WHY I AM BLOGGING
I began this blog due to having problems with household waste collection, along with many others in my district. I turned to the internet for information, but found it very hard to find. During the seven weeks I have been trying to get my problems solved, I have gathered information from many places and I decided to put as much as possible into my blog so it might help others to understand what is happening in the UK with waste and recycling.
There is an article describing my own problems, and there will be quite a lot of other information, some of it relating to my district in particular, some of it relating to the whole of England. Scotland and Wales now pass their own legislation, I believe.
I will do my best to be accurate, but please feel free to correct me if you notice any mistakes.
Published Date:
06/04/2008
Modified Date:
09/04/2008
LITHERSKEW, NORTH YORKSHIRE
In the North Yorkshire District of Richmondshire, a little hamlet called Litherskew has made the news worldwide. I have seen the story reported in Australian and Indian newspapers, and scores of local and national British newspapers.
I thought I was being badly used when Warwick District Council asked me to take my bin on a 1.5 mile journey for emptying.
The people living in Litherskew have been informed by Richmondshire District Council to take their bins on a 3 mile round trip for emptying. When they protested they were told that they could, if they wished, leave their bins at the collection point and deliver their rubbish to the bins. They are not mad about driving their rubbish about, but the alternative is also not very attractive.
It is possible to get these decisions reversed, as I did, but it is a hard road to travel. The main arguments are; if you are asked to place your bins on someone else's property, who is going to be liable for any damage caused by the bin, and who is going to be blamed if the bin gets stolen?
If you are being asked to place bins on the highway, has the council complied with The Enviromental Protection Act 1990 and taken out liability cover?
If the council is saying your property is remote, was it remote before the new collection arrangements, or did they collect previously? Properties do not become remote overnight!
Refusing to collect from rural properties is a ploy being tried by councils all over the country and it is usually a cost cutting exercise. It is quite unfair, because rural properties often pay high council tax and as a reward are having one of their services cut.
Published Date:
02/08/2008
Modified Date:
02/08/2008
STRATFORD DISTRICT COUNCIL U TURN
Further to my earlier article about Stratford's decision to send mixed green and food waste to landfill, the Executive decided on 30th June that a weekly residual waste collection would continue to be provided. Green waste only will be collected fortnightly as before, along with a mixed recycling collection.
Obviously this will cost extra, as the plan was to collect residual waste fortnightly. Reports found on Stratford DC's website suggest at least £ 50,000 as an extra crew will be needed.
The problems in Warwickshire seem to stem from the County Council, as the Waste Disposal Authority, having waste disposal contracts in place until 2008-2009. As a consequence they could not get new disposal arrangements in place until these contracts ran out. Warwick and Stratford District Council's collection contracts had to be renewed in April and August 2008 respectively and they needed to include recycling collections with no infrastructure in place to deal with it.
Published Date:
16/07/2008
Modified Date:
16/07/2008
OBSTRUCTION OF PAVEMENTS
On rubbish and recycling collection days life is difficult for certain sections of the community. Partially sighted and blind people can bump into bins or trip over boxes and bags. Mothers with pushchairs may have to walk into the road to get round them and elderly people with scooters may have to do the same.
If you are being inconvenienced in this way, complain to the highway authority, which is part of Warwickshire County Council about this obstruction of the pavements.
No-one in Warwickshire is allowed to place bins and boxes on the pavement, which is part of the highway. This applies to householders and to collection staff. Bins, bags and boxes should be placed for collection inside the boundary of the householder's property (front garden or drive) on collection days and returned there after emptying. If you do leave your bins or boxes inside your property and the collection staff leave them on the pavement or grass verge, complain to the Collection Authority (your local district or borough council)
If you are a householder with no front garden or drive, contact your collection authority (District or Borough Council) and ask for an alternative collection point for your rubbish and recycling, as you understand that they do not have permission to require you to place containers on the highway. If they say they do have permission, ask them to send you a copy of it.
All collection authorities must obtain this permission if they want you to place rubbish receptacles on the highway for collection, and none of the authorities in Warwickshire have done so as of 30th June 2008.
I know because I asked Warwickshire County Council and here is their answer;
Your request for information has now been considered and I can now confirm that as far as we can tell we have not received any requests from the waste collection authorities in our area for permission to place waste receptacles on the highway for collection.
'Permission' is defined as formal, usually written authorisation.
Why does it matter? Well, someone might get hurt, and the council will deny liability. They will blame you for not following instructions, or the collection staff for the same reason.
Also, many councils are beginning to clamp down on people who do not take their bins and boxes in. People are receiving fixed penalty notices for leaving their bins and boxes on the pavement after the time specified. That is why all councils specify a time for placing containers out and taking them in, so they can use these penalty notices in future.
All councils are planning to use the environmental laws to the full in order to force people to recycle (no side waste, no open lids on bins) and to comply with their instructions. I just think that they should comply with the law too, and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 forbids them to ask people to place rubbish receptacles on the highway for collection unless they get the permission of the highway authority.
