OLD COLWYN EAST RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
Minute of a talk on Wednesday 8 th September 2004 by Mr Tony Sykes,
Waste Strategy Manager, Conwy County Borough Council
Recycling of Waste
Recycling of Waste
Mr. Sykes introduced himself as the waste strategy manager for Conwy County Borough council. He told the meeting that the subject of waste disposal was vast. He introduced the subject of waste recycling and in particular kerbside collection of waste proposed under the council's recycling policy. He proposed an interactive presentation in which he would welcome questions.
He posed the question ‘Why kerbside Collections?'
The National Assembly has a waste strategy principle, that of recycling, composting and no burning.
Mr Sykes said that ‘Waste is Wealth'
The kerbside collections scheme was due to begin In October 2004, as a contribution towards meeting targets but has now been put back until 1 st April 2005 .
There is a duty placed on the Authority to draw up plans for the recycling of waste.
The first target was non-statutory to recycle 25% of household waste by 2001. Conwy in common with most other authorities never reached the target but with a combined recycling/composting rate of 26.2% in 1999 /2000 was the best achiever in Wales .
The introduction of the Waste Strategy 2000 document established statutory targets for recycling and recovery in accordance with the Landfill Directive of 1999.
The targets are:
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to recycle / compost at least 15% of household waste by 2003 / 4
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to recycle / compost at least 25% of household waste by 2006 / 7
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to recycle / compost at least 40% of household waste by 2009 / 10
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The Wales Assembly Government Strategy is laid out in a document Wise about Waste. It places a requirement on local Authorities to concentrate on recycling / composting and discourages incineration and energy from waste schemes.
Conwy has a policy agreement and has invested a lot of time and effort into reviewing good practice of other Authorities' recycling and composting. They have now set targets
and Kerbside Collection will boost Conwy's movement towards achieving their targets.
Conwy have historically been top of the league in recycling and have taken a long time to view the experience of other authorities and their practices
Conway is the last authorities in Wales to start Kerbside Collection
Mr. Sykes then demonstrated a recycling b ox of the type w hich he said would be delivered to each household in Conwy i n the future in order that occupants could have their recyclable waste collected from home.
The box we saw could be divided internally into two different sized sections. Washed crushed cans will go in one side and clean glass articles in the other side.
He said that there would be fortnightly collections of these boxes and also showed a heavy gauge p lastic bag which would be distributed for certain types of paper to be recycled. The paper would go to Shotton Paper Mill.
A resident said that the box was very large. Her accommodation is small , she has no garage and she asked how she was expected to manage with such a box in her house.
Mr. Sykes said that Conwy have decided to go for a box with a lid. Some other authorities have just issued open boxes with or without partitions.
The authorities are confident that when they bring in the scheme the tonnage of recycled materials , collected at sites such as Berthes Road will increase as people will use them to minimize the waste kept at their homes.
A resident asked how often the bags would be collected. The answer was once every two weeks.
T he resident went on to say that he saw serious problems with the bags as there was not enough depth in order for them to be closed effectively which would allow waste paper to blow over the roads in high wind.
Another resident said that she saw the boxes as a safety issue as they were very low and likely to be a hazard at night to pedestrians who might trip over them. There were already difficulties in some areas with the present wheelie bins causing obstruction especially for the partially sighted and elderly people.
A resident commented that the boxes may not blow when full but once emptied would definitely blow around in the wind
A resident suggested that boxes would be stolen as they are of a very useful size.
Mr. Sykes Said that they had taken the trouble to speak to people in areas that were using boxes and they had reported no such problems.
He then went on to introduce another topic that of participation
He said that there would be many schemes for a short period there would be a trial and any problems found would be put right before the scheme was opened out to more areas.
Each collection vehicle would be under the charge of a local person known as the Recycling Performance Officer (RPO). This person will be in charge of six thousand properties and will become well known on the round.
There will be a sticker on the box on which the resident will be able to ask to speak with the RPO
T here will also be a number on the box to call for advice.
In the same way that the recycling boxes will be collected fortnightly, so the residual waste bins will be collected fortnightly also.
Cllr Perry said that Waste Collectors would have to change their ideas, as quite often if a refuse bin is open by perhaps 2in. some collectors will often take out a bag and leave it on the road for him to pick up later. Their excuse for doing so is on the grounds of health and safety, They might strain themselves with an overfilled bin.
A resident said that he had a bad back and could not lift the box if it was full of bottles and cans.
Another resident said that he already takes articles to the recycling bin but that he couldn't manage with a waste collection every two weeks
Another resident said that she could not carry a box and Mr. Sikes introduced to the meeting the function of Assisted Collection. The resident can ask for a collection from the house as happens at present. He confirmed that it would happen on every occasion.
A resident said ‘All glass is going into one compartment and cans into the other who will sort the material?'
