Monday 13th August 2007
Commingling Myth Debunked
The Campaign for Real Recycling (CRR) today congratulates Carrickfergus Borough Council and Bryson Recycling on their 76% rise in recycling rates since introducing a second kerbside box to their source-separated collections. The CRR also hails this achievement as new and strong evidence to show that box schemes can and do significantly out-perform commingled collections both on material quality and diversion rate.
“This clear evidence debunks the myth that collecting commingled means diverting higher tonnage and faster. The same social enterprise is undertaking all the collections and running the MRF so this is about as close as we can get to an exactly comparable situation,” said Andy Moore, CRR coordinator.
“No-one should be surprised by these findings. These householders have responded intelligently to high quality promotion and canvassing. They were prepared to sort properly for recycling and took the opportunity. Source-separated collections will also offer more future flexibility to add further materials to the collection service. We again urge local authorities using or contemplating commingled collections into MRFs to reconsider whether it is really the best way forward.”
In the Belfast area, source-separated and commingled collections are operated by the same company, Bryson Recycling. These two methods are deployed within adjacent and very similar geographical locations and under similar operating circumstances. Carrickfergus Borough Council made a commitment to source-separated collections and is now outstripping the average performance of the commingled collections by 30%. Comparing the results with nine other neighbouring authorities in Northern Ireland, all serviced by Bryson Recycling, and all operating fortnightly residual collections, Carrickfergus has moved from being 10th to undisputed leader in just three months. Their two box system is partly modelled on that run by Wastesavers in Newport, South Wales.
Backstory:
Bryson Recycling is a social enterprise owned by the Bryson Charitable Group and the ECT Group. It currently provides a kerbside box service to 190,000 households (over 25% of Northern Ireland homes) and processes approximately 60% of household recyclables collected at the kerbside in Northern Ireland. The 76% increase recorded in Carrickfergus compares the period May to July 07 with the same period the previous year, May to July 06.
Fuller details can be found at http://www.brysonrecycling.co.uk
Notes for Editors:
The Campaign for Real Recycling wants central government and local authorities to act urgently to improve the quality of materials collected for recycling in the UK. Real recycling is about maximising the economic, environmental and social benefits of recycling for everyone, from the local council tax payer to the global re-processing industry. Our concern is that collection systems that gather a range of different materials in one bag or bin and then compact them could permanently undermine the environmental and financial benefits of recycling. Our campaign aims to influence local authority policy and practice, and build consensus within the UK of the economic and environmental importance of properly separated collections.
CRR Website: www.realrecycling.org.uk
Campaign for Real Recycling supporters:
|
