The Panel received a
presentation from Janet Dowlman, Head of Environmental Services in
respect of the results of the Bracknell Forest Waste Satisfaction
Survey and Waste Collection Analysis by the re3 waste disposal
partnership.
A Waste Satisfaction Survey was
undertaken in November 2009 in response to the poor waste
satisfaction results of the Place Survey 2008 to help the
department obtain a clear understanding of residents’
perceptions and to identify key areas of dissatisfaction and any
barriers to recycling.
It was thought that the reasons
for the poor results were; that Longshot Lane was closed, it had
only been 2 years since refuse collection had changed from weekly
to fortnightly and separate boxes were used for paper and
card.
Improvements that had taken
place since the Place Survey in 2008 included; Comingled
collections of Kerbside recyclables from December 2008, the
redeveloped Longshot Lane facility fully opened from July 2009 and
improvements to recycling bring sites.
Key results from the survey and
comparisons with the 2008 survey were:
- From 3,500 surveys
issued in both cases, there was a response rate of 47% in 2008
compared with 46% in 2009.
- Overall satisfaction
with refuse collection had increased from 55% to 70%.
- The perception the
refuse collection had got worse over the last 3 years had fallen
from 47% to 23%.
- 91% of respondents
used the Council’s kerbside collection to recycle, with 82%
satisfied with the service.
- 62% thought Longshot
Lane had improved over the last 3 years.
- 49% thought recycling
sites had improved over the last 3 years.
- 28% thought garden
waste collection had improved with 42% indicating it had stayed the
same.
Conclusions drawn from the
survey were that overall levels of recycling in Bracknell Forest
were good with kerbside recycling having a high level of
satisfaction. Further information about specific items that could
or could not be recycled was needed as results showed respondent
satisfaction and participation was linked with information
available. There was greater satisfaction with refuse collection
than in 2008.
A joint Waste Analysis was
undertaken in October / November 2009 with re3 partners using MEL
research to analyse residual waste for recyclables, contamination
of kerbside recycling, bags of waste taken to Longshot Lane, street
sweepings and litter bin waste.
Acorn Groups were used to
compare the waste analysis with the socio demographics in the
borough. Key trends highlighted from the analysis
included:
- There was a high
level of garden waste in residual bins, particularly in Acorn 1
– wealthy achievers.
- There was a high
level of paper and cardboard in residual bins, particularly in
Acorn 5 – hard pressed.
- There was a high
level of contaminated glass in recycling containers particularly in
Acorn groups 3 – comfortably off, and 4 – moderate
means.
- The waste generated
across all groups had dropped by 7.4% between 2007/08 and 2008/09
and was predicted to drop again for 2009/10.
Analysis of street sweepings
and litter bins showed that 36% of litter bin waste was recyclable
and 87% of street sweepings were recyclable. With 2.5 tonnes of
street sweepings collected annually, developing a process to
recycle this waste would reduce landfill tax paid by the
Council.
As a result of the two surveys
the department would be targeting the poor performing areas,
working with re3 on joint initiatives such as leaflets and posters
explaining which recyclables should go in which containers. Local
focus would be on Crown Wood and Great Hollands, with community
groups and schools being used to raise awareness.
Arising from the subsequent
discussion the follow points were noted:
- Only certain types of
plastic could be recycled. The majority of plastic bottles could be
recycled however plastic tubs could not currently be recycled. It
was noted that the lids from bottles needed to be removed however
the plastic ring could be left in place.
- It was not known if
the large level of paper and card found in the residual waste bins
was contaminated by plastic or another non-recyclable material, and
therefore could not be recycled.
- Further investigation
of the survey data was required to identify specific areas of
recycling that groups were having difficulty
understanding.
- The Council were not
intending to chip refuse or recycling bins in Bracknell
Forest.
- Dual purpose
recycling bins were to be installed in the town centre,
neighbourhood shops and the train station to increase recycling of
public litter.
- It was reported that
further details of Acorn Groups may be available through the
‘Up My Street’ website. Further to a question
concerning the validity of the Acorn assessment to Ward level, the
Panel was advised that officers had a related report from the Acorn
Group and there was a general report in respect of the entire
country.
- It was reported that
many European countries were ahead of the UK in their commitment to
recycling as they had focused on waste from an earlier stage. A
relatively recent increase in funding and targets for recycling in
the UK had meant a shift in focus towards recycling in local
authorities.
- It was suggested that
it was possible to recycle some contaminants, which was being
trialed in some parts of the country. Councillor Leake referred to
a newspaper article relating to the recycling of contaminated
materials.
- It was noted that
there was emerging technology to increase recycling capacity
however much of this still needed testing and was currently very
expensive.
- The council was
working towards encouraging manufacturers to produce recyclable
containers to make it easier for the public to understand what
could be recycled.
The Panel thanked the Head of
Environmental Services for her presentation and congratulated the
team for their achievements so far.