Mr. Sykes replied that the Kerbside Collection Vehicle operators will do the sorting when filling the vehicle.
T here was a discussion regarding contamination in bottles and cans.
Mr. Sykes said that it would be an issue dealt with by the RPO. If the contents of the box were contaminated then the box would be returned to the house and the RPO would speak to the owner.
A resident said that she dealt with young people in trying to stop antisocial behaviour and such offences as arson and damage. She went on to say that the boxes would be seen to contain glass bottles and there are no locks, so what is to stop the bottles being thrown around?
Mr. Sykes replied that in 99% of cases this would not happen.
A resident pointed out, that it is not much of a problem now. ‘People do not take bottles out of bins now and throw them around' he said.
C rest Cooperative is at present collecting green/ garden waste in specified areas. T he scheme will be extended and will run in tandem with the council ' s kerbside scheme.
In answer to a question about how much the scheme would cost Mr. Sykes replied that the cost of the operatives would be met by a Specific Waste Grant from the Assembly
The authority has decided to use the grant money in infrastructure and sites rather than services.
There will also be a premium value on the recyclable elements of the rubbish which will be income to the council.
Also for every ton of waste not taken to landfill there will be a saving of £41.
Mr. Sykes said that the authority needs a take up of 65 percent of the households in Conwy to succeed in achieving its targets.
A resident spoke of the experience of living in a place where papers were collected in plastic bags and said that the papers used to blow away in the wind. O nly certain types of papers can be recycled but the types are marked on the bags for advice purposes.
Cllr Chris Perry , said that he saw a problem with the bag as the neck was too wide with no material give and can't be tied up.
The Chair said that he was surprised how short the bag was.
A resident said that two weeks of papers would not fit in the bag.
Another resident said that in some parts of the country, different coloured wheelie bins are used.
Mr. Sykes said that if required , residents can have more than one box or bag and in some cases where justified, a wheelie bin will be provided. It will be a matter of speaking to the recycling performance officer (RPO).
A resident said that at present when a person takes bottles to the bank they have to be sorted into different colours. He asked ‘ Who will sort them when they are all stored together in the boxes'
The answer is that the operative will decant white bottles into one trough and coloured bottles into another.
Cllr Perry related that he had recently caught a person stealing garden ornaments and called the police. T he next night his bin had been burned and it took seven weeks to get a new bin.
Mr. Sykes said that there are to be no negatives to do with this issue. Recycling will happen in Conwy.
I n the first six months the first 10,000 homes between Kinmel Bay and Old Colwyn will be issued with the boxes and bags there will be another 21 sites where new bottle banks will be sited.
In places such as Gwytherin, i t is council policy that people will not be disadvantaged because of where they live.
There will be modular recycling banks in various places .
Councillor Perry suggested that because of the problem of fly-tipping , prosecutions are necessary when people are caught . It is believed however that the prosecution process tends to stagnate when it gets to the Public Protection Department of the council.
Mr. Sykes said that the protocol between the local authority and the environment agency is changing and the Authority will be looking at smaller incidents than has normally been the case.
A resident asked about what happens to plastics Mr. Sykes replied that there will be modular banks and plastic banks at supermarkets
A resident queried whether, if the householder had not filled the box, would the RPO contact the home . He was concerned because he felt that he would not fill a box within a fortnight and did not want people prying into his affairs.
Mr. Sykes reassured him and said that it was just a matter of speaking to the staff on the first occasion. H e said that there will be a test period and the rollout will be watched carefully with both recycling and residual waste.
He said that the Conwy county Borough council is confident, as historically they do very well.
He also introduced the idea of home composting. The bins for this will be sold at cost price by the council and this will enable people to make compost of kitchen refuse such as peelings and other vegetable matter at home. This will minimize collection requirements.
Another composting initiative is the Central Composting facility at Dolgarrog for green waste.
Kerbside composting is being developed in tandem with the collection of domestic / household waste.
Card board was spoken of and 350 tons were collected at Mochdre last year. Where possible the larger supermarkets will be where the cardboard banks are sited.
Regarding commercial users of council collection services they will not be adversely affected by changes.
Polystyrene will continue to be a problem for the foreseeable future as the cost of recycling this substance is very high.
W hen questioned about whether council tax would rise as a result of recycling, Mr. Sykes said that he did not anticipate that it would. He went on to say that even if council tax doubled, if the National Targets were not reached, Westminster , Wales and ultimately Conwy would be fined.
A resident said with reference to transport that only people with cars would be able to visit the civic amenity sites and asked what amenities would be available to help other persons.
The answer given was that it is intended to place banks near to where people live. They will be modular banks based locally and totally enclosed. They will be of the type which can be lifted by crane hook lifting device on the collection vehicle and taken away.
The chair thanked Mr. Sykes for an excellent an informative talk and there was a round of applause.
