Recycling – a tale of two councils
Keith Parkins | 05.01.2007 11:47 | Analysis | Ecology
Two councils, one with an abysmal track record on recycling, the other the best performing council in the country.
"It's so simple. People can dump most of their recyclables in one big wheelie bin, which makes them more inclined to do it. And when it gets here we've got some pretty nifty kit that separates it all into glass, plastic and paper automatically - that's how we've achieved these brilliant results." -- Chris Mountain, managing director of Lincolnshire-based Mid UK Recycling
The Rotten Borough of Rushmoor (as it is known locally), is at 22-23% recycling, one of the worst performing councils in the country. It has a target of 40% by 2010, which again is not good.
The answer, according to the rubbish jobsworth supremo David Quirk, is to use recycling as an opportunity to cut the services to the public, the frequency of waste collection is to be halved. Non-compliant households are to be punished. A small army of bin police are to be employed, with the possibility of on-the-spot fines for non-compliance. Quirk does not like his rubbish policies being criticised and refuses to enter into dialogue with those who dare to criticise his rubbish policies.
North Kesteven achieves a recycling rate of just over 51%, making it the best performing council in the country. It achieves this high figure by having a simple system, by providing clear information on what goes into which bin, by working with the public and listening to what the public has to say.
North Kesteven provides each household with three wheelie bins
- paper, card, cans, bottles, textiles, plastics
- green waste
- residual waste
Every household receives a leaflet saying when collections take place, detailing what goes into each category.
At one time North Kesteven had a box system (what Rushmoor is wishing to introduce), but withdrew when it was found not to be popular with the public.
As North Kesteven has said to me, 'it's not rocket science'. They have introduced a simple system, work with the public. In conversation with myself, they say their success is as much the public's success as their own success, as without the help and support of the public, they would not achieve in excess of 50%.
Unlike Rushmoor, that has gone with its begging bowl to Defra for cash, North Kesteven has been entirely funded by local taxpayers.
If we look overseas, countries that are easily exceeding 60% recycling have had a long-term commitment to recycling. This is also true in North Kesteven, a long-term commitment to recycling which dates back to the early 90s. Unlike Rushmoor, which is jumping to EU diktats.
North Kesteven has its own in-house domestic refuse collection (of which it is justifiably proud), Rushmoor employs external contractors. The emphasis in North Kesteven is on value for money, not short-term, cost saving.
The norm across the country is that the local council collects the household refuse, the county council disposes of the refuse. Not in North Kesteven. Because of their longterm commitment to recycling, they work directly with a private recycling company, Mid UK Recycling.
Lincolnshire-based Mid UK Recycling are able to recycle or reuse 92% of what they receive.
North Kesteven recognises that the household is only one link at the end of the waste chain. They see the need for manufacturers to make products that can easily be disassembled at the end of their lifetimes into their component parts, of the need for supermarkets to reduce waste. To this end they have joined forces with the other local authorities in Lincolnshire to lobby for change.
Contrast this with the attitude of Rushmoor jobsworth Quirk, who sees this as someone else's problem, not his.
North Kesteven operate an alternative weekly collection service, but they say that is not why they achieve high recycling rates, they put it down to a simple system, working with the local community.
If your performance is bad, you look to best practice, to see what improvement may be made. But the arrogant officials at Rushmoor think they know best. The irony is, that what the local community say they want, is what is already practised in North Kesteven. What they have said they do not want is a reduction in service, but no one at the council is listening, least of all the arrogant rubbish supremo Quirk.
You do not achieve high recycling rates, get the help and support of the public, if you do as they are doing in the Rotten Borough of Rushmoor, go out of your way to alienate and antagonise the local community.
It is not only on recycling and refuse collection where the two councils differ. Rushmoor publishes a glossy magazine Arena, full of garbage which goes straight in the bin. North Kesteven publishes a newspaper Linkline, full of useful information.
