Decision details

To permanently change recycling collection service, following successful trial, by removing the need for paper to be presented separately in a caddy/bag on collection day.

1.1 NEDDC currently operates an alternate week collection (AWC) arrangement and provides households with access to 3 bins to facilitate collection of Residual (black bin), Recyclable dual stream system (Burgundy bin and compostable (green bin) waste. The Burgundy Bin is accompanied by a caddy bag or caddy box for separating paper, magazines, junk mail and white envelopes from the other recyclable materials (Glass, cans and Plastics) within the bin.

1.2 Special Collection vehicles are needed to collect the recycling that have split backs to contain 2 separate waste streams. The vehicles have a ratio of 70/30 split with paper section taking up 30% volume on the vehicles. The compartment for glass, cans and plastics fills up much sooner than the paper compartment meaning that the recycling collection team have to make an extra journey to tip off the material. This is leading to huge inefficiency and an unnecessary use of fuel. The recycling sector has noticed a gradual decline in the amount of paper being collected which can be correlated to an increase in access to electronic media.

1.3 Originally when the dual stream system was introduced paper yield was much higher which supported the rationale to collect higher quality paper, News and Pamphlets, separately as these generated a higher income. The table below demonstrates how tonnages have decreased over the past 3 years and the impact on income.

Year Tonnage Collected Income
2019/20 1037.31 £157671.12
2020/21 517.57 £78670.64
2021/22 439.60 £66,819.20

1.4 The split body vehicles were purchased from Wards after the company was liquidated to ensure service continuity in the short term and minimal disruption for our residents. It became apparent at time of purchase, that the vehicles had not been maintained to the same levels as our own vehicles. Glass has an abrasive nature and creates issues in the vehicles during the compaction process which has led to increased wear on the vehicles. When the glass is mixed with paper – the impact on the vehicle is reduced.

2. Details of Proposal and Trial Results

2.1 It is proposed that recycling all be presented in the burgundy bin and that both sides of the split body vehicle contain the mixed recycling to improve efficiency in collection.

2.2 Each month, on average, the split body vehicles do 33 additional tips due to being full in the larger compartment equating to only 70% of the vehicles capacity. This equates to an additional £7,640 per year. The gap between the 2 compartments is estimated to be able to hold an additional 1.3 tonnes.

2.2 An ordinary recycling vehicle averaging between 8 to 8.5 tonne of recyclate depending on compaction. Split Body vehicles average 7.2 tonne this is roughly the equivalent of an additional 45 – 50 bins that could be emptied per load.

2.3 Over the past 6 months the split body vehicles have had over £10,000 in welding costs alone which is in addition to normal service and repair work. This has also diverted 50 hours of mechanics time from other work along with needing to find relief vehicles whilst the repair works are taking place.

2.4 The Council receive reports that the bags / caddies have vanished after collection but our previous and current contractor HW Martins, confirmed they are not finding them at the Materials Recycling Facility. The cost or replacing the bags/ containers is £1,725 for materials only. This cost of delivery is unquantifiable since it is undertaken during the bin delivery route.

2.5 The split body vehicles are approaching renewal however, this has previously been delayed due to the Government’s decision to make recycling collections consistent throughout England. The original consultation was released in 2018 however due to Covid and the
number of responses received – feedback has yet to be provided. Our current vehicle capital replacement programme can be phased to accommodate the requirement of new vehicles once a decision is made.

2.6 As with other consultations, where increased costs for local authorities are highlighted, the government will ensure that local authorities are resourced to meet the new costs arising from any new policy including transitional costs.

2.7 Capacity issues for residents in the bin are not anticipated to be significant as customers are able to present side waste already and paper is flat in nature unlike plastic.

3 Reasons for Recommendation

3.1 The current rate between these costs is £152 for the high grade of newspapers and pamphlets and £102 for mixed papers. This would equate to an estimated annual loss of income of £21,500. However, this loss needs to be balanced against the cost of providing the segregated service

3.2 Looking at the background information highlighted in section 2 the difference in cost for mixing paper in the burgundy bin is summarised in the table below.

Estimated Annual Costs

Burgundy Burgundy
Bin and container
Paper inc. paper
container

Income for News and Pams £62,016
Income for mixed paper £41,616
Fuel (additional journeys) £7,640 0
Repair costs (Welding repairs etc) £20,000 0 Replacement bags/caddies £1,725

Income - Additional Fuel/Repair costs £32,651 £41,616

3.3 The table above demonstrates that the estimated savings c. £8,965. However, when this is taken into account with the current travelling time of up to 90mins the amount of additional work that could be undertaken by reviewing the collection schedules provides significant efficiency options.

3.4 Even with the current service as it is, if a vehicle needs repairs, the material has to be mixed as there are no spare recycling split body vehicles. Further efficiencies include the need to empty just one container. This would help to accommodate the new developments throughout the district

3.5 If the decision is made to move to a permanent fully comingled service our Contractor has agreed that we are able to do this without reviewing the contractual arrangements due to the low volume of News and Pams that they are currently receiving from us.

3.6 There has been a desire to investigate the length of green waste suspension period over the winter season. Streamlining recycling collections acts as a precursor to releasing resource to provide overall efficient waste and recycling collection services.

Outcome of trial

3.8 Due to operational issues, the decision was taken to trial the comingling of recycling for a 3 month period starting before the Christmas increase in waste. As a result we can see:

Burgundy Bin and Burgundy bin inc.
Paper container Paper

Additional journeys to tip 33 15
Turnaround time
at Tip (mins) 20 7
Fuel use (litres) 424 192
CO2 1144.8 518.4

3.9 There have been no complaints made about the trial. Some customers called to say that their recycling had been mixed in the back of the vehicle. However, when the trial was explained to them, they were happy with the convenience of not having to separate the paper.

3.10 There have been no requests from members of the public regarding additional capacity issues during the trial.

3.11 A review is still underway to determine if crews have capacity to accommodate additional bins and therefore realise additional savings.

“Do nothing” – Rejected on the basis of the efficiencies as identified in the report