To receive information on the proposed changes to the waste collection service, to be implimented from 30 July 2018.
Officer: Martin Litherland, Head of Waste Management
Minutes:
Martin Litherland, Head of Waste Management gave a presentation on the upcoming changes to recycling for Wiltshire. Some of the points covered included:
• From 30 July you would be able to recycle your plastic pots, tubs and trays, and drink and food cartons in your blue lidded bins in addition to the usual plastic bottles and cardboard.
• This would include yoghurt pots, meat trays, margarine tubs, ice cream tubs and juice, milk and soup cartons. Please rinse and squash your recycling where possible.
• Films and black plastic could not be recycled.
• Black boxes would continue to be used for glass, paper, cans and textiles.
Why are we making changes?
• Recycling saves energy, costs less and frees up space in your household waste bin.
• These changes will help us to meet our recycling target of 50% by 2020. Last year Wiltshire residents recycled 45% of their waste, an increase on previous years.
• Recycling more reduces the waste which is sent to landfill and energy from waste plants.
• Last year we sent just 20% of waste to landfill, compared to over 60% in 2007.
Future Changes
• Collection dates for recycling, garden and non-recyclable waste would not change when the new services are introduced on 30 July.
• All collections would remain fortnightly.
• We will continue to work with our provider, Hills Waste Solutions, to improve recycling services and make it even easier for you to recycle at home.
• You can keep updated on these changes and any future changes by signing up for email alerts by visiting the waste pages on council’s website.
Don’t forget
Plastic bottles, cardboard, yoghurt pots, meat trays, margarine tubs, ice cream tubs and juice, milk and soup cartons can all go in your blue lidded bin from 30th July. Please rinse and squash your recycling where possible.
Questions and comments included:
· Delighted with changes and figures of reduced amounts going to landfill. Will we get a sticker to put on the bins to remind us what we can put in them? Answer: It is a different communications message than we were going to run, we want to be very clear of what can go in to the bins and the black box. We will make sure that information is shared. The decision is yet to be decided. All details are available on the website.
· Could the Area Board have a project to produce the sticker for the community? Answer: Yes that is something the Board could do.
· Are we at the forefront for recycling in the country or are we behind others? Answer: We are middle I would say, we are trying to operate within a financial envelope whilst trying to meet the needs.
· Will we make changes in the future to increase our recycling ability? Answer: Yes we will. Technology has improved, with a more automated process which increases the rate at which we can separate the materials. The black box continues enabling us to run with our high values materials.
· Deposit schemes, for bottles and cans, and the pay as you go collection for bins, is there any scope to go down that route? Answer: We are not planning on doing that at present. The vehicles do not have specific weighing capability on them so not possible at the moment.
· Can you update on the situation of recycling food waste? Answer: No immediate plans to look at food waste at this point. We had 5000 responses and the majority were not stating a preference to have a separated food waste collection. We are meeting our targets without doing that.
· With regards to Household recycling centres, there is disappointment of the closure of the centres on different days. Having to go to alternative centres on those days. Is there any hope on the centres being open more and recycling more? Answer: We typically recycle between 70 – 80% of all material that goes through those centres. We are working with SEC who manage the sites, and looking at improving the re-use offer. The reduced hourse were a consequence of reviewing the use of the facilities and the financial constraints. The consultation indicated that the majority of residents were comfortable of the days their sites were open and closed.
· Why are you not using the word Tetrapak? Answer: It is a brand name so we moved towards the term ‘cartons’. We will be including them in our contracts in future.
· Are there plans to recycle film and black plastic? Answer: It would be more likely to go to energy for waste than to landfill. They do pose difficult challenges to the industry. We do not want to take the risk of taking a material that we cannot recycle.
· How much are we paying landfill tax? Answer: Its above £86 a ton, and has been going up each year. Other options of managing waste are becoming increasingly attractive. The disposal budget for the county is £27 million a year.
· Can the slides be sent to the Parishes? – Answer: Running in parallel with this there are a set of pictorial information which can be shared.
· Might there be hangers on the bins to inform people of the changes? Answer: We need to be careful as these changes are not happening until the 30 July, so any new materials would contaminate the blue bin up until that date, so we must be careful with distributing the message.