Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

 

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       To provide Committee with progress on implementing the Waste Framework, an update on household recycling performance over the recent past and to respond to the Notice of Motion raised at 1st November 2018 Council meeting which states that:

 

            ‘This Council is committed to increasing household recycling across the city of Belfast; notes the colossal impact waste is having on our oceans, cities and countrysides; welcomes the recent waste consultation; and will commit to introducing glass recycling in households across the city of Belfast as soon as possible.’ 

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

 

1.      Agree that the wheelie-box scheme outlined in this report is the strategic direction of travel for the Council, subject to a successful assessment of the project within the Council’s Capital Programme.

 

2.      Agree the wheelie-box pilot as outlined to:

 

·        approximately 5,000 households in North Belfast commencing September 2019;

·        change collection day for operational reasons and to mitigate against ‘bin blight.’  If considered necessary, these will be communicated in advance to the residents affected;

·        in order to improve recycling further, as per the January 2014 policy, the trial will implement one bin per household with the usual exceptions (i.e. larger families of 6 or more, and those households with a resident who has a medical condition which generates additional waste,) following the successful application to DAERA to fund an in-house trial.

 

3.      Agree implementation of Phase 2 of the food waste campaign, as set out in the Council’s Improvement Plan for 2019-20.

 

4.      Agree extending the existing WRAP Collaboration Agreement for the 2019/20 financial year.

 

5.      Agree to a Members’ study visit to Welsh councils (as per November report) to see first-hand a kerbside sort approach, in operation.

 

6.      Agree to a study visit to businesses and organisations in NI which use the secondary materials collected from the Council’s recycling operations and learn how they contribute to the local Circular Economy.

 

7.      Note the response to the November Notice of Motion.

 

3.0       Main report

 

            Key Issues

 

            Background

 

3.1       There are several drivers influencing management of the city’s waste including:

 

·        legislative compliance;

·        fit-for-purpose and value-for-money services;

·        the Belfast Agenda – an additional 66,000 residents will generate additional waste; and

·        the Circular Economy Package (CEP) focusing on higher recycling targets (65% municipal waste by 2035), improving quality of materials and contributing to jobs within the economy.

 

3.2       To address these challenges the Council, and its regional waste management group (arc21), have developed waste plans, the most recent of which was the Waste Framework approved in June 2017.  These plans make recommendations in terms of infrastructural and policy requirements with the primary aim of reducing reliance on landfill and increasing recycling.

 

3.3       Over the last 15 years, the Council has achieved increases in the recycling of household waste from 5% in 2003/04 to 44% in 2017/18 (the most recent NIEA validated year).  This has been achieved by developing an adequate recycling infrastructure (Recycling Centres, bring banks, kerbside collection schemes) and associated contracts to treat the materials arising.  In addition, the Council has invested consistently in communications and outreach activities to engage with residents and other partners such as schools, community groups and businesses to ensure that the ‘Reduce, Reuse Recycle’ message is continuously promoted.

 

3.4       In terms of performance, the city’s recycling rate increased steadily in 2014/15, when it peaked at 44%.  This trend was halted following Local Government Reform as many of the 22,000 households which transferred to Belfast were relied heavily upon residual waste collections.  In recent years, there have also been plant closures – reducing local capacity to treat wastes, changes in the legal definition of recycling and fluctuations in the national and international markets (sometimes erratic) which have impacted upon both commodity prices and destinations for recycled materials.

 

            Current Performance

 

3.5       With the introduction of the Food Waste Campaign in Summer 2017 and the focused targeting of this waste within the residual (black) bin, the recycling rate rebounded to 44% in 2017/18.  In the same year, the household recycling rate across the whole of NI rose by 3.7% to 48.1%, bringing the 2020 national 50% target within reach.

 

3.6       In 2017/18, the Council was ranked 9^th in Northern Ireland for its household recycling rate.  Given its different demographics and other characteristics (deprivation, housing type, etc) which impact on recycling rates, it should be noted that it is unrealistic to benchmark Belfast against the other councils in NI.

