www.northumberland.gov.uk copyright 2009 northumberland county council harmonisation of waste...
TRANSCRIPT
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Harmonisation of Waste Services
September 2010
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Agenda
• Background & context
• Outline of policy areas addressed
• Focus on bulky waste & garden waste
• Impact on performance & budget
• Key issues & learning points
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Background (1)• Needed to make significant savings as part of LGR
– waste service >£600k
• Needed to harmonise former WCA services
– Equality of service provision – avoid post code lottery!
– Maintain environmental performance
– Generate income/reduce costs
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Background (2)
• Joint MSW Strategy agreed 2003– AWC of residual and co-mingled
recyclables (paper, card, plastic bottles, cans, aerosols).
– Bring sites for glass & textiles
– Home compost promotion, promoted charged for kerbside garden waste collections
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Areas of Disharmony!
• Bulky waste – charges, number of items, waste types, service standards, operational arrangements.
• Garden waste – charges, containers, period for collections, access to service.
• Bin provision, replacement & changing sizes• Side waste & overloaded bins• Trade waste services & Schedule 2 compliance• Recycling bin contamination & enforcement
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Bulky Waste – Pre LGR
• 5 out of 6 WCAs levied charge
• Prices ranged from free to £21 for 3 items
• Income of £130k but collection cost £304k, net cost of £174k pa
• ~38,000 service requests each year
• Collection time ranged 2 – 20 days
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
New Service
• New pricing structure• £15 - 4 items, £30 – 8 items, £45 – 13• 25% concession if on benefits etc • £10 each for white goods• Full cost recovery for DIY waste – quote• Collections within 10 days
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Impact of new bulky waste policy (1)
• ~75% reduction in service requests
• Income £122k, collection costs ~£210k, net cost of ~£88k = saving of £86k
• No adverse impact on flytipping – down from 2322 to 1982
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Impact of new bulky waste policy (2)
• HWRCs overall tonnage up from 40,885 tonnes to 42,874 tonnes
• Increased HWRC recycling/recovery rate from 64% to 68%
• BUT charges not popular in the SE area!
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Garden Waste – Pre LGR• Free ‘opt-out’ 14,500 homes – Tynedale
• One-off £18 charge then free – Blyth
• Rolls of 10 bio bags £1 – Wansbeck
• Annual charge ranging £15.50 to £30.25
• Seasonal collections 4 areas, 2 right through the year fortnightly &/or monthly
• ~£170k pa income
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
New Garden Waste Service (1)
• Annual charge £20 per bin
• £1.50 roll 10 bio bags (phased out 2010)
• Fortnightly, 20 collections from March to end of Nov each year – stop in winter
• Extended coverage Berwick coastal villages
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
New Garden Waste Service (2)
• Charges highly unpopular – lots of adverse press coverage, but only 108 complaints!
• 38% drop in take-up (mainly Tynedale), 25,500 to 16,000 customers.
• Recovered 3,900 bins for reuse
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Garden Waste PI’s2008/09 2009/10 Variance
Kerbside Compost
9,113 7,453 -1,678
HWRC
Compost
10,270 10,811 +541
% HW composted
12.2% 11.9% -0.3%
Income £170k £277k +£107k
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Overall Impact on PI’s2008/09 2009/10 Variance
NI 191 Kg residual HW per HH 673.8 650.9 -22.9
NI 192 % HW reused, recycled, composted
38.9% 39.0% +0.1%
NI 193 % MW sent to landfill 57.2% 11.5% -45.7%
Total Kg HW collected per head 512kg 492kg -20kg
www.northumberland.gov.uk
Copyright 2009 Northumberland County Council
Key Learning Points• It’s not just about income generation
• Use of charging as policy tool to maintain environmental performance
• Communicate the bigger picture
• Very complex set of variables difficult to pin down cause and effect
• Monitor, review and refine approach