Published Date:
06/07/2008
Modified Date:
06/07/2008
WHERE DOES YOUR MIXED FOOD AND GREEN WASTE GO TO?
The new Waste Collection contract beginning in Stratford upon Avon in August is causing alarm. The plan was that they would collect mixed food and green waste like Warwick District Council, but this was dependant upon planning permission having been granted in February for a new in-vessel composting site in Warwickshire. That did not happen, and no decision has to date (27.06.2008) been reached by Warwickshire County Council planning department to grant permission for this new facility at Ufton.
Consequently, Stratford have decided to collect the waste anyway and send it to landfill during autumn 2008. They will then suspend collections until spring 2009 when, hopefully, the biowaste (official name for mixed green and food waste) composting site will be ready for use.
Warwick District Council is also eager for Ufton to accept it's biowaste as soon as possible. At the moment it is being taken to Etwall in Derbyshire to the in-vessel composting site there, a trip of 60 miles.
Published Date:
27/06/2008
Modified Date:
27/06/2008
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Under the Freedom of information Act I asked for some information from Warwick District Council. The questions and their answers are below. First, my comments.
Q1. Who did the assessments before the contract began then...? What does 'more recent mean?
Q4. Please note the definition of 'kerbside'. It has nothing to do with kerbs, and nothing to do with pavements, even. The bins and boxes should be placed on your own property, at the edge of your front garden or drive.
Q6. Whoops! Warwickshire County Council is the Waste
Disposal Authority. Warwick District Council is the Waste
Collection Authority. 'Endorsed' means, I think 'approve of' or 'support'. Permission means 'formal authorisation' (usually written).
The point of the questions was
a) to discover if adequate assessments of properties were done before the contract began.
b) to discover what the council means by the term 'kerbside', because the term suggests to me 'edge of pavement next to road'.
c) to discover if the council is complying with the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which forbids Waste Collection Authorities to ask people to place bins and boxes on the highway (pavement plus road) unless they have the permission of the highway authority and adequate insurance against any damage caused by the bins or boxes. If someone's property opens directly onto the pavement, it seems, they should not have a wheelie bin for front of property collection. Bins should be collected from your property and returned to the same place by the collection operatives.
1. Was it council employees or Sita employees who assessed all the properties in the district to decide what type of residual waste collection to give them?
A combination of different people have been involved in the process. External consultants independent of SITA were considered initially for this work. Much of the more recent work has been done internally.
2. Were the properties assessed individually or by street/road? Was every street/road visited?
Assessments took place on a variety of levels. Some more modern estates could be assessed on an estate wide basis because the roads and other facilities were known to meet the standards of Design Bulletin 32, which takes into account modern HGV traffic. At the other extreme, some properties have been assessed on an individual basis. Some assessments have been individually made where the property is satisfactory for conventional pick up, but assistance is required due to the occupant having impaired mobility. The service has been tailored wherever possible.
3. What criteria were used to decide whether to assign a bin or bag collection to each property?
The criteria included the design of the property, the nature of the access and as I have said above the mobility of the occupant where this had been made known to us.
4. On the B2 leaflet, showing what can be placed in each refuse and recycling container it says 'Please ensure your box(es) and bins are out at the kerbside for collection by 7:00 and returned at the end of the day'. I would like an exact definition of 'kerbside', please.
Kerbside means "the point where the edge of the private property meets the public highway". Public highways are constructed to a standard to take the weight of refuse vehicles. Private driveways are often built to lower standards. The vehicles and the private drive can each sustain damage in these cases. Hence the request to bring refuse to the kerbside.
5. On the B2 leaflet it also says 'For properties located along a private drive/road all recycling and refuse containers must be placed at the edge of the adopted highway for collection'. I would like a more exact explanation of the location where the containers should be placed, please. Is there a specific reason for using the phrase 'adopted highway' as opposed to just 'highway'? Please explain why all properties located along private drives/roads have been excluded from a premises collection.
Private driveways may be damaged by refuse vehicles travelling down them. This can lead to disputes or claims. Conversely private drives and roads unmade can sometimes cause damage to refuse vehicles. Most householders will not indemnify against damage to vehicles, hence the present rules.
6. Has Warwick District Council or any department of the council sought or received permission from the relevant Highway or Roads authority to place bins and boxes on the highway for collection?
Warwickshire County Council, which is the waste collection authority and the highway authority has endorsed the waste collection arrangements.
7. If the answer to the above is yes, has Warwick District Council or any department of the council made arrangements as to the liability for any damage arising out of their being so placed?
Our liability cover provides cover for our usual business, and provision of waste collection is a statutory responsibility.
Published Date:
18/06/2008
Modified Date:
23/06/2008
WASTE DATA FLOW AND LATS
Waste Data Flow is an online system into which Local Authorities input waste data each quarter (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sept, Oct-Dec). The public can register and download reports, which I have done. I have the figures for 2007 for Warwickshire County Council as my Waste Disposal Authority and for Warwick District Council as my Waste Collection Authority.
