Information for managing agents

Information for

managing agents

This information pack has been produced to help managing organisations of blocks of flats in the London Borough of Wandsworth establish a successful recycling scheme at their properties.

Supporting recycling schemes is a great way for managing agents to improve services for residents, demonstrate a commitment to the environment and work towards an

environmental accreditation.

Contents of the pack

Section 1:

What the Council can offer

Details the recycling services that the Council can provide properties and how to assess and set up a recycling scheme

Section 2:

Recycling collection services to suit your properties

Information on the three types of building recycling collection schemes that could work with the recycling service offered by the council

Section 2:

The caretaker’s role

The potential role that caretaker’s can play to support recycling and suggested additions to their job descriptions

Section 3:

Template resident letters

Two template letters, one for communicating a new recycling scheme and one to use if residents put the wrong materials in the recycling container

Section 4:

Responses to common queries

Question and answers to common recycling queries

Section 5:

‘What happens to recycling’ factsheet?

Section 6:

Tips to improve recycling performance

Information on how to improve a recycling schemes performance

Section 7:

Posters

What the Council can offer

If the rubbish from the properties is collected in large wheeled bins the council can provide recycling banks (image 1) at blocks for recycling materials for the private use of residents.

Image 1 – Wandsworth council Recycling Bank

The recycling service

Recycling banks will be delivered to the managing agent’s block of flats and will be emptied on a frequent basis by the council free of charge. The following materials can be placed loose into the recycling bank all mixed together:

Paper and card Glass bottles and jars Tins, cans and empty aerosols

Plastic bottles Food and drink cartons

All other materials should be placed in the general rubbish. Please view the council’s website (www.wandsworth.gov.uk) for recycling options for other materials such as textiles, batteries, garden waste, electrical items etc.

Location, number and size of recycling banks

Where possible, it is best to locate recycling banks next to existing rubbish bins, so that:

 if residents already bring their rubbish to this area, the banks will be convenient for them to use

 you are certain that the site can be accessed by a collection vehicle

 residents are likely to be happy with this rather than a new site in another location If a new location has to be found for the recycling banks the following points should be taken into consideration:

 recycling bank should be located in easily accessible locations to minimise carrying distance for residents, for example try putting them near entrances or frequently passed areas

 recycling banks should not be located immediately in front of resident’s windows or where they may obstruct fire exit routes

 if space is limited a recycling bank can be located in a central position between several blocks of flats

 collection vehicles should be able to get within 10 metres of the bank and there should be a smooth and level route for the collection crews to push the bank to the vehicle

As a guide, one 1280 litre recycling bank should be provided per 18 flats (giving a capacity of 70 litres per household). The council can advise you on the possibilities of reducing the number of rubbish containers to help accommodate the Recycling banks.

The recycling banks (Image 1) have a capacity of 1280 litres with the following dimensions: width 1280cm, height 1470cm and depth 1000cm.

The council will come and view your site to help you find a suitable location for the Recycling bank as well as agreeing a mutually convenient collection time and frequency. Please contact the council on 020 8871 8558 to find out more.

The benefits of providing a recycling scheme for Managing Agents

1. Save money

Rubbish collection costs are increasing each year as landfill tax rises. Providing a service; will reduce the amount of rubbish produced which could help you reduce refuse bin hire/purchase costs.

2. Obtain green credentials

By providing a recycling service on your sites you will improve your companies green credentials and help to meet your customers ‘green’ demands.

3. Save the environment

Recycling of waste saves the use of virgin materials and stops waste going to landfill where it rots and contributes to global warming.

The council’s recycling system is easy to use as all the materials can be put into the recycling banks mixed together. Residents can store and take to the recycling banks all of the above mentioned materials together, for recycling.

5. Resident satisfaction

Most residents want to recycle their waste. By providing a recycling scheme you will help to improve the services and well-being of residents living in your flats.

Step by step guide

The diagram below shows the simple processes that you need to take to provide a recycling scheme:

Contact us

For further information or if you want to request a site visit to locate a recycling bank please call 020 8871 8558 or email recycling@wandsworth.gov.uk

Step 1

Review premises for:





Step 2

Contact the council for a site visit on 020 8871 8558 or email

wasteservices@wandsworth.gov.uk. Location and bank numbers mutually agreed, collection day and time confirmed.

Step 3

Banks delivered to your premises.

Step 4

Use information and

communications in this pack to promote the new recycling scheme to residents

Recycling Collection schemes

to suit your properties

Collection services to suit your blocks

This section of the recycling information pack details the types of building recycling collection methods that you could offer each of your properties that will work alongside the new

recycling services offered by the council (i.e. the recycling banks).