The fundamental difference is that North Kesteven talks to the public and heeds what they say. In the Rotten Borough of Rushmoor even councillors who dare to question let alone criticise what is going on find themselves victimised.
web
http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/
http://www.thetruthinrushmoor.co.uk/
http://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/
http://www.lincup.net/
http://www.midukrecycling.co.uk/
References
Lester R Brown, Plan B 2.0, Norton, 2006
Lester R. Brown, Throwaway economy in trouble, Earth Policy Institute, 30 November 2006
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Seg/PB2ch06_ss4.htm
Alex Crawford, If the weekly bin collection system ain't broke don't fix it, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
H M Foster, How will council decide whether bins trial is a success?, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
Andrew Milford, Alternate bins plan gets a trial run, Farnborough News, 10 November 2006
Andrew Milford, Opposition mounting to alternate bin collections, Aldershot News, 17 November 2006
Andrew Milford, Bin plan backlash gathers supporters, Aldershot Mail, 28 November 2006
http://www.aldershot.co.uk/news/2005/2005745/bin_plan_backlash_gathers_supporters
Cliff Mogg, Bins trial rebels: 'Take part or else' warning over boycott threat, Surrey-Hants Star, 7 December 2006
http://www.shstar.co.uk/news/2006/2006045/bins_trial_rebels
James Newall, New life as hangover hill gets massive makeover, Lincolnshire Echo, 30 December 2006
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=156153&command=displayContent&sourceNode=156136&contentPK=16292008&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=filtersearch
Keith Parkins, Curitiba – Designing a sustainable city, April 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/curitiba.htm
Keith Parkins, Alternate Bin Collections, Indymedia UK, 13 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/355923.html?c=on
Keith Parkins, It's just rubbish, letters, Surrey-Hants Star, 16 November 2006
Keith Parkins, Rushmoor fortnightly bin collection, Indymedia UK, 17 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/356166.html?c=on
Keith Parkins, Shredded paper not recyclable, Indymedia UK, 21 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/356502.html
Keith Parkins, The Truth in Rushmoor, Indymedia UK, 30 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/357418.html
Keith Parkins, Fortnightly collection of bins has nothing to do with recycling, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
Keith Parkins, A load of rubbish, Indymedia UK, 12 December 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/358225.html
Keith Parkins, Failing councils are creating gravy trains for consultants, Indymedia UK, 12 December 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/358589.html
Mark Peters, Bins collection experiment will be a disaster, letters, Farnborough News, 24 November 2006
Stop the Waste, FoE, 2006
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/waste/press_for_change/stop_the_waste/index.html
Michael Westlake, How will fortnightly collections reduce the volumes of waste?, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
Mike Williams, Authorities should tackle excess waste at source of problem, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
The Rotten Borough of Rushmoor (as it is known locally), is at 22-23% recycling, one of the worst performing councils in the country. It has a target of 40% by 2010, which again is not good.
The answer, according to the rubbish jobsworth supremo David Quirk, is to use recycling as an opportunity to cut the services to the public, the frequency of waste collection is to be halved. Non-compliant households are to be punished. A small army of bin police are to be employed, with the possibility of on-the-spot fines for non-compliance. Quirk does not like his rubbish policies being criticised and refuses to enter into dialogue with those who dare to criticise his rubbish policies.
North Kesteven achieves a recycling rate of just over 51%, making it the best performing council in the country. It achieves this high figure by having a simple system, by providing clear information on what goes into which bin, by working with the public and listening to what the public has to say.
North Kesteven provides each household with three wheelie bins
- paper, card, cans, bottles, textiles, plastics
- green waste
- residual waste
Every household receives a leaflet saying when collections take place, detailing what goes into each category.
At one time North Kesteven had a box system (what Rushmoor is wishing to introduce), but withdrew when it was found not to be popular with the public.
As North Kesteven has said to me, 'it's not rocket science'. They have introduced a simple system, work with the public. In conversation with myself, they say their success is as much the public's success as their own success, as without the help and support of the public, they would not achieve in excess of 50%.
