers aim to divert waste from landfill

+ The Welsh Government (WG) published its revised National Waste Strategy (2010)

- Towards Zero Waste+ The strategy set a

- 70% recycling target- cap of 30% on high efficiency EfW plants

+ Recognition that new infrastrucutre was necessary

- sorting, treatment, reprocessing- all needing to get through the planning system

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Delivering waste facilities in Wales

+ Planning of waste management infrastructure has been historically difficult

- even including bring banks+ Pressure to meet European Union landfill

diversion Targets

+ Several hundred new waste facilities needed

- from bring banks to treatment plants+ Welsh Government commissioned the

production of a new public engagement toolkit

- help local authorities consult and engage more effectively with the general public on waste infrastructure issues

The aim

Enable any ‘user’ to develop a local campaign which is appropriate and focused on local solutions

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What’s in it?

+ It considers the different stages of consultation:

- initial awareness raising of the problem - strategic evaluation of alternative options- understanding of the need for change- choice of technology- decisions on site search criteria - planning and licensing applications for specific facilities

+ All can be done in isolation

+ Better still they should be seen as a holistic programme of consultation leading to delivery of the appropriate facilities for the area in question

How does is work?

+ The toolkit is a step-by-step guide to consulting with all stakeholders on waste infrastructure issues

+ It is based around the following concepts:

- Why consult- When should you consult- Who should you consult with- How do you consult?

+ It uses best practice and a detailed literature review of existing documents with relevance to communications, consultation, and waste management

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Toolkit contents

+ Tick sheets of key tasks

+ Project Timetables

+ Stakeholder Involvement

- How to- When to- Reason to

+ Stakeholder roles

+ Events Management

+ Costs

- Outline budgets+ Monitoring and Evaluation tools

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What’s in it?

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Media guide

+ FAQs

+ Press release template- advertising consultation events

+ PowerPoint presentations- for use at consultation events / public meetings etc- covering technologies

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Why is it different?

+ There are excellent guidance documents on stakeholder consultation already available

- it is not a new concept in the environment field - nor the waste management sector

+ The difference lies in its practical nature

+ As well as conventional guidance, it provides:

- indicative timings and costs for running campaigns- detailed fact sheets and images of all types of waste

treatment technologies that can be provided to the public to help explain these issues and help to demystify the subject

The training programme

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Why a training programme too?

The Welsh Government recognised two things:

+ Public acceptance of new facilities would be crucial to keeping their waste strategy on track and local authorities would need help in developing better practices

+ The relevant local authority officers and personnel from the Environment Agency in Wales needed to be, not only made aware of the toolkits existence, but also trained in its use

- Just possessing the toolkit wasn’t enough- How many guides sit on a shelf?

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Target audiences and aims

+ Awareness Raising: - Targeting those involved in the procurement process, ensuring they

had a broad understanding of the main issues, processes and objectives of good consultation

+ Member Training: - Targeting local elected councillors with a responsibility for or an

interest in waste management to give an understanding of the need for, and their role in, community engagement during the procurement of new food processing and residual waste treatment technologies

+ Local Authority Officer Training: - Specifically those involved in the procurement of residual and food

waste treatment facilities- Providing the knowledge and confidence to create an appropriate

communications plan for their particular procurement process, and to organise and conduct appropriate types of engagement

Detailed course aims

+ Provide delegates with appropriate ‘tools’ for use during planned Community Engagement

+ Increase understanding of the current waste infrastructure procurement programmes and their timetables amongst the delegates

+ Provide delegates with details of when, how and with whom to engage throughout the procurement of any new facility

+ Supply delegates with sufficient knowledge to deal satisfactorily with any planned ‘merchant facilities’

+ Advise delegates on how to deal with the media

+ Enable delegates to create a communications plan for their area / projects

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How the training was delivered

+ Geography - The training was designed to run in locations that were:

- accessible to the widely dispersed audience- matched the locations of a number of waste treatment

facility procurement ‘hubs’ that were operating+ Convenience - The 3 day course was also designed to have

minimum impact on officer’s time by:

- scheduling sessions for just one day per week in each of the three locations over three weeks

+ Accreditation

- 18 hours of Continued Professional Development (CPD) approved by Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (UK professional body for waste managers)

The procurement hubs and training locations

+ Initial 3 day programme

+ Follow up ‘all-Wales’ training

+ Training for elected members at national conference in Cardiff

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Who attended?

+ Over 50 officers (from all of the 22 local authorities in Wales) attended the training courses

+ Around 30 councillors attended the special session held at the national conference in Cardiff

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Outcomes

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The current situation

A major waste management infrastructure delivery programme is now firmly underway:

+ Out of the 22 local authorities in Wales:- 18 are part of one of 5 food waste focused procurement hubs to

jointly procure waste management infrastructure - 4 other authorities have already secured appropriate measures

+ For residual waste in particular….- 6 procurement hubs are in place. Each hub has a projected capacity

requirement for the treatment of residual waste ranging from 45,000 tonnes to 230,000 tonnes per annum

- Total waste tonnage treatment capacity for the whole of Wales is up to 815,000 tonnes

- The hubs are technology neutral (i.e. no specific technology specified) oMakes engagement even more critical!

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The role of the hubs

+ These hubs (both residual waste treatment and AD focused) will be responsible for designing and procuring over 25 major new facilities by 2020

+ All will need careful community and stakeholder engagement if they are to proceed smoothly to their operational stage

+ All must demonstrate they have an engagement plan and are implementing effectively to retain Government funding & support!

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Use of the toolkit?

+ 57% (12) local authorities in Wales used the Toolkit for:- generic awareness raising activities related to reduce, reuse and

recycling messages as well as waste infrastructure campaigns

+ Of these authorities, 30% (4) had used it, or were intending on using it, specifically for: - awareness raising activities surrounding the introduction of new waste

infrastructure

+ A further 41% of local authorities in Wales were: - planning to use the Toolkit over the next 24 months in conjunction

with their infrastructure delivery plans

+ Many local authorities were planning to use the toolkit - for more general recycling and waste campaigns, addressing waste

prevention, home composting and litter

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Conclusions

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You’ve got to engage

+ The community is an essential part of the waste management process

+ Facilities and more likely to be accepted if communities are involved in a dialogue with the provider

+ A lack of consultation can

- Increase your costs- Stop your project- Devalue your brand

+ It pays to engage!

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Lessons for the US

+ Landfill is cheap and accessible but what about resource security?

- Will new infrastructure be needed?+ Some facilities benefit from being close to

local communities (CHP)

- Contractors need to be ‘good neighbours’+ As fuel (gasoline) prices increase, localising

facilities to communities will be key

- This will bring tension- Need to plan for this!

+ Community engagement can be expensive – but not engaging is usually more costly!

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Thank you!

Come and see us …. Booth #118

Adam Read

Practice Director - AEA

Waste Management & Resource Efficiency

cell: 0044 7968 707 239

email: adam.read@aeat.co.uk

web: www.aeat.co.uk

Shelly Schneider

Franklin Associates (ERG)

Waste Management & Resource Efficiency

tel: 913-800-8276

email: Shelly.Schneider@erg.com

web: www.aeat.co.uk