The three types of recycling collection schemes

1. ‘Bring’ Scheme

Residents bring their own recycling materials to a communal collection container e.g. recycling bank, near to the block of flats.

Benefits of bring schemes

 Can usually be introduced quickly and easily  Relatively low capital and revenue costs

 Can achieve high participation rates and can capture large amounts of material

 Unlikely to need lengthy consultation

 Easy to communicate how to use scheme to residents

Reusable bags

To make it easier for residents to store and transport recycling materials to the recycling container reusable bags could be purchased. A number of firms manufacture reusable bags including:

 Recykerbag www.recykerbag.com

 Tyler Packaging www.tyler-packaging.co.uk

 GloPac www.glopac.co.uk

 Fings Ltd www.fings.net

It is recommended that the reusable bags are:

 made of a hard wearing non-porous material i.e. woven polypropylene

 contain recycled content

 self standing for easy storage

2.

Door to Door scheme

Recyclable materials are collected from residents’ doorsteps in communal corridors and transported to a central collection point. This will require someone i.e. caretaker to undertake the door to door collections and to place the recyclables into the recycling collection container.

Benefits of door to door collections

 Low capital costs

 Easy to communicate directly to residents

 Easy for residents to use – particularly elderly and disabled residents

 Caretakers can monitor those households not participating as well as those not putting out the correct materials

 Can achieve high participation among residents

 Opportunities for on-site staff to be involved in recycling i.e. caretakers

3.

Collection points on each floor scheme

Recycling collection containers are installed on each floor of a block of flats. Material from these containers is then taken to a central collection (bulking) area by someone i.e. caretakers.

Benefits of the collection points scheme

 Easy for residents to understand and use and the profile of recycling remains highly visible

 Containers remain in one location which can reduce collection times compared to door to door collections and also reduces the number of containers set out in corridors

 Containers can be located in frequently passed areas or next to refuse chutes to make recycling as easy as refuse disposal

 There are opportunities for on-site staff to be involved in recycling

 Capital costs can be relatively low (depending on the type of container purchased)

Further information

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) flats guidance

http://www.wrap.org.uk/local_authorities/research_guidance/coll ections_recycling/recycling_collections_for_flats/index.html

‘Bring’ Schemes

Read more about collection trials for flats in Scotland here http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/08/01104543/0 Read the 2006 Defra report ‘Recycling for flats’ for case studies of local authorities that have launched bring schemes

downloadable from www.win.org.uk

Door stepping

Download a report on trials including fire issues related to door to door collections in Falkirk

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/08/01104543/0 Download a case study about door to door collections in the City of London

http://www.wrap.org.uk/downloads/Case_study_City_of_Londo n_door_to_door_collections.68bc3359.7221.pdf

Collection Points on each floor

A case study about collections on each floor that was launched by EC1 New Deal for Communities and Islington Council http://www.wrap.org.uk/local_authorities/research_guidance/coll ections_recycling/recycling_collections_for_flats/operation_of_d ifferent_collection_schemes/each_floor_collect.html

View a video about the EC1 New Deal for Communities and Islington Council recycling scheme

The caretakers’ role

This section describes the potential role that the caretaker can take to support the new recycling scheme. Supporting recycling is a great way for caretakers to gain new skills and knowledge and make a positive difference for residents. The section has been divided into the three building recycling collection schemes and under each section you will find the caretaker duties and suggested additions to their job descriptions.

1.

‘Bring’ Scheme

This scheme will require least input in terms of work and time from the caretaker, as residents bring their own recycling materials to a communal recycling container.

Job description

 Assist the managing agent and council in finding a suitable site to locate a recycling container

 Check recycling bank for defects or damage and report to the managing agent  Ensure that lids of recycling banks are kept locked

 Keep the area around the recycling container clean and litter free

 Report to the managing agent any excessive littering or dumping of bulky items near to the recycling container

 Monitor and report any contamination of the recycling container i.e. materials that are not accepted in the council’s recycling scheme. Assist the managing agent with reducing the contamination by providing feedback to residents about what can be recycled

 Assist the managing agent and council to communicate to residents how the recycling scheme works and the benefits of recycling. This will include face to face liaison with residents and the provision and up keep of signage, posters, leaflets and other communication methods. Caretakers can provide information to any new residents on their arrival to ensure they understand how they can recycle.

 Assist disabled and elderly residents with the transportation of their recycling and waste to the correct containers

2.

Door to Door scheme

A door to door scheme will require the caretaker to transport materials from the doorstep to the recycling bank. In order to make the collections easier and reduce manual handling the caretaker may wish to use a trolley to transport materials.