Unlike Rushmoor, that has gone with its begging bowl to Defra for cash, North Kesteven has been entirely funded by local taxpayers.
If we look overseas, countries that are easily exceeding 60% recycling have had a long-term commitment to recycling. This is also true in North Kesteven, a long-term commitment to recycling which dates back to the early 90s. Unlike Rushmoor, which is jumping to EU diktats.
North Kesteven has its own in-house domestic refuse collection (of which it is justifiably proud), Rushmoor employs external contractors. The emphasis in North Kesteven is on value for money, not short-term, cost saving.
The norm across the country is that the local council collects the household refuse, the county council disposes of the refuse. Not in North Kesteven. Because of their longterm commitment to recycling, they work directly with a private recycling company, Mid UK Recycling.
Lincolnshire-based Mid UK Recycling are able to recycle or reuse 92% of what they receive.
North Kesteven recognises that the household is only one link at the end of the waste chain. They see the need for manufacturers to make products that can easily be disassembled at the end of their lifetimes into their component parts, of the need for supermarkets to reduce waste. To this end they have joined forces with the other local authorities in Lincolnshire to lobby for change.
Contrast this with the attitude of Rushmoor jobsworth Quirk, who sees this as someone else's problem, not his.
North Kesteven operate an alternative weekly collection service, but they say that is not why they achieve high recycling rates, they put it down to a simple system, working with the local community.
If your performance is bad, you look to best practice, to see what improvement may be made. But the arrogant officials at Rushmoor think they know best. The irony is, that what the local community say they want, is what is already practised in North Kesteven. What they have said they do not want is a reduction in service, but no one at the council is listening, least of all the arrogant rubbish supremo Quirk.
You do not achieve high recycling rates, get the help and support of the public, if you do as they are doing in the Rotten Borough of Rushmoor, go out of your way to alienate and antagonise the local community.
It is not only on recycling and refuse collection where the two councils differ. Rushmoor publishes a glossy magazine Arena, full of garbage which goes straight in the bin. North Kesteven publishes a newspaper Linkline, full of useful information.
The fundamental difference is that North Kesteven talks to the public and heeds what they say. In the Rotten Borough of Rushmoor even councillors who dare to question let alone criticise what is going on find themselves victimised.
web
http://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/ http://www.thetruthinrushmoor.co.uk/ http://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/ http://www.lincup.net/ http://www.midukrecycling.co.uk/ References
Lester R Brown, Plan B 2.0, Norton, 2006
Lester R. Brown, Throwaway economy in trouble, Earth Policy Institute, 30 November 2006
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Seg/PB2ch06_ss4.htm Alex Crawford, If the weekly bin collection system ain't broke don't fix it, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
H M Foster, How will council decide whether bins trial is a success?, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
Andrew Milford, Alternate bins plan gets a trial run, Farnborough News, 10 November 2006
Andrew Milford, Opposition mounting to alternate bin collections, Aldershot News, 17 November 2006
Andrew Milford, Bin plan backlash gathers supporters, Aldershot Mail, 28 November 2006
http://www.aldershot.co.uk/news/2005/2005745/bin_plan_backlash_gathers_supporters Cliff Mogg, Bins trial rebels: 'Take part or else' warning over boycott threat, Surrey-Hants Star, 7 December 2006
http://www.shstar.co.uk/news/2006/2006045/bins_trial_rebels James Newall, New life as hangover hill gets massive makeover, Lincolnshire Echo, 30 December 2006
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=156153&command=displayContent&sourceNode=156136&contentPK=16292008&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=filtersearch Keith Parkins, Curitiba – Designing a sustainable city, April 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/curitiba.htm Keith Parkins, Alternate Bin Collections, Indymedia UK, 13 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/355923.html?c=on Keith Parkins, It's just rubbish, letters, Surrey-Hants Star, 16 November 2006
Keith Parkins, Rushmoor fortnightly bin collection, Indymedia UK, 17 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/356166.html?c=on Keith Parkins, Shredded paper not recyclable, Indymedia UK, 21 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/356502.html Keith Parkins, The Truth in Rushmoor, Indymedia UK, 30 November 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/357418.html Keith Parkins, Fortnightly collection of bins has nothing to do with recycling, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
Keith Parkins, A load of rubbish, Indymedia UK, 12 December 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/358225.html Keith Parkins, Failing councils are creating gravy trains for consultants, Indymedia UK, 12 December 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/358589.html Mark Peters, Bins collection experiment will be a disaster, letters, Farnborough News, 24 November 2006
Stop the Waste, FoE, 2006
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/waste/press_for_change/stop_the_waste/index.html Michael Westlake, How will fortnightly collections reduce the volumes of waste?, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
Mike Williams, Authorities should tackle excess waste at source of problem, letters, Farnborough News, 1 December 2006
Keith Parkins
Homepage:
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/
Comments
Hide the following 4 comments
Are you obsessed with bins?
