Quality and Quantity
How close are we to a market solution?

By Paul Jones of Wastesavers Recycling

(Adapted from presentation given at Community
Recycling Network UK Conference 2007.)

Wastesavers Recycling Ltd (WRL) provides a comprehensive kerbside collection service for the 53,500 of Newport (South Wales).

Wastesavers Recycling Ltd is the socially-owned trading subsidiary of Wastesavers Charitable Trust limited.

The Newport Situation

We collect dry recyclables weekly from 53,500 households in an area classified as 90% urban.  Residents have alternate weekly collection of residual waste, a service provided by Newport City Council.

We collect: paper, glass, cans, plastic, textiles, mobile phones and computer cartridges. 

These are collected from two 55 litre boxes for each household and sorted at the kerbside by our operatives into trucks with varying sizes of cages. These materials are then balled at our depot just to the south of the city centre.

Materials Outputs

Tonnages: We collect on average over 220 kgs of recyclates from each household per year. This year we will recycle more than 12,000 tonnes of material from Newport.

Quality:  Residents are used to sorting their materials and we currently have a 0.25% rejection rate (mostly plastic) of materials that enter our depot.

Costs:  Our net operational costs are less than £50.00 per tonne collected.

Costs breakdown (£)

Other factors effecting our costs
Material prices
Types of material targeted
Composition of recycling stream
Scale – spreading management costs
Quality of management and productivity of collection teams

Factors effecting our productivity
Time spend traveling
Vehicle design
Quality of set out
Percentage of light materials
Ease of access to streets
Staff

Material sales, however, cover more than 50% of our running costs – hence our emphasis on quality as well as quantity.

Other considerations

Average landfill disposal costs £40-45 per tonne and rising.
Potential fines if fail to divert enough £200 per tonne (£150 in England).
Material Recycling Facility costs (gate fees or capital investment).
Energy from waste costs (gate fees or capital investment).

The relationship between kerbside sort and commingled collection, in terms of overall costs, is summarized in the following graph.  If a council decides to build and run its own MRF the gate fees will be replaced by capital and operational costs.

Kerbside sort v commingled cost comparison

Paul Jones
Wastesavers Recycling
July 2007

http://www.wastesavers.co.uk