Job description

 Collect recycling from the residents’ doorsteps (on a regular collection day at least once a week) and transport it to the recycling banks

 Monitor residents use of the system and provide feedback to them as needed (for example removing any materials that are set out on the wrong day or at the wrong time and informing residents of the correct collection day / time)

 Monitor and report any contamination of the recycling to the managing agent. Put any contaminated recycling in the rubbish bin. Assist the managing agent to reduce the contamination by proactively working with residents’

 Deliver communication materials to residents

 See above under section 1 ‘bring’ scheme for additional points that could also be included

3.

Collection points on each floor scheme

The caretakers’ responsibilities will include the collection and transportation of recyclables from each floor to the recycling bank at ground level. In order to make the collections easier and reduce manual handling the caretaker may wish to use a trolley to transport materials. Job description

 Collect recycling from each floor’s recycling collection point on a regular basis (at least once weekly) and transport it to the recycling containers

 Monitor the recycling container on each floor and clear any spillages

 See above under section 1 ‘bring’ scheme for additional points that could also be included

Further information

Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) flats guidance

http://www.wrap.org.uk/local_authorities/research_guidance/col lections_recycling/recycling_collections_for_flats/index.html

Resident letters

The following template letters can be used to communicate with residents about new recycling schemes and to notify residents of a recycling contamination issue.

Further information for Managing Organisations on communicating with residents can be found on the WRAP website:

http://www.wrap.org.uk/local_authorities/research_guidance/collections_recycling/rec ycling_collections_for_flats/implementation_of_recycling_schemes/communicating_w ith.html

Letter to residents notifying of new recycling banks

Dear Resident,

New Recycling Facilities

Wandsworth council has recently provided you with a new recycling bin, which is located outside your block.

You can put all the items listed below into the bin:

 All paper and cardboard(incl. Yellow Pages and other directories, please flatten boxes)

 Food and drink cartons (please rinse and remove lids)

 Glass bottles and jars (please rinse and remove lids. No broken glass please)

 Drink cans, food tins and aerosols (please rinse tins and ensure aerosols are empty)

 Plastic bottles only (please rinse and remove lids. No other types of plastic) Only the items on the above list can be recycled. If a collection crew sees any other item in the bin, they may take all the contents to landfill and all recycling will be lost.

Please put the above mentioned materials loose into the recycling bank and do not put them in plastic bags or other types of containers.

Please do not put black bags in the recycling bin.

The contents of your recycling bin will be emptied every [insert collection day]and taken to a recycling centre, where all the different materials are sorted using the latest technology. These materials are then sent to be made into a range of new products.

For more information on recycling in Wandsworth, please visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk or contact the council on (020) 8871 8558 or email recycling@wandsworth.gov.uk.

Letter to residents notifying of new doorstep scheme provided by

caretaker/s

Dear Resident,

New Recycling Collections

To help you make it easier to recycle we [insert name of managing organisation] will soon start to collect recycling from your doorstep.

All you have to do is put your recycling out in front of your door every [insert collection day/s] between [insert timing e.g. 6.00 am 8.00 am]. Your recycling will be collected from your doorstep by your caretaker/s.

All of the following materials can be recycled mixed together.

 All paper and cardboard(incl. Yellow Pages and other directories, please flatten boxes)

 Food and drink cartons (please rinse and remove lids)

 Glass bottles and jars (please rinse and remove lids. No broken glass please)

 Drink cans, food tins and aerosols (please rinse tins and ensure aerosols are empty)

 Plastic bottles only (please rinse and remove lids. No other types of plastic) Your recycling is taken to a recycling centre and sorted using the latest technology. These materials are then sent to be made into a range of new products.

Please make sure you think of others when putting out your recycling. Place it against the wall, making sure the corridor is not blocked and never leave recycling out overnight or on a non-collection day.

If you would like to recycle in between collections please bring your recycling to the recycling banks near to your block.

For more information please contact [insert contact details e.g. of caretaker] Yours sincerely,

Letter to residents notifying of new scheme with collection containers

on each floor provided by caretaker/s

Dear Resident,

New Recycling Collections

To help you make it easier to recycle we [insert name of managing organisation] will soon provide recycling container [insert location e.g. next to your rubbish chute door] for you to drop your recycling into.

These recycling containers will be emptied regularly by your caretaker/s.

 All paper and cardboard(incl. Yellow Pages and other directories, please flatten boxes)

 Food and drink cartons (please rinse and remove lids)

 Glass bottles and jars (please rinse and remove lids. No broken glass please)

 Drink cans, food tins and aerosols (please rinse tins and ensure aerosols are empty)

Plastic bottles only (please rinse and remove lids. No other types of plastic) Your recycling is taken to a recycling centre and sorted using the latest technology. These materials are then sent to be made into a range of new products.

