"The recycling rate at these sites also reached an all time high last year of 61%, demonstrating that the public are keen to do their bit for the environment"
Paul Jones, Northumberland County Council’s Head of Waste Management
Northumberland, UK: "Household waste recovery centres across Northumberland are a big hit with residents in the county", according to operator SITA UK.
This conclusion was reached following a user satisfaction survey which showed a 94% approval rating for the 13 centres, according to the company.
The survey revealed that six household waste recovery centres (HWRCs) – Allendale, Berwick, Haltwhistle, Kirkley Thorne, North Sunderland and Wooler achieved a 100% satisfaction rating.
SITA operates the HWRCs as part of a 28-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract which has secured £40.8m in government funding. The company has agreed to consider a number of suggestions for service improvements made by residents. However many of the suggestions have already been covered under the £12 million refurbishment programme currently underway.
The PFI contract involves a total investment of £90million for essential new and improved waste management facilities.
North Sunderland Household Waste Recovery Centre (Photo SITA UK)
Last year Northumberland were second in England with a satisfaction rating of 90% for this particular service.
The current satisfaction survey was conducted using the County Council’s People’s Panel for the first time, together with a web-based questionnaire. (This indicates a change in the basis of assessment and the results may need to be treated with caution when comparing to earlier years.)
In total 582 people participated and a response rate of 46% was achieved, which is a respectable figure for this type of survey.
Only 2% of those questioned expressed any dissatisfaction, whilst 4% were unable to say.
Paul Jones, Northumberland County Council’s Head of Waste Management said:
“This result may well move the county to top place nationally in this category of satisfaction by users of facilities provided by a local council. The recycling rate at these sites also reached an all time high last year of 61%, demonstrating that the public are keen to do their bit for the environment if you provide them with accessible and high quality recycling services.”
Richard Hinchcliffe, SITA UK’s Northumberland General Manager said:
“Residents’ increased satisfaction levels have been achieved whilst a major improvement programme has been underway. Although this work has disrupted our activities and service to the public, we have tried very hard to minimise any inconvenience and our efforts have obviously paid off.
“All of the staff at these facilities deserve great credit for the way they have maintained a first class service against all the odds.”
Further information
Other information from the survey according to SITA:
- The vast majority of respondents use their local HWRC at least one a month
- 92% of people are content with the location of their local HWRC
- 91% believe the containers are easy to use
- 93% think that facilities are clearly identified
- One reason for not using the site is lack of transport
- 2% of people would like to see changes to improve safety, slow down traffic, ease manoeuvrability, remove blind corners and alternatives to steps to access some containers.
- Repondents think that HWRCs themselves are generally clean and tidy, but that access roads often give a poor impression and could be cleaner.
SITA UK
SITA UK, a subsidiary of SUEZ Environment, serves over 12 million people and more than 31,000 businesses with a range of recycling and waste management services. It employs over 5,000 staff and has an annual turnover in excess of £600 million. The company handles more than 7.5 million tonnes of domestic, commercial and industrial waste through a network of recycling, composting, energy-from-waste and landfill facilities.