 

3.7       As a result, Belfast benchmarks its performance against similar cities in England such as Newcastle, Sunderland and Sheffield.  Examining those cities latest performance reveals that Belfast continues to outperform, although they have additional statutory duties to discharge and austerity and associated budget cuts have deeply affected these councils.

 

3.8       In 2017/18, the total amount of household waste collected by the Council was 144,727 tonnes.  Amongst the NI councils, Belfast produced the smallest amount of household waste per person, at 425kg and the smallest amount of waste per household, at 0.98 tonnes.

 

3.9       With the inclusion of non-household waste (commercial, fly-tipped/entry clearances) collected by the Council, the total amount of municipal waste collected rose to 169,368 tonnes.  The treatment split for this waste was 40% recycled, 39% landfilled, 19% energy recovery and 2% other.

 

3.10      In total, around 68,000 tonnes of the municipal waste stream (household, commercial, street sweeps, fly tipped) was recycled.  This supports the Belfast Agenda not only by producing a cleaner, greener city for residents, workers and visitors but also makes a significant contribution to the local economy and, in this regard, it is estimated that up to 680 jobs[1] are directly supported by the recycling of these materials.  In addition, in terms of carbon dioxide and contributing to mitigating the Councils impact upon the climate, diverting this material from landfill is the annual equivalent of taking 16,500 cars (approx.) off the road.

 

3.11      Provisional figures suggest that the household recycling rate in 2018/19 will remain around 44%.  Any uplift is likely to be due to a reduction in the amount of waste generated (down by 1,600 tonnes approx.) rather than an increase in recycling/composting, which has remained static[2]. 

 

            Waste Framework – Actions

 

3.12      The Waste Framework, approved by Council in June 2017, highlighted four themes to improve recycling, reducing landfill and ultimately delivering a more sustainable city.  These are (i) Collection Systems (ii) Infrastructural Requirements (iii) Behavioural Change and (iv) Information Technology.  The Framework outlines initiatives to improve not only the tonnage collected but the quality to supply local re-processing companies and contribute positively to the Circular Economy[3]. 

 

3.13      In 2017, an Options Appraisal of future kerbside collection arrangements was completed by WRAP/Resource Futures to consider factor affecting recycling (contribution to recycling rate, financial impact, legislative compliance, user acceptability) and a preferred approach, outlined in Figure 1 below was identified.

 

            Figure 1 : Proposed Kerbside Collection Approach

 

 

3.14      The Options Appraisal recommended collecting recyclables and food waste weekly in a wheelie-box.  It is worth noting this includes collecting glass.  In common with the materials collected, with the exception of cans and plastic pots, tubs & trays, glass would be placed in a separate stillage container within the vehicle to preserve its quality (and market value).  This system is complemented by a 180 litre bin for non-recyclable/residual waste.

 

3.15      In 2017, this proposed collection methodology was adopted by the Council as part of the Waste Framework and has been consulted on twice with the public through pre- and full-engagement exercises which used the Council’s Citizen Space portal, supported by roadshows.  To counteract bias, a statistically relevant, representative household survey was done in parallel with the full consultation.

 

3.16      The summary, findings showed broad support for the wheelie-box and a preference for a 180 litre black bin rather than a three weekly collections for residual waste.

 

            Market Developments

 

3.17      Waste and resources are an increasingly traded commodity on the international market with materials flowing across the world for treatment and disposal.  In January 2018 however the Chinese Government’s Operation National Sword introduced limits to reduce low-quality (i.e. contaminated) imported waste.  These limits were brought into effect to protect China’s environment and support Chinese jobs and the most relevant restrictions, affecting councils globally were (i) banning post-consumer plastics and mixed/unsorted paper (ii) setting a 0.5% tolerance level for sorted paper and (iii) restricting the number of import waste licences. 