For more information please contact [insert contact details e.g. of caretaker] Yours sincerely,

Letter to residents notifying of contamination

Dear resident,

Thank you for taking part in the recycling scheme. Your contribution has really helped to boost recycling.

Recently some of the recycling we collected from [insert name of block of flats] contained one or more of the materials that cannot be recycled. Unfortunately this meant that we were not able to accept the sack for recycling as it would have caused problems at the sorting facility and may have damaged the machinery. We appreciate the effort you put into recycling your household waste; however when recycling contains materials that cannot be recycled, it may be considered as rubbish and the whole lorry-load might end up in landfill.

You can recycle the following materials in your recycling bin:

 Paper and cardboard (including directories, Yellow Pages, brochures and catalogues)

 Plastic bottles (please rinse and remove lids)

 Glass bottles and jars (please rinse and remove lids)

 Food and drink cartons (including Tetrapak, milk, juice, soup or other card-based cartons)

 Drink cans, food tins and empty aerosols (please rinse tins and cans) Do not use the recycling bins for general rubbish, food waste, foil, plastic food containers (yogurt pots, margarine tubs and trays), plastic bags, clothes, shoes, garden waste or broken glass.

If you are recycling the correct materials but have received this letter, please do not ignore it. If there is someone in your block who does not know the correct materials to recycle, please help us to pass this information on to them.

For more information on recycling in Wandsworth, please visit

www.wandsworth.gov.uk or contact the council on 020 8871 8558 or email

recycling@wandsworth.gov.uk. Yours sincerely,

Common queries about recycling

Introduction

This section provides you with the answers to common queries that you may encounter regarding the council’s recycling scheme.

What can be recycled in the recycling banks?

The following materials can be put in the recycling banks for recycling:

 paper (e.g. white paper, newspapers and magazine, junk mail, envelopes - including envelopes with windows1, and telephone directories (including Yellow Pages);

 glass bottles and jars;

 cardboard (e.g. cardboard boxes, greeting cards and cereal boxes);

 all types of plastic bottles (e.g. drink bottles, cleaning product bottles, shampoo bottles);

 food and drink cans;

 empty aerosol canisters; and

 food and drink cartons (e.g. fruit juice, dairy and soup cartons).

All the materials are collected mixed together and are sorted at a materials recovery facility.

Although the council is always looking for ways to improve recycling it is not currently possible to recycle any other materials through the recycling banks. It is very

important not to put any other materials in the recycling banks as this can damage equipment at the materials recovery facility and mean that other materials cannot be recycled.

What can’t be recycled in the recycling banks and why?

The council is always looking for ways to recycle more materials, however, please be careful to only recycle materials accepted through the current recycling collection system.

Any materials put in the recycling banks which are not currently accepted for recycling are called contaminants. Contaminant materials can cause significant damage to the recyclable materials and the equipment at the materials recovery facility where materials are sorted. For example, food waste makes recycling unpleasant to collect and sort and damages paper so it cannot be recycled, and textiles can wind around equipment at the materials recovery facility and damage it.

If the recycling collection crew realise that the recycling bank is contaminated this may mean that none of the materials in the bank can be recycled.

Here are some common materials that cannot be recycled using the recycling banks and the reasons why:

 Food waste (including any materials that are contaminated by food waste e.g. unrinsed soup cartons, very greasy pizza boxes). Food waste makes

recycling unpleasant for you to store and also for the crews to collect and sort. It damages paper and cardboard so it cannot be recycled.

 Garden and plant trimmings. The council can collect your garden and plant trimmings for composting but please do not put it in the recycling banks. They need to be collected separately from other materials to make sure they can be made into high quality compost. If garden and plant trimmings are put in the recycling banks they can damage equipment at the materials recovery facility.

 Polystyrene, carrier bags, and plastic containers that are not bottles (e.g. yoghurt pots, ice cream tubs and food trays). These are made from different types of plastics to the plastic bottles. Currently it is difficult to recycle them as there are very few factories that can recycle theses types of plastic. A more detailed explanation can be given using PET as an example. PET exists in three basic forms, primary, crystalline, and semi-crystalline. These forms of PET have different physical and chemical properties, based on different molecular structures. While primary PET is designed to contain liquids and gas (e.g. carbonated drinks), crystalline PET is designed to withstand heating and to provide a more rigid structure. Crystalline PET is lower quality than primary PET and more difficult to recycle into new products because of its molecular structure.

