Stakeholder Briefing New Waste and Recycling Services

Transcription

1 Stakeholder Briefing New Waste and Recycling Services Welcome Waste management is a vital council service. It may interest you to know that waste is the very reason that councils were formed in the first place when the government in the 1700s created Municipal Sanitation Organisations to clean London s streets and passed laws that regulated what could be discarded and how. As the country that gave birth to organised systems of waste management it is no surprise that today, the UK operates one of the most efficient systems of waste collection and treatment in the world. Part of this efficiency comes from the local delivery of these services, allowing local authorities to specify and manage what suits their locality. It is this collective dedication to efficiency and continual improvement that has seen domestic recycling in the UK rocket from 3% in 2000 to 43% in All this for an average cost of less than 1 per household per week! This stakeholder briefing aims to inform you about how Eastbourne will be contributing to the aim of continually improving waste and recycling with a number of changes being made to the waste and recycling services throughout the summer of 2013.

2 Your role in engaging the community Waste management is a ubiquitous service and its regularity and familiarity amongst residents can sometimes lead to its invisibility..until things change. People on the whole, resist change. There is comfort in the status quo and even when changes seek to improve things, people can and often do, react negatively to the need to do things differently. As community leaders and key stakeholders, it is not unusual to expect members of the public to first raise their concerns with you and the purpose of this briefing is to equip you with the background and insight to these changes, in order that you can efficiently respond to such enquiries accurately and contribute to the seamless and efficient introduction of the new waste and recycling services. What s new? The East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership The driver behind these changes is the need to consistently improve services whilst at the same time deliver exceptional value for money, quite a challenge in times of austerity but one that can be met through partnership working with neighbouring boroughs. The East Sussex Joint Waste Partnership is the result of just such a vision and brings together the districts and boroughs of Eastbourne, Wealden, Hastings and Rother together with East Sussex County Council as the disposal authority, to provide a unified service across the Partnership, delivering the best value for residents and a truly integrated environmental service. In October 2012, Kier were awarded a 10 year contract to deliver waste and recycling collections, street cleansing and beach cleaning, to 200,000 properties over a 550 square mile area, encompassing all the partnership councils. In addition to its primary services, Kier will also be required to manage and market dry recycling, enabling the Partnership to realise its value as a resource. The new venture with Kier is set to save the Partnership an estimated 30 million over the course of the next decade. About Kier Kier is a UK company with origins that date back to the early 1920s. Today, they employ over 10,000 people worldwide and have an annual turnover of 2.1bn.

3 They operate through three main divisions, Construction, Property and Support Services and are one of the UK's leading providers of specialist services to the public and private sector and have a long history of working in Sussex. Locally they have designed and built Bexhill High School and have rebuilt and refurbished buildings at the Eastbourne Academy. A brand new fleet of state- of- the- art waste collection vehicles will soon be seen collecting waste and recycling from across the borough. Their support services division offers a range of services from Facilities Management, Building Maintenance and Environmental Services. They ve been providing street cleansing, grounds maintenance and sustainable waste management and recycling services to local authorities for over 20 years. These are exciting times in East Sussex and we are delighted to have