 

3.18      Historically, the UK has exported some paper and plastics to China.  With changes in this market, alternatives were considered, but in the process, the income for low quality paper fell.  At the time, the media highlighted that some councils’ costs rose by up to £500k for their (lower grade) plastics and that, with several countries reaching capacity[4], concerns increased that some materials were simply being dumped.^[5]

 

3.19      In January, the party groups were presented with the proposed collection arrangements proposed within the Waste Framework and the results from the consultation exercises.  Many of Belfast’s materials are finding markets locally but the focus on improving recyclable quality is gaining importance rapidly.  Top grade paper, collected at the kerbside, commands good prices from local re-processors such as Huhtamaki.  Conversely, mixed materials from the co-mingled (blue bin) collections have fallen in value resulting in higher gate fees and a loss of demand from international markets.

 

3.20      Taking a strategic view, the Council needs to shift from simply delivering ever-increasing weight-based goals to producing high-quality recyclables to be used locally.  This approach, which supports the Belfast Agenda, will mitigate the risk of market volatility, optimise income from recyclables and support local jobs.  To add weight to this, a new Collaborative Network funded by Invest NI (there was an earlier iteration, called the Collaborative Circular Economy Network (CCEN) which produced a scoping study[6]), is looking at how to increase the amount of materials used locally – the Council is part of this project.  It is worth noting that external organisations are also approaching the Council to explore opportunities to support this, or similar methodologies to maximise the recovery of quality materials and support local jobs.  To show case this, approval was granted to the Committee in November 2018 recommending that Members undertake a study visit(s) to businesses and organisations in NI which are already contributing to the circular economy.  After this report, these visits will now be progressed.

 

3.21      As also approved in November 2018, an application for DAERA funding was submitted which secured sufficient capital funding for the Council to introduce a pilot wheelie box scheme for around 5,500 households currently on the blue bin scheme, with a go live date next month.  This pilot will act as a familiarisation exercise for the Council, as previously this type of collection system has been outsourced, but in order to secure this learning it is imperative that the scheme starts in September as any delay will prevent this progressing in 2019 and could compromise the funding.

 

3.22      The households within the pilot area will receive the following collections:

 

·        Weekly collection of dry recyclables by 165 x litre wheelie-box

·        Weekly collection of food waste by 23 x litre food waste caddy

·        Fortnightly collection of residual waste by 180 x litre black bin

·        Fortnightly collection of garden waste by 240 x litre brown bin

 

3.23      To drive recycling, the Service also intends to enforce the one bin policy introduced in January 2014 (collect only 1 x 180 litre black bin per household, except those households that have an approved second residual waste bin)[7].

 

3.24      In the course of planning, it became clear that collection days for at least one stream of waste will need to change in the pilot area to avoid all containers being presented and all collection vehicles operating in the same area on the same day (bin blight).

 

3.25      In selecting the pilot area a number of criteria were assessed:

 

·        Public acceptability of the scheme – Responses to the consultation exercise were used to identify areas which were receptive to the new scheme;

·        Public attitude to recycling (in the form of current recycling performance) – Performance data were used to identify areas achieving reasonable recycling performance but with room to improve;

·        Operational feasibility/ impact – Routes/ areas where the trial would be implemented with least operational impact; an area was selected where its impact on route optimisation was minimal;

·        Cost – Any pilot would be introduced with minimal cost implications.  It is recognised that efficiencies could be achieved by selecting an area currently on the glass trial and diverting these resources to the pilot.

 

3.26      The pilot involves weekly household collections and a lower daily pass rate compared with the co-mingled scheme.  Consequently, it will incur a net increase to operational costs.  These costs are mitigated, however, as the proposed area is on the pilot purple box glass collection scheme with resources transferred from this activity to the wheelie-box scheme.  In addition, income from the improved quality of the materials and increased landfill diversion will offset additional operating costs.  It is expected therefore that the pilot will be net cost neutral.