 Lids of plastic bottles and glass bottles and jars. These are generally made of a different material to the container meaning they cannot be recycled. If lids are left on plastic bottles it makes them really difficult to crush so they take up valuable space in the collection vehicle and are harder to process.

 Aluminium foil, milk bottle tops or yoghurt pot lids. Foil has slightly different properties to cans and because of this is usually recycled into lower quality products e.g. while cans may be recycled into new cans this isn’t possible with foil. If put into recycling banks foil can cause problems when the cans are processed and affect the quality of the end product.

 Textiles and shoes. These can wind around equipment at the materials recovery facility and damage it. Also because textiles and shoes are likely to be damaged during the collection and sorting process it is not possible to use them again e.g. they may get broken glass in them.

 Non-bottle or jar glass. This affects the quality of the end products made, for example, the coating on mirrors causes problems if it is recycled.

 Paper-based ice cream tubs, disposable coffee cups and containers such as Pringle pots. These containers may be made from, or include, materials that are not recyclable.

Why can’t I recycle all the materials that have the “recyclable”

symbol in the recycling banks?

Over the years as the world has become more aware of environmental issues there have been a huge number of different symbols developed to indicate different environmental standards on products.

It is really great that awareness of the environment has increased however the different symbols can be confusing particularly since some products are made abroad so may have symbols relating to environmental programmes running in other countries.

Some symbols that seem to indicate that something is recyclable may mean something very different, e.g. that it contains recycled material or that the producer has made a contribution towards packaging recycling. Here are a couple of common symbols.

You can find a full guide to some of the different symbols and what they mean at:

http://www.recyclenow.com/why_recycling_matters/recycling_symbols.html

Also, very importantly, the materials that can currently be recycled by the council are limited by external factors such as the type of machinery at the materials recovery facility and whether there are factories that can turn the materials into new products. So even if a material can be recycled somewhere else in the UK it may not be possible to recycle it in your area.

The best way to tell if a product is recyclable is to check on the council website or call the call centre.

How can I recycle materials that aren't collected through the

recycling banks?

There are lots of ways that you can recycle, reduce or reuse materials not collected through the recycling banks.

The Green Dot is used on packaging in many European countries and shows that the producer has made a contribution towards the recycling of packaging.

The Mobius Loop with a percentage inside shows that the object contains a percentage of recycled material.

For example, materials such as textiles, shoes, household batteries, CD, toner cartridges and books can be recycled through a network of bring banks. To find out where your local recycling banks are please call the call centre or visit

http://www.westernriverside.org.uk/what_can_i_recycle/recycling_banks/default.aspx or:

Wandsworth

http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/Home/EnvironmentandTransport/WasteManagement/ Recycling/recyclingcentres.htm

You can also bring materials to a household reuse and recycling centre where additional materials such as electrical items and white goods, fluorescent tubes, furniture, car batteries, motor oil and wood can be recycled. For more information about the reuse and recycling centres please visit

http://www.wrwa.gov.uk/page.asp?pid=7

Local charity shops will usually be pleased to accept reusable items of clothing, shoes and general bric-a-brac.

Also try to think about ways to reduce or reuse items. For example on average, we each consume about 290 plastic shopping bags every year but this can easily be reduced by simply getting into the habit of using bags several times or buying a reusable shopping bag.

What happens to recycling during collection and sorting?

Recycling is collected all mixed together from the recycling banks and taken to bulking stations. The mixed recyclables are then loaded into larger trucks and taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Kent. In the next few years a MRF is being built in Wandsworth which will reduce the distance that materials need to be

transported for sorting.

The MRF is a series of machinery and manual sorting processes that separate recyclable materials from each other. For example, magnets and eddy currents are used to sort steel and aluminium cans and orange sacks are manually taken from a conveyor belt. The sorted materials are baled and stored ready to be transported to other sites to be made into new products.

For detailed information on what happens during collection and processing please visit the ‘About recycling’ page at

http://www.westernriverside.org.uk/about_recycling/default.aspx

Where does the recycling end up?

In the UK recyclable materials collected from councils are generally sent to a variety of processing sites depending on market demand. This means that from week to week recyclable materials may be sent to different processing sites. The sites that materials are sent to are carefully regulated and at each stage of transport and processing evidence is retained to demonstrate that materials are recycled. The markets that will accept the recyclable materials are global and for some materials there are no or few processing sites in the UK. This means that some recycling is sent abroad to be recycled. There are strict controls to ensure that

materials sent abroad are treated correctly and are actually recycled. In order to minimise the impact of transportation, materials are often put into ships that have delivered products to the UK and would otherwise return to their home country empty. Transport of recycling isn’t just one way and other countries send materials to the UK for processing.