Last year Warwickshire County Council disposed of waste as follows;
Tonnes
Incineration with energy recovery (Coventry) 19,002
Incineration without energy recovery 39
Inert landfill 3,982
Non Hazardous Landfill 183,885
Total 206,908
The waste came from
Tonnes
Collected household waste 153,935
Collected Street Cleaning 6,614
Collected other 349
Civic Amenity Sites household waste 25,618 (eg Princes Drive)
Civic Amenity Sites non household 9,258
Collected Commercial and Industrial Waste 10,855
Collected healthcare waste 95
Fly tipping 21
Asbestos 91
Other collected waste 70
Total 206,908
Warwick District Council's share of the collected household waste was 35,793 tonnes, or 688.32 tonnes per week. Of this total 300 tonnes per week, or 15,600 tonnes per year at a cost of £ 375,000 went to landfill according to Warwick District Council.
The remaining 388.32 tonnes per week, or 20,192.64 tonnes per year went to Coventry Energy from Waste Plant; again, according to the Council. Warwickshire County Council says, however, that only 19,002 tonnes went to Coventry from the entire county last year. Allowing for small mistakes, we must assume that Warwick District Council is the only Collection Authority in Warwickshire using the Coventry Plant.
Using data taken from Waste Data Flow for 2007, entered by Warwick District Council they collected;
HOUSEHOLD WASTE
Regular household, street cleaning, bulky & healthcare waste 34,489 tonnes
According to Waste Data Flow, all of this went to Non Hazardous Landfill apart from @ 50 tonnes of healthcare waste which went to MBT. As the Council tells us that only half of the waste went to landfill, I am assuming that collection authorities cannot put Energy from Waste as a destination; waste disposal authorities do, as did Warwickshire C.C.
RECYCLING
Kerbside Collections amounted to 13,688 tonnes
Bring sites brought in 1,480 tonnes
Total recycling 2007 15,168 tonnes
It is commendable that Warwick District Council's residents have ensured that no waste has gone to landfill since April 2008. Let us hope that the other District Councils' residents can make the same effort in the future so Warwickshire becomes a non landfilling County. After all, despite the efforts in Warwick District, if nothing else changes then Warwickshire County Council will still be landfilling 168,285 tonnes of waste in 2008.
LANDFILL ALLOWANCE TRADING SCHEME
Each Waste Disposal Authority has been given permitted levels of landfill since 2005/06. In order to help them meet their targets they are allowed, I think, to bank, borrow or trade parts of their allowances.
Warwickshire County Council's figures are as follows;
allocation (tonnes) in out permitted actual
2005/06 161,107 25,002 136,105 136,105
2006/07 153,171 25,002 52,268 125,905 125,905
2007/08 142,591 52,268 194,365
2008/09 129,365 129,365
If Councils exceed their allowances they are fined. I do not know at the moment how these periods are arranged, possibly April to March. The fine for exceeding the permitted level of landfill is £ 150 per tonne. In addition, the tax on landfill is rising each year also. If the UK as a whole exceeds it's national landfill allowance it is fined by the E.U., which is why those councils landfilling more than their allowances will be fined.
Published Date:
12/06/2008
Modified Date:
13/06/2008
CHIEF EXECUTIVE RESPONDS
Warwick District Council's Chief Executive has replied to my letter of 22nd April. Elsewhere I have written the issues which I raised as the reason for my complaint. He was unable to give any meaningful reasons as to why the Waste Management Team failed to deal with people's enquiries and problems.
Too many enquiries (what were the underlying reasons for that?). Sort-It Team's purpose was to log problems and pass them to the Contractor. (Who did nothing?) Councillors were not blaming residents, they were trying to encourage us to adopt a new approach to rubbish and recycling etc.etc.
One interesting paragraph. In the first fortnight residual waste was reduced from 600 tonnes per week to 247 tonnes per week. As 'we have to' (is this a contractual requirement?) send 300 tonnes to the Waste to Energy Facility at Coventy, no waste was sent to landfill. I wonder if there are penalties if the District falls below the 300 tonnes which they 'have to' send to Coventry?
The Chief Executive believes that overall his performance as Project Manager has, looking at the whole picture, been satisfactory, although the delivery was not absolutely perfect.
The achievements are;
Major new Contract, combining six previous contracts, brought in within budget.
Additional services provided; bins, boxes, bagsx, collection of cardboard and plastics, collection of waste food in with the green waste collection.
Targets overachieved; Recycling rate of 60% in the first month. Participation rate 90%.
Benefits; Good for the environment (preventing waste going to landfill). Savings for the taxpayer £ 468,000 a year by not sending 300 tonnes of waste per week to landfill. Increased income from addtional recycling.
Published Date:
12/06/2008
Modified Date:
12/06/2008