 

3.27      As per funding in Section 3.21 and considering the risk, cost, public acceptability and industrial relations, Members are requested to approve the pilot being rolled out in the Castle DEA (North Belfast) with immediate effect.

 

3.28      To ensure that the wheelie box scheme is included within the programme of works, a submission has been made to the Council’s Capital Works programme and is currently Stage 2 – Uncommitted.  The next stage, an Outline Business Case (OBC) is being developed and will be informed by the DAERA-funded kerbside pilot.  Subject to results, Members are asked to approve adopting this collection methodology and it is envisaged that to roll-out a scheme of this size city-wide will require a detailed, phased, implementation plan over 3-4 years.

 

3.29      It is noteworthy that neighbouring arc21 councils (Antrim & Newtownabbey, Lisburn & Castlereagh, and Mid-East Antrim) are also adopting this approach, which mirrors that promoted by both WRAP and the Welsh Government.  Wales now has one of the highest performing recycling levels in the world (61% household recycling rate in 2017/18).

 

3.30      To further inform the kerbside collection scheme OBC, Members are recommended to approve extending the Council’s Collaboration Agreement with WRAP which will ensure the Council can draw down expertise from this organisation regarding waste matters, and access additional networking and funding streams.  Additionally, as per the November 2018 report, Members are recommended to undertake a study trip to Wales before considering the final OBC to see best practice and the kerbside scheme infrastructure in operation, most likely in Q4.  It is envisaged that WRAP could assist with the arrangements surrounding this proposed visit.

 

3.31      As part of the English Waste Strategy published in December 2018, DEFRA has issued a consultation document ‘Consistency in Household & Business Recycling Collections in England’.  This consultation sought views of English householders on collections options and the need to shift towards better quality, specifically outlining the potential for multi-material (wheelie-box type) collection schemes.  The consultation was interested in stakeholders’ views on additional performance indicators beyond weight-based targets (e.g. carbon intensity).  While this consultation only applied in England, it will be important to reflect on the results which are likely to determine the direction of travel for the UK, as England makes up 85% of the national waste arisings.  The results of this consultation are anticipated later this year and may generate further papers.

 

            Kerbside Glass

 

3.32      The possibility of the Council providing a kerbside glass collection is frequently raised by Members and residents.  The wheelie-box pilot is aimed at demonstrating how this scheme would deliver both an enhanced collection service both for residents (in terms of collecting greater array of materials from the kerbside) and for the emergent local circular economy as represented by the Collaborative Network, covered in Section 3.20.

 

3.33      Currently, around 80K households (54%) in Belfast have access to a kerbside collection of glass.  Bryson Recycling provides a kerbside sort (box) collection service for 58K households and a further 22K households receive a fortnightly collection through an in-house pilot purple box.  The amount of glass captured through both schemes is 3,800 tonnes per annum (approx.) which contributes around 2.5% to the City’s recycling rate.

 

3.34      The ‘WRAP Kerbside Waste Composition Report 2017’noted that glass accounted for 9.4% by weight of the residual (black) bin (approx.).  This is an easily identifiable material to recycle, and important in terms of the circular economy, it contributes less than the recycling of food (25%) and paper/card (18%)

 

3.35      The glass collected goes mainly to Encirc, a glass manufacturer in Fermanagh, where it is recycled and made into new glass containers, an example of recycling supporting local jobs.  The market price for recycled glass is low but stable in comparison with other material streams.  The following table (see Table 1) is indicative of the prices being achieved earlier this year.  In summary, there is an estimated 6,100 tonnes of glass still in residual bins with a potential value of up to £122K, compared with an estimated 11,400 tonnes of paper with a potential value up to £1.4M.