The following bullets explain what the materials collected through the recycling banks are usually turned into:

 Glass bottles and jars are generally delivered to a London-based aggregates company to be turned into building sand, insulation or lightweight construction aggregate.

 Plastic bottles and orange sacks are usually sent for processing in other countries like Europe and China. Plastic is sorted into different categories and processed into products such as new bottles, new orange sacks, car parts, home composters or garden furniture. It may also be spun into thread to make clothing such as fleece jackets and hats or fibre filling for items such as sleeping bags and duvets.

 Aluminium cans and aerosols canisters are delivered to a processing plant in the North West of England. They are melted down and used for multiple purposes including being turned into new cans and for car and aeroplane construction.

 Steel cans and aerosols are sent for processing in the North of England or in Wales. The steel can be recycled into a variety of products including new cans, bicycle frames, pipes and train tracks.

 Paper and cardboard are sent to multiple reprocessors in Kent, the North West of England, Europe and China. The location of the reprocessor depends on the grade of the paper (e.g. whether it is office paper, newspaper or a mixed grade including cardboard and food and drink cartons) and the market for the material. Different grades of paper and cardboard are turned into new products such as office paper, newspapers, books and magazines. A small amount of paper sent for recycling is turned into other products such as jiffy bags, loft insulation and road surfaces using a variety of different processes. Cardboard is usually made into new boxes and packaging, but can also be used as animal bedding.

 Food and drink cartons are currently being included in the mixed paper grade and sold to reprocessors as outlined above. Currently only the fibre part of the carton is recycled. The plastic and aluminium that is used to keep cartons airtight is generally used by paper mills in their integrated energy from waste plants to provide energy for their processes.

Why the recycling is collected mixed together in the recycling

banks?

In order to make recycling as easy as possible for residents materials are collected mixed together. This means that you don’t have to worry about sorting materials and can store materials all in one place in your home rather than having separate

containers. The materials are sorted at a materials recovery facility before being made into new products.

Why are the lids locked?

The lids are often locked shut where problems with contamination occur as this prevents less responsible people from depositing e.g. black sacks of general waste.

Why can’t I use disposable orange recycling sacks from the library

& place them in the recycling bank?

These sacks are only intended for low-rise households that do not have communal bins for refuse and recycling. The Council has to spend around £0.5m on these annually and is keen to avoid wasting local tax payers money on them. The Council is therefore trying to ensure that households served by communal recycling banks do not use them.

www.westernriverside.org.uk

Introduction

This worksheet outlines what happens to recycling collected in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Boroughs of Wandsworth, Lambeth and Hammersmith and Fulham. These four boroughs are responsible for collecting waste and recycling within their boundaries and delivering it to Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) for disposal. WRWA has a long term contract with Cory Environmental Ltd to dispose of the materials on its behalf.

From the doorstep

Your mixed recyclable materials are collected from orange sacks and recycling banks by the local council. The mixed materials are put into recycling collection vehicles and taken to bulking stations. Depending on where you live, your recycling may be bulked at Smugglers Way in Wandsworth, Cringle Dock in Battersea or Cremorne Wharf in Chelsea.

When vehicles arrive at the site they are weighed in and information about where the recycling was collected from is recorded. This lets the council and WRWA work out how much material is being recycled. The recycling is also inspected to see whether it is of a good quality and is not too contaminated by materials that cannot be recycled. Unfortunately if the recycling is very contaminated, it may not be recycled because the materials may be ruined or the contaminants may damage the equipment that will sort out the various materials or turn it into new products. In this instance the materials will be sent to landfill.

Bulking up and transport

Once at the bulking site the recycling vehicles drive to a tipping bay and tip the recycling out onto the ground where it is inspected. The mixed recyclables are then loaded into larger trucks and weighed out before being transported to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Kent. The MRF is where the materials are separated out from each other. In a few years time it is planned that the mixed recyclables will be processed more locally in a MRF in Wandsworth.

Once the vehicles arrive at the MRF they are weighed in and the materials are again assessed for their quality. This allows the MRF operator to provide a waste transfer note which can be used as proof that the materials have been sent for recycling.

What happens to recycling collected

in the Western Riverside region?

The recyclables are transported to a MRF where the sorting process begins.

