The city of Edinburgh council has seen a nearly 7% increase in the amount of collected mixed recycling in 2022/23 compared to the 2018/19, following the launch of a communal bins project involving Storm Environmental.
The figures come from a report which went before the Scottish city’s council on 18th May. The report provided an update on the delivery of the ‘Communal Bin Review’ project that aims to increase the amount of collected recycling by improving access to facilities for residents using communal bins provided by Storm.
The document highlighted the “citywide” increase in materials collected for all recycling streams in 2022/23 in comparison to 2018/19 and 2019/20. This includes mixed recycling, glass and food waste collected from both communal and kerbside properties.
The report outlined that the glass collected from on-street communal bins has increase from an average of 2,900 tonnes in 2019/20 to nearly 3,800 tonnes in 2022/23, representing an increase of between 30-35% on pre-pandemic levels.
Figures for January to March 2023 have also shown a decrease in requests for service for overflowing communal bins for both non-recyclable waste and mixed recycling, the document continued. A “significant” drop of 85% was seen for communal recycling particularly when compared to pre-pandemic levels, it added.
The document set out that Phase 1 of the project, implemented in March 2022, saw the capacity for non-recyclable waste decrease from 240 litres to 210 litres per week per property, while the capacity for mixed recycling has increased on average from 57 to 210 litres per week per property. The “substantial” increase in mixed recycling capacity aims to address customer feedback requesting additional bins and complaints about overflowing bins, the council explained.
The report outlined that these two factors combined “enhance the ability for residents to recycle conveniently while reducing the risk of overflow of non-recyclable waste when there is less engagement in the service”.
Also redesigned was the service for glass and food waste, the report continued. It noted that both the less bulky nature of these materials and the impact of deposit return scheme for drinks containers were taken into consideration. The local authority still aimed to provide containers for both materials at each bin location, with an average increase of 3 litres per week per property for glass and food waste respectively.
Alongside this, an increased collection frequency – every other day – was implemented by early March 2023, the report said. In the next phases, the project plans to expand into other areas of the city where more on-street bin hubs with revised capacity are to be installed.
The document outlined that the council has committed more than £3.2 million of capital investment to upgrade communal bins. The project was partly funded from Zero Waste Scotland’s Recycling Improvement Fund (RIF), from which it obtained £7.7 million, it added.
“Costs have, however, increased as a result of the global economic challenges which are feeding through to the costs associated with equipment and fuel in particular,” the report stated, explaining that the cost of bins and containers has increased by approximately 25-30%.
The document noted that an application for additional funding from Zero Waste Scotland under the RIF was submitted to offset these costs, following which the council has secured a further £792,000 for the rollout of the project.
This story was lifted from letsrecycle.com; you can read the original article here. For the latest news from Storm Environmental, you can follow us on LinkedIn.