 

            Table 1 Market Prices

 

£/tonne	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr
Mixed Glass	10-20	9-19	10-20	9-19
Paper (News)	90-100	90-100	80-90	77-85

                              Source: letsreycle.com

 

3.36      Given the volumes of recycling materials available and the increasing limitations in international trade, re-processors increasingly want quality materials.  Kerbside sort schemes produce higher quality materials compared to co-mingled schemes.  An examination of the Council’s co-mingled (blue) bin scheme which excludes glass has a contamination of around 15% per annum (2017/18); by contrast, the inner city kerbside sort scheme records negligible contamination as wrong items are left in the container for residents to put in their residual waste (black) bin.  A fully co-mingled scheme (which includes glass) can exacerbate this as shards of glass embed themselves in materials, such as paper, which considerably reduces the quality and value of this material.

 

3.37      The Resource Association, which represents re-processors and their supply chain, advocates high-quality recycling in order to maximise the contribution recyclables can make by feeding into the circular economy.  Its members handle more than 7M tonnes every year, contributing over £3.3B to UK GDP and employ over 12,500 people.  In its Manifesto for Resources, it proposes a ban on co-mingled collections which include glass:

 

            ‘Collection systems that mix glass with other materials are unable to separate glass efficiently without contaminating other material streams.  Poor loading and unloading of vehicles, breakages of glass containers and aging Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) are unable to separate glass efficiently and consistently.  Glass shards in the fibre stream (paper and card) cause real problems for paper manufacturers that are costly to resolve and reduce the value of materials that can be realised by local authorities.’

 

3.38      As noted above in Section 3.20 above, building on the CCEN report the Council is a partner in an Invest NI funded Collaborative Network.  The earlier study showed that improving recyclable quality could add considerable value to the NI economy; in particular, on glass the report noted:

 

·        There were strong drivers within Encirc (glass manufacturer) to increase/maximise the level of recyclate glass used in the manufacturing process.  Contamination levels however must be less than 1%;

·        Local re-processors consider that co-mingled collected glass is too highly contaminated and this gets used for lower value applications and exported;

·        If more local glass was available from separated collection systems, Encirc would use this to grow its business and increase the recyclate within its products.

 

3.39      Closely associated with quality is the value derived from the recyclable materials.  An examination of market prices (see Table 2), shows that the income from separate collections of mixed glass V MRF co-mingled glass favours the former by around £35 per tonne.

 

               Table 2 – Market Prices (Glass)

 

£/tonne	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr
Mixed Glass (separate collection)	10-20	9-19	10-20	9-19
MRF Glass	-25-5	-25-5	-25-5	-25-4

                              Source: letsreycle.com

 

3.40      The revised Waste Framework Directive (2008 – rWFD) emphasises quality alongside tonnage as performance measures.  In NI, the Waste Regulations (NI) 2011[8] highlight separate collection is expected for four materials (paper, metal, plastic, glass), unless it is technically, economically or environmentally impractical (TEEP) to do so.  The Department for the Environment (DOE) sent a letter to councils outlining their legislative obligations surrounding separate collection obligations, particularly when councils were considering new collection arrangements.  In this regard, the proposed wheelie-box collection scheme delivers this obligation and reduces the potential for legal challenge.

 

3.41      In light of the facts above, the Notice of Motion to commit the Council ‘to increasing household recycling across the city of Belfast…(and)… to introducing glass recycling in households across the city of Belfast as soon as possible’ is to be welcomed.  What is increasingly apparent is the need to emphasis collection of quality materials, which the wheelie-box scheme as outlined in the Waste Framework delivers upon and approving this approach as outlined in Section 3.28 following consideration of the pilot will progress this and set an example of best practice for NI and the UK.  In terms introducing these measures as soon as possible, given that transition from a blue bin to a wheelie box scheme will take time and resources, an OBC and programme of work has been developed which will require capital support.  Based on a successful pilot, it is expected that a further submission will be made to the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA) for support that could alleviate some of these costs.  The schedule for these steps mean however that any roll-out is likely to take between 3-4 years as outlined in the Section above.  In light of this information, Members are asked to note the actions being taken which support the November Notice of Motion.