Recyclables are tipped into a tipping bay and inspected for quality purposes.

www.westernriverside.org.uk

the recyclable materials based on their specific properties. The materials are unloaded into a ‘bag splitter’ which uses small blades to rip open orange sacks to release the various materials. The loose materials move onto ‘star screen’ which looks like an inclined conveyor belt. Larger materials are propelled forward by rotating discs shaped like stars while glass, which has generally all been broken during the collection and transport process, falls through holes onto another conveyor belt. An ‘air knife’, a jet of air, blows any light materials such as paper labels off the conveyor belt before the broken glass falls into a container ready for onward transport. The other materials travel up a ‘ballistic separator’. This is basically a set of conveyor belts with holes that shake the materials. Smaller items such as cans and plastic bottles fall through the holes onto another conveyor belt while larger flat items such as paper, card and the empty orange sacks are carried upwards.

As the cans and plastic bottles pass along a conveyor belt a magnet pulls steel cans from the belt and drops them into a storage bay and an eddy current repels aluminium cans into another bay. Plastic bottles fall into a third bay at the end of the belt.

The paper, cardboard and empty orange sacks reach the top of the ballistic separator and pass into a large rotating drum with holes called a ‘trommel’ that looks like a washing machine drum. Any remaining small materials such as glass fall through the holes in the drum and the larger materials travel up another conveyor belt to a picking cabin.

In the picking cabin any remaining materials are sorted by hand. Empty orange sacks and contaminant materials are pulled off the conveyor belt and sorted into different containers and any orange sacks that have not already split open are dropped onto a conveyor belt to return to the start of the process. Cardboard and paper are sorted into different containers depending on their quality. Drink cartons are currently sorted into the same container as low quality paper.

All the separated materials are baled and stored on the site ready to be transported to different sites to be made into new products.

Turning materials into new products

In the UK recycling is not only driven by legislation that requires councils to provide recycling services, it is also driven by the market economy. Legislation pushes the collection of materials and market demand means that there will be a home for the materials after they are collected. This is good as it encourages more recycling and means the government does not have to pay out money over long periods of time to support the processing of material. It also means that some of the cost of sorting the materials can be covered by selling them. It is difficult to define exactly what your recycled materials will get turned into or where they are processed, as market demand changes frequently. Where possible materials are recycled in the UK, although sometimes it is necessary for them to be sent abroad The ‘star screen’ sorts glass from other materials.

The ‘ballistic separator’ shakes the materials and smaller items fall through holes onto another conveyor belt.

The rotating ‘trommel’ filters out any remaining small items, leaving paper, cardboard and orange sacks behind.

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are actually recycled. To minimise the impact of transportation materials are often put into ships that have delivered products to the UK and would otherwise have returned to their home country empty. Regardless of where the materials are sent a waste transfer note is given to the MRF operator to provide evidence that

materials have been sent for recycling.

Glass bottles and jars

Glass bottles and jars are generally delivered to a London-based aggregates company. They wash the glass, crush it and screen it to turn it into a fine material like sand. This product can then be used as building sand or it may undergo further processing to turn it into a product called ®Hasopor. To make Hasopor the glass is ground into the consistency of flour and thermally treated to expand the particles and bind them together. This produces a material that is similar in appearance to barbeque briquettes that can be used for floor and wall insulation and lightweight construction aggregate.

Plastic bottles and orange sacks

The first plastics plant is due to open in London soon, although it is not yet operational. Because of the lack of facilities to process plastic in the UK, plastic bottles and orange sacks are exported and processed in other countries including Europe and China. The plastic is usually sorted into categories: orange sacks; HDPE bottles (usually opaque bottles such as milk bottles, shampoo bottles and bleach bottles); PET bottles (usually clear bottles such as fizzy drink bottles with a hard moulded spot on the base); and PVC bottles (clear fizzy drinks bottles with a seam at the base). Each type of plastic may be processed in a slightly different way, but in general the bottles and sacks are screened for materials that cannot be recycled, cut into small flakes, washed at a high temperature and melted. Sometimes colouring is added. The melted plastic can be turned into pellets in which case it may be used to make items such as new bottles, new orange sacks, car parts, home composters or garden furniture. It may also be spun into a fine thread-like material which may be used to make clothing such as fleece jackets and hats or fibre filling for items such as sleeping bags and duvets.

Cans and aerosols

Aluminium cans and aerosol canisters are delivered to a processing plant in the North West of England. Once they arrive at the site they are shredded and a magnet is used to remove any steel which may contaminate the final product. Hot air is blown onto the shreds to burn off the paint used to label the cans and aerosols. The shredded aluminium is then fed into a furnace. Once the aluminium has melted, non-metallic particles are removed and it is fed into a mould to be cast into ‘ingots’. Ingots of cast

aluminium are sold onwards and can be used for multiple purposes including being turned into new cans and aerosols, and for car and aeroplane construction.

Steel cans and aerosol canisters are generally sent for processing in the north of England or in Wales. The cans and aerosols are shredded and contamination is removed. They are sent on for Separated materials are baled and stored, ready to be

transported to various processing sites.

