City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee
Agenda Item 29
Subject: Improving recycling points
Date of meeting: 14 November 2023
Report of: Executive Director: Economy, Environment & Culture
Contact Officer: Name: Lynsay Cook
Tel: 07592 103604
Email: Lynsay.cook@brighton-hove.gov.uk
1.1 Recycling points are locations across the city where residents can recycle waste which is not recycled through the regular household waste collection service. This includes recycling of textiles, cartons (Tetrapaks) and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Recycling points also provide residents with an opportunity to recycle excess recycling and glass recycling that may not fit into the regular bin or box collected from the kerbside.
1.2 This report is seeking approval to rollout additional carton and WEEE containers across the city to increase the opportunities for recycling.
2.1 That Committee agrees to rollout an additional 54 carton recycling containers to recycling points across the city.
2.2 That Committee agrees to rollout 21 new WEEE containers to recycling points across the city.
3.1 There are currently 87 recycling points across the city, which have varying sets of containers for the materials outlined in paragraph 1.1. A small project within the City Environment Improvement Programme reviewed existing provision to identify where improvements can be made. This included the completion of an audit to identify where additional containers can be installed.
Cartons
3.2 There are currently 30 carton containers across the city for residents to use. The audit identified opportunities for an additional 55 carton containers to be rolled out across 50 locations. 48 of these will be in new locations (some with multiple bins) and two existing locations will have an extra container. The location of these is detailed in Table 1 in Appendix 1.
3.3 Providing residents with more facilities to recycle cartons will:
· Increase the percentage of waste from Brighton & Hove which is recycled.
· Reduce contamination within recycling wheelie bins and recycling communal bins.
· Reduce the volume of waste sent to the Energy Recovery Facility.
3.4 The containers will be emptied by a contractor and taken to the ACE UK plant.
3.5 The containers will be rolled out with coloured lids to distinguish them from containers for other materials. It may be that some 1100 litre recycling bins need to be removed from recycling points to accommodate these new bins.
WEEE
3.6 There are currently only two WEEE containers for residents to use across the city. This has reduced considerable over the last few years due to vandalism, with people breaking into the containers to access the equipment. The audit identified an additional 58 locations for WEEE containers.
3.7 Carbon Neutral Funding has been secured to procure the new WEEE containers. Since the funding was secured, a lot of work has gone into finding more suitable containers that withstand vandalism. Appropriate containers have now been identified and it is proposed a phased approach to rollout is taken to test the containers. In the first phase, 21 containers will be rolled out and the location of these is detailed in Table 2 in Appendix 1. The two existing WEEE containers will be replaced by a new container.
3.8 Providing residents with more facilities to recycle WEEE will:
· Reduce the fire risk caused by WEEE when placed in refuse and recycling bins, which is a frequent occurrence.
· Increase the percentage of waste from Brighton & Hove which is recycled.
· Reduce contamination within wheelie bins and communal bins.
· Reduce the volume of waste sent to the Energy Recovery Facility.
3.9 The containers will be emptied by a contractor and taken to a facility in Lewes.
3.10 Again, the containers will be rolled out with coloured lids to distinguish them from containers for other materials. It may be that some 1100 litre recycling bins need to be removed from recycling points to accommodate these new bins.
3.11 Once the new containers have been in situ for a few months, a review will take place to determine whether to rollout containers to the remaining locations. The additional locations are detailed in Table 3 in Appendix 1.
Volumes of cartons and WEEE
3.12 Based on composition analysis completed in 2022, approximately 1.186 tonnes of cartons and 1.329 tonnes of WEEE are placed in refuse bins each year. Introducing additional carton containers presents an opportunity to divert this material to recycling facilities to enable the recycling of these materials.
3.13 Based on contamination data, there was approximately 1.494 tonnes of cartons and 0.816 tonnes of WEEE in recycling bins in 2021/22. Introducing additional WEEE containers again presents an opportunity to divert these materials to recycling facilities to ensure appropriate parts are recycled.
4.1 Committee can choose not to improve the recycling points which will mean opportunities for increasing the recycling rate and reducing contamination are missed.
4.2 Cartons and WEEE can continue to be taken to the two Household Waste Recycling Sites in the city. WEEE can also be given to Tech-Takeback and many large retailers also takeback electrical items.
5.1 No community engagement or consultation has taken place in relation to the recommendations in this report.
6.1 This report is seeking Committee approval to rollout additional carton and WEEE recycling containers across the city. This will increase opportunities for recycling, reduce contamination within recycling wheelie bins and communal bins and reduce the volume of waste sent to the Energy Recovery Facility.
7.1 Costs associated with the purchase of 54 carton recycling containers and 21 WEEE containers will be contained within existing capital budgets for these projects funded from the Carbon Neutral Fund. The ongoing costs for the 54 additional carton recycling containers are estimated to be £0.019m per annum. The ongoing costs for the 21 additional WEEE containers are estimated to be £0.004m per annum which if the first phase is successful would increase to an estimated £0.009m per annum assuming all 58 locations are installed.
7.2 Ongoing cost totaling £0.023m per annum for the introduction of the 54 carton containers and 21 WEEE containers would be funded from the existing Waste PFI budget. Introduction of these containers could see a reduction of contamination in recycling bins and redirecting this type of waste away from the Energy Recovery Facility resulting in a minimal cost reduction in processing recycling and residual waste. Contract uplifts for the ongoing costs of these containers may exceed future budget increases, however the Waste PFI revenue budgets are closely monitored along with the Waste PFI reserve required to bridge the gap between service budget provision and best estimate of the ongoing Waste Disposal contract. Any significant variations to budget will be reported as part of the council’s monthly budget monitoring process.
Name of finance officer consulted: John Lack Date consulted: 26/10/2023
8.1 Procurement implications are addressed in Section 11 below. The Council must comply with its Contract Standing Orders and the Public Procurement Regulations 2015 in the award of the proposed contracts.
Name of lawyer consulted: Elizabeth Culbert Date consulted: 24/10/2023
9.1 Providing more opportunities for residents to recycle their cartons and WEEE makes recycling more accessible across the city. This will be particularly beneficial to those without access to a vehicle or those who have mobility difficulties.
10.1 Providing more opportunities for residents to recycle their cartons and WEEE will mean more waste will get recycled.
Social Value and procurement implications
11.1 There is only one contractor in the south-east that can collect cartons from Brighton & Hove as they are contracted directly to the single processing plant in the UK. This means the contract for the collection and disposal of cartons will be via a direct award / waiver.
11.2 Similarly, the options for the collection and disposal of WEEE are also limited. Due to the low value of this contract, it will be possible to direct award a contract for a fixed term so as not to breach the £0.025m procurement threshold.
11.3 Consideration was given to completing these collections in-house and to not use contractors. However, this was not considered viable due to the lack of space to use as a tipping / storage point for these materials, and the permitting requirements to do so.
Supporting Documentation
Appendix 1: Locations for additional containers