05.01.2007 13:35
Unfortunately some people are so idle and antisocial that they will not seperate their refuse, and some even deliberately contaminate recycleables so enforcement is necessary.
There is no need for weekly refuse collection. You wash out your recycleables so they don't smell. Garden refuse does not smell, and if you have a garden you should compost it anyway. You should only be generating very small amounts of food waste - if this is a problem I suggest you look at the quantities you are buying and cooking. Weekly refuse collection just encourages waste.
RVR800
conspiracy bollocks
05.01.2007 14:14
This newswire is for supporting the status quo - or at least offering up weak resistance to it. Lets have no meaningful debate.
mother goose
further information ....
05.01.2007 15:27
'Operating a three wheeled bin system, the District Council believes the success is is down to the enthusiasm of residents and the simple system in place.' -- press release, North Kesteven
'Recycling is very much a hot topic at the moment. Our residents have taken it to heart and demonstrated that recycling can be easy, effective and incredibly successful. Recycling over half our waste means that a lot less rubbish goes to landfill. This is good for the environment and helps the District Council to save money. Being top of the national league is a big achievement for for North Kesteven.' -- Marion Brighton, leader North Kesteven
'One of the keys to this success is the simplicity of the system. All household items that are suitable for recycling go into the same bin - this means that householders do not need to sort into them into different bags or boxes ... We will continue to build on the success and help our residents to recycle more and more, while making sure that less waste goes to landfill.' -- Dennis Roberts, North Kesteven
December 2006, Defra recycling performance league table released, placing North Kesteven with recycling rate of 51.5% at the top of the table.
North Kesteven is the only area in the country to achieve in excess of 50% recycling.
Bristol, in just one year, has increased its recycling rate from 12% to 40%. [News, BBC 1, 5 January 2007]
A special thanks to North Kesteven Environment Manager Nina Camm, for all her help, useful information and patiently answering all my questions. A very pleasant change to Rushmoor head of Environment David Quirk who refuses to enter into dialogue with anyone who dares to criticise his crass policies and takes great exception to his abysmal performance being criticised.
Keith
waste
08.01.2007 15:14
This has to be a whole system approach, tackling all aspects of the waste cycle, not an opportunity for councils to punish householders, cut down on services.
Fortnightly collection has problems of smell, maggots, flies and rats. We are now facing a plague of rats across the country.
To avoid health problems in temperate climates, WHO recommends weekly collections.
A box system was tried in North Kesteven. It was withdrawn when it was found to do little for recycling rates and was not popular with local residents. At 51.5%, North Kesteven is the best performing council in the country. They achieved this performance by having a simple system, working with the public, and investing in the machinery to separate the waste.
Other local authorities should be looking to this best practice, not arrogantly thinking they know best.
By western standards, I personally generate very little waste, although I recognise it is still a lot by third world standards. My bins have very little in them, wherever possible everything is reused or composted in-situ in the garden.
Keith