MoreThanWaste.com - Wellingborough to get tough on the recycling-shy? (23/01/2008)

Wellingborough, England: Wellingborough Borough Council is considering getting tough on reluctant recyclers to push up the Borough’s recycling rate and avoid potential fines for insufficient waste diversion from landfill.

The problem is that, despite the Borough Council’s best efforts, it is still lagging in the Northamptonshire recycling league.

Wellingborough is placed fifth out of the seven Northamptonshire authorities for recycling, with a rate approaching 18% in 2006/07.

In terms of composting Wellingborough is ranked fourth with only 12.46% of waste collected being composted which is less than half of the top performing authority in Northamptonshire - Daventry.

The Council introduced a 3-bin alternate weekly collection in the same year and, though the effects of the new system are not yet fully realised, it is acknowledged that more needs to be done.

How to tackle a recycling problem

The Borough Council approached the recycling problem by inviting all relevant staff to a workshop held last November, to bounce ideas.

The task set for the waste manager and collection staff was ‘To deliver an excellent cost-effective waste and recycling collection service for the people of Wellingborough’.

The team attempted to identify any existing or potential barriers to the achievement of such a service.

The outcome

The Environment Committee at Wellingborough will consider next week the proposals that came out of the Workshop in terms of a concrete approach to improving recycling and composting. These include:

A need to move through the 40% barrier for recycling and composting.
Winning over hearts and minds of all of the borough’s residents so that ‘reduction, re-use and recycling’ become second-nature.
Re-launch the service with a targeted campaign to educate residents on recycling habits.
Provision of high quality information on recycling to be followed up by home visits where necessary.
The Council could also include a ‘hard edge’ to the campaign – with enforcement backing as a last resort.
Start with a pilot area to carefully monitor the effects of the revised operation, including levels of contamination in recyclate.
Collection crews to have the power to apply rules set relating to, the number of black bins per household, the non-collection of side waste and the non-collection of bins that are overfilled, overweight or contaminated.
Measures to protect collection and call centre staff from verbal or physical abuse.
Assessment of ICT systems to capture wheeled bin information in real time that will be quickly available to call center staff to deal with queries from residents.
‘Enrich’ the job descriptions of collection crews to include the promotion and encouragement of recycling as part of their job routine.

If accepted by Councillors, the proposals will be worked up into a detailed, costed project plan following which a dedicated project team will ensure it is delivered.


	Wellingborough to get tough on the recycling-shy? (23/01/2008) Wellingborough, England: Wellingborough Borough Council is considering getting tough on reluctant recyclers to push up the Borough’s recycling rate and avoid potential fines for insufficient waste diversion from landfill. The problem is that, despite the Borough Council’s best efforts, it is still lagging in the Northamptonshire recycling league. Wellingborough is placed fifth out of the seven Northamptonshire authorities for recycling, with a rate approaching 18% in 2006/07. In terms of composting Wellingborough is ranked fourth with only 12.46% of waste collected being composted which is less than half of the top performing authority in Northamptonshire - Daventry. The Council introduced a 3-bin alternate weekly collection in the same year and, though the effects of the new system are not yet fully realised, it is acknowledged that more needs to be done. How to tackle a recycling problem The Borough Council approached the recycling problem by inviting all relevant staff to a workshop held last November, to bounce ideas. The task set for the waste manager and collection staff was ‘To deliver an excellent cost-effective waste and recycling collection service for the people of Wellingborough’. The team attempted to identify any existing or potential barriers to the achievement of such a service. The outcome The Environment Committee at Wellingborough will consider next week the proposals that came out of the Workshop in terms of a concrete approach to improving recycling and composting. These include: A need to move through the 40% barrier for recycling and composting. Winning over hearts and minds of all of the borough’s residents so that ‘reduction, re-use and recycling’ become second-nature. Re-launch the service with a targeted campaign to educate residents on recycling habits. Provision of high quality information on recycling to be followed up by home visits where necessary. The Council could also include a ‘hard edge’ to the campaign – with enforcement backing as a last resort. Start with a pilot area to carefully monitor the effects of the revised operation, including levels of contamination in recyclate. Collection crews to have the power to apply rules set relating to, the number of black bins per household, the non-collection of side waste and the non-collection of bins that are overfilled, overweight or contaminated. Measures to protect collection and call centre staff from verbal or physical abuse. Assessment of ICT systems to capture wheeled bin information in real time that will be quickly available to call center staff to deal with queries from residents. ‘Enrich’ the job descriptions of collection crews to include the promotion and encouragement of recycling as part of their job routine. If accepted by Councillors, the proposals will be worked up into a detailed, costed project plan following which a dedicated project team will ensure it is delivered.