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Diane
Starting Member
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
 Posted - 05/11/2008 : 13:31:48
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Who do we need to contact at the Council regarding the proposed changes to the doorstep recycling programme, please? I am already an avid recycler, so I was pleased to see that plastics and cardboard are to be added to the list of materials that can be collected from our homes for recycling. I have been taking mine to Sainsbury's in Kiln Lane for some time now. Will other forms of paper also be collected? The current collection states only newspapers and magazines and the plans seem to only expand that to cardboard. Which types of cardboard will this be - brown corrugated cardboard only, or all card, packaging, etc?
I am a little concerned that food waste is to be added to the list of doorstep collection materials. What use will this be put to after collection, please? Surely it cannot be composted, as we are not permitted to put it in our brown (green waste) bins?
Also, is it possible to have heavier recycling bins, or compartmentalised larger bins for those of us that work most days? My newspapers bag got blown away and lost many months ago and my neighbour has said that he has chased my green box and its lid down the road many times on windy days. I have had to stop leaving it out if there's any chance of wind on our collection day, as he is concerned that it could get blown into the road and be hit by a car.
Also, would it be a good idea to have a more frequent collection of green waste during the summer months and a less frequent collection during the winter months? Having filled both my garden compost bin and my brown "green waste" bin to capacity last weekend, I was queueing for a long time for the tip this morning and I only have a relatively small garden. Thanks for your help. Regards, Diane Doney
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Councillor Derek Phillips
Starting Member
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2008 : 14:46:32
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The council’s Recycling Officer is Jon Sharp, and he has provided the information below. Jon is dedicated to recycling and is often found at events around the borough discussing recycling issues. He has in the past spoken at a WERRA AGM. Please be aware that these details are in the process of being worked our and that a consultation with residents will be carried out later on in the year; so some details may change in response to operation needs and residents responses.
Cardboard is probably going to be collected in some sort of bin, similar but not as big as our current wheely bins. These would have sufficient capacity to hold cardboard but not light enough to blow away in the wind. A sack can be requested if preferred by individual residents.
A multitude of papers will be collected, such as news & mags, letters, junk mail, writing paper, white directories. All types of brown and grey card as well as heavy white card like greetings cards and envelopes will be collected It will leave only small amounts of non-recyclable paper (e.g. greaseproof paper, plastic-laminated paper, used or plastic-coated/used wallpaper) in the landfill stream.
Food waste is most definitely compostable, and there is over 5,000 tonnes of food waste going to landfill in our wheelie-bins. That's almost a third of all we send to landfill. But food waste can't be composted in the traditional way. It requires higher temperatures in order to satisfy the Animal By-Products Regulations (ABPR) brought in after the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic. So the council will need to use different treatment facilities. Typically this will be one of two things:
- "anaerobic digestion": essentially a sewage-type process. This creates a very rich composted product, or a liquid output, which can then be safely mixed with composted garden waste to produce a range of compost qualities for different uses. It also creates methane in a controlled environment which is them used to generate electricity.
- "in-vessel composting": this super-heats the composting process under controlled environments in closed concrete runs. This kills any bugs and satisfies the ABPR laws.
Containers are currently being reviewed. One option is to ditch blue bags in favour of a blue box (like the green box but a bit smaller). Another is to ditch the blue bag in favour of a divider within the box to keep paper separate from everything else. There is also the option of a stacking system which is being investigated. For committed recyclers this could be very useful
Garden waste can be stored and transferred to the green bin when space allows.
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Michael
Starting Member
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2008 : 04:21:41
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I have real deep concerns at our possible lack of understanding of the effect the waste policy implenetation is having on the elderly, disabled (many living alone), those with little or no front garden space, and those living in the ever increasing living space called the Flat. I am also deeply concern, at this special group of residents being ignored in the council over excitement to be the best at meeting central government targets. Lets be seen to be a truly inclusive, enabling and caring council, not like some - seen as having a non-caring air of arogance.