 

            Behavioural Change

 

3.42      This section of the Waste Framework concerned motivating residents to positively respond to deliver the paradigm shift needed to achieve 65% recycling rate for 2035.  Members may care to note that in March 2017, the People & Communities Committee agreed that in line with the Food Waste (NI) Regulations 2015, a city-wide food waste service would be introduced using new food waste caddies and liners along with a supporting promotions campaign to remove this waste stream from the residual (black) bin.  The campaign saw stickers put on all black bins and letters issued to all Belfast households; there was also a social media campaign.  In 2017/18, this campaign and resident response boosted the Council’s recycling rate by 4%.  The uplift from the food waste campaign has plateaued however and, given that food waste makes up around 25% of the residual (black) bin, it is important to move to the Phase 2 of the Food Waste Campaign as approved in March 2017.  This approach means direct engagement with residents who have yet to embrace the ‘No Food Waste’ message.

 

3.43      The engagement protocol adopted in 2017 notifies householders of the contamination/food waste in the residual (black) bin, the steps required to resolve this and a graduated response where there is repeated contamination

 

            The exact steps are that:

 

                                      (i)        When contamination is first noticed (i.e. food waste identified in the bin), the crew would empty the black bin but a notification sticker on it informing the resident of the requirement to separate out food waste (Stage 1);

                                    (ii)        Next time, the bin would be emptied and again a sticker would be put on the black bin.  A letter would be sent to the resident informing them of the need to put the food into the food waste container/bin and the ramifications should they choose not to do so (Stage 2);

                                  (iii)        Finally, the bin would not be lifted and a sticker informing the resident would be put on the bin informing them that until the food item(s) are removed, the bin would not be lifted.  When the resident removes the food item(s), collection will be on the next regular scheduled collection day (Stage 3).

 

3.44      To ensure that the Council does not inadvertently commence enforcement steps against residents, when contamination is recorded at Stage 1, the household will be visited to ensure that it has appropriate receptacles for food waste.  The aim would be only to take action against residents who are actively choosing not to use their food waste bin properly.  If a resident contacts the Council as a result of their bin not being emptied, staff would work with them to ensure future compliance with the policy.

 

3.45      Members may care to note that by diverting food from the residual (black) bin could save the Council a further £800K per annum.  Therefore, diverting food could not only make a positive contribution to the Belfast’s recycling rate and minimise its carbon footprint by reducing methane production in landfill sites, but it also could generate efficiency savings to be re-invested in other initiatives supporting the Belfast Agenda.  Consequently, Members are requested to approve implementation of Phase 2 of the food waste campaign.

 

3.46      Finally, recent data concerning the Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) shows that the amount of residual waste received at these facilities has started to overtake recyclable materials.  In 2018, WRAP examined Belfast’s HRC performance and reported issues with (i) potential trade waste abuse (ii) users presenting residual black bags containing recyclable materials (iii) users coming from outside the City and (iv) the need for clearer communications.

 

3.47      Following the report, a WRAP led working group of officers from Councils was formed to address these issues.  Arising from meetings, a Waste Acceptance Policy is being developed to tackle the unlawful disposal of commercial waste and ensure that residents continue to receive a valued and efficient service from the HRCs.  The Service will bring a report outlining this approach to a future Committee meeting in due course.

 

            Financial and Resource Implications

 

3.48      The costs associated with this report are planned for within the revenue estimates for 2019/20 and extension of the WRAP Collaboration Agreement is £30,000 for 2019/20.

 

            (includes cost of proposed Members study visit).

 

            Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

 

3.49      There are no equality, good relations or rural needs issues associated with this report.”

 

            The Director of City Services addressed a number of queries raised by the Members in relation to the proposed rollout of the scheme.

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations, as outlined in 2.1 of the report, points 1-6, in relation to progressing the implementation of the Waste Framework. 

 

            In respect of the Motion to introduce glass recycling (November 2018), it was agreed that a detailed options paper be submitted to a future meeting which would consider the feasibility of an earlier introduction of glass recycling in households across the City of Belfast.