Glass can be turned into a variety of aggregates.

Plastic can be turned into a variety of new products, including new bottles, orange sacks, fleeces or garden furniture.

Aluminium and steel cans are shredded and melted before being turned into new products such as new cans, car or airplane parts.

frames, pipes and train tracks.

Paper and cardboard

Paper and cardboard is sent to multiple processors in Kent, the North West of England, Europe and China. The location of the processor depends on the grade of the paper (e.g. whether it is office paper, newspaper or a mixed grade including cardboard and food and drink cartons) and the market for the material at different times. Different grades of paper and cardboard are processed in slightly different ways although generally it is mixed with hot water to turn it into pulp and the ink is removed using an industrial soap. The fibres are screened to remove contaminants such as staples, plastic and glue. The clean fibres are spread onto meshes and pressure is applied to remove water and press the fibres together. The recycled paper is dried and wound onto reels ready to be turned into new products such as office paper, newspapers, books and magazines. A small amount of paper sent for recycling is turned into other products such as jiffy bags, loft insulation and road surfaces using a variety of different processes. Cardboard is usually made into new boxes and packaging, but can also be used as animal bedding or even coffins!

Food and drink cartons

Since there are relatively small quantities of cartons being collected currently, they are being included in the mixed paper grade which is sold to different processors as outlined above.

Currently only the fibre part of the carton is recycled. The plastic and aluminium that is used to keep cartons airtight is generally used by paper mills in their integrated energy from waste (EfW) plants to provide energy for their processes. If the EfW plants generate more energy than the mill can use the surplus energy may be exported to other users on their sites or to the national grid. It is expected that the amount of cartons will increase in the future due to greater resident awareness. This will mean that, at some point, the amount of cartons included in the mixed paper will start to affect the quality of paper produced and the paper mills will not accept it. At this point the cartons will be exported as a single stream to Finland or Italy – the only places where there are mills designed for this material. The only UK mill in Scotland closed in 2006.

1_{Based on information from www.dayaggregates.com}

2_{Based on information from www.packaging-technology.com and www.recyclenow.com} 3_{Aluminium processing details summarised from www.alupro.org.uk and steel from}

www.recyclenow.com

4_{Paper information based on information from www.recyclenow.com and cardboard}

from www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk

5_{Based on information provided via Cory Environmental from Viridor in 2008}

Please note that the photographs used in this factsheet are for illustration purposes only and were taken at a variety of locations.

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What happens to other materials

sent to the MRF?

Although local councils are always looking for ways to recycle more materials it is only possible to recycle paper, cardboard, cans, empty aerosols, plastic bottles and food and drink cartons through the orange sacks and recycling banks at the moment.

Any other materials put in the orange sacks or recycling banks are called contaminants and cannot be recycled so are sent for landfill or incineration.

Contaminant materials can cause significant damage to the recyclable materials and the equipment at the MRF. For example, food waste makes recycling unpleasant to collect and sort and damages paper so it cannot be recycled, and textiles can wind around equipment at the MRF and damage it.

There are clearly labelled bring banks throughout the boroughs to which residents can take other materials for recycling including textiles, printer cartridges, books and bric-a-brac.

Paper is pulped and any ink is removed.

The clean fibres are turned into new paper which is wound onto reels so it can be sold on.

Tips to improve recycling performance

Once you have a recycling scheme in place the following tips can help improve performance:

1. Make sure that everyone knows how to recycle. Put up posters in communal areas and pass information to new residents. Include information in any induction / tenant packs that you provide. Make sure that any new caretakers and cleaners understand the local recycling scheme.

2. Include updates and information about recycling in newsletters and on your website. This could include articles on:

o a diary kept by a resident on recycling and being green, o Q&A with a borough officer on recycling,

o information on how to recycle (see www.westernriverside.org.uk for more

information),

o what happens to recycling (use information from ‘What happens to

recycling factsheet’ which is included with this pack),

o write up of a residents visit to a recycling/waste site i.e. material recovery

facility / landfill site,

o a day in the life of a recycled can, paper etc o seasonal recycled content products available, o smart shopping / waste minimisation tips.

3. Encourage residents and residents groups to support the caretaker by acting as a ‘Champion’ for recycling within their block. For example they might include recycling and waste as a regular agenda point for meetings or include a ‘green theme’ in any events or activities

4. If recycling containers are poorly located i.e. away from main entrance and exit points they should be repositioned. Consult the council and residents first to ensure that new locations are suitable.

5. Make sure everyone knows how much you are supporting recycling! Being a green managing organisation is great for your credentials and might help bring in new business!