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Michael
Starting Member
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2008 : 05:12:45
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Derek, I'm pleased to hear there will a public consultation on cooked food waste - I felt this was not explained at our last WERRA meeting. I also felt the elderly, disabled and other special groups of residents most effected by the practice of re-cycling in general, were not accomodated following the first public consultation.
quote:
Originally posted by Councillor Derek Phillips
The council’s Recycling Officer is Jon Sharp, and he has provided the information below. Jon is dedicated to recycling and is often found at events around the borough discussing recycling issues. He has in the past spoken at a WERRA AGM. Please be aware that these details are in the process of being worked our and that a consultation with residents will be carried out later on in the year; so some details may change in response to operation needs and residents responses.
Cardboard is probably going to be collected in some sort of bin, similar but not as big as our current wheely bins. These would have sufficient capacity to hold cardboard but not light enough to blow away in the wind. A sack can be requested if preferred by individual residents.
A multitude of papers will be collected, such as news & mags, letters, junk mail, writing paper, white directories. All types of brown and grey card as well as heavy white card like greetings cards and envelopes will be collected It will leave only small amounts of non-recyclable paper (e.g. greaseproof paper, plastic-laminated paper, used or plastic-coated/used wallpaper) in the landfill stream.
Food waste is most definitely compostable, and there is over 5,000 tonnes of food waste going to landfill in our wheelie-bins. That's almost a third of all we send to landfill. But food waste can't be composted in the traditional way. It requires higher temperatures in order to satisfy the Animal By-Products Regulations (ABPR) brought in after the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic. So the council will need to use different treatment facilities. Typically this will be one of two things:
- "anaerobic digestion": essentially a sewage-type process. This creates a very rich composted product, or a liquid output, which can then be safely mixed with composted garden waste to produce a range of compost qualities for different uses. It also creates methane in a controlled environment which is them used to generate electricity.
- "in-vessel composting": this super-heats the composting process under controlled environments in closed concrete runs. This kills any bugs and satisfies the ABPR laws.
Containers are currently being reviewed. One option is to ditch blue bags in favour of a blue box (like the green box but a bit smaller). Another is to ditch the blue bag in favour of a divider within the box to keep paper separate from everything else. There is also the option of a stacking system which is being investigated. For committed recyclers this could be very useful
Garden waste can be stored and transferred to the green bin when space allows.
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Councillor Derek Phillips
Starting Member
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2008 : 10:14:13
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The consultation will be about all aspects of the recycling collection policy. With regard to less able members of society and flats there is currently a full survey of flats underway. Each has its own circumstances and the council may not be able to apply the policy to all of them. This was assumed within the operational thinking but has yet to be quantified.
The elderly and disabled will still be able to take advantage of the "pullot" scheme for all containers. Operative will come onto the property and get their containers, just as they do now.
Having just read through the Annual Residents survey I understand that there are many concerns about they way that our bins are emptied and the amount of litter left after collection. These will be adressed as a matter of urgancy.
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Diane
Starting Member
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2008 : 14:54:58
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I e-mailed Jon Sharpe at Epsom and Ewell Borough Council to find out some more info regarding recycling.
I asked if the local street cleaning operatives sorted the rubbish they collect into recyclable and non-recyclable materials when they return to base, or does the whole lot just go to landfill?
I also asked if, once the food waste recycling comes in next year, would it be a good idea to have either compartmental bins, or several bins on the streets, especially outside take away food shops, so that people can sort the rubbish they throw away? Since people that are not interested in their environment usually throw their rubbish on the street, I don't think that those that are conscientious enough to put their rubbish in the bin now would have any problems with putting it in the right bin if there was a choice. Perhaps having a recycling collection point near shops would be a better option than doorstep collection anyway, as there is only so much room in one's garden or shed for the various bins that will be required for the different sorts of recycling. People would soon think of it as being how things used to be with "pop" glass bottles that had a deposit on them - when you go to the shops, you take back your "empties". That's what I do now and judging by the near full bins each time I go to Sainsbury's, there are a lot of people just like me.
His responses were:-
Our litter pickers do not sort out waste into recyclable and non-recyclable items. Neither do we sort out waste left in litter bins around the borough. This would take a great deal of time and we do not have the resources to do it. This is, of course, a very different proposition from that of household recycling, where one can sort one's waste as one generates it. It would help if we had conveniently placed bins where people could separate their waste out for recycling as they dispose of it. That would relieve people of the need to go to dedicated recycling centres like Sainsbury's, which you often need to drive to. We will shortly receive 25 specialist on-street recycling bins to do just this. They will be placed around the borough in convenient areas, such as streets and parks, where people walk by. The bins have been ordered as a pilot scheme, the results of which will be shared with our neighbouring Surrey councils. Consequently we have been able to gain outside funding for the bins rather than having to pay for them ourselves. Although these bins have been on order for a while, I don't think we'll see them before mid-June. We had a small experiment with a similar bin in Epsom town centre last year but we found that it was so heavily contaminated with non-recyclable items that it rendered it useless. However, I think we learned some valuable lessons from that and I hope that this new venture will be successful. However, we won't be providing on-street food bins. The majority of waste in litter bins is, I think, paper, card, cans, plastic bottles and plastic wrapping. So we will focus on paper, cans and plastic bottles for our on-street recycling. We will concentrate on kerbside collections to establish food waste recycling in the borough. I hope this is useful information, and I look forward to announcing the arrival of the on-street recycling bins soon. I would be very happy if you wish to reproduce this, in abbreviated form if you require, in your newsletter. If you need any further information please don't hesitate to contact me. |
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n/a
deleted
17 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2008 : 09:12:16
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Back in the 1950s and 1960s, each household would rarely overfill one of the old tin dustbins, which were about half the size of one of the current green bins. The council operatives would collect the bin from your back garden, empty the contents into the dustcart outside, return your bin to where they found it, and finally shut your gate on leaving.
So half a century later, let’s recap the situation as it is now…
Currently each household has a large green wheelie bin for general waste.
Then came the lightweight boxes and the blue bags, which were provided to most households (but not all). I was one of the residents ignored during the distribution process, but was lucky enough to have ‘won’ a box (less the lid) after it was blown into my front garden on a windy day. I’m still in need of a lid and a blue bag!
Residents were then invited to subscribe £30 per annum to the council’s coffers in return for a brown wheelie bin for ‘green waste’. I, like the majority of householders, declined the council’s offer for two reasons; (1) I like the majority of householders refuse on principal to pay £30 per year, and (2) most of us have only small gardens. Numerous waste containers may be a thing of beauty to environmentalists, but to the majority of ordinary people they are unwelcome and an eyesore. Just how popular are these brown wheelie bins? It would be interesting to discover what proportion of households now have one. Should anyone be wondering, my waste vegetation is placed inside a black plastic sack and placed in the bottom of my green wheelie bin.
And now for the future, the council is proposing to give us even more waste bins…
quote:
Cardboard is probably going to be collected in some sort of bin, similar but not as big as our current wheely bins.
quote:
Containers [for waste food] are currently being reviewed. One option is to ditch blue bags in favour of a blue box (like the green box but a bit smaller). Another is to ditch the blue bag in favour of a divider within the box to keep paper separate from everything else. There is also the option of a stacking system which is being investigated.
Regarding waste food, I hope that EEBC is not going to insist on us putting out our ‘slop bins’ for collection. Rat, mouse, fox and cockroach numbers have already reached a record level throughout the UK. What precautions will be taken to prevent vermin and serious health risks to residents?
The introduction of fortnightly bin collections by hundreds of councils has seen pest control call-outs soar, while Jeyes, the manufacturer of the disinfectant used in First World War trenches, recently said sales had risen by 82 per cent since the change as people tried to rid their bins of maggots. The increasing infestation rates are putting families at risk of infections such as salmonella, E-coli and hookworm, say specialists.
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Councillor Derek Phillips
Starting Member
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2008 : 06:25:23
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As a child of the 60's I cannot recall the antics of the dustman at that time, however it is evident that we produce much more waste nowadays.
The brown bin scheme has proved popular with 30% of homes with gardens subscribing. For those who don't wish to subscribe there is the option of a discounted compost bin and trips to the dump. These two options work for me.
The food waste container will be secure from vermin and flies and will be collected weekly.The only rubbish to be collected fortnightly will be non-food waste destined for land fill. Therefore the comments made in the last two paras are not relevant to the scheme that Epsom & Ewell Council will be operating.
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Edited by - Councillor Derek Phillips on 06/24/2008 06:28:33 |
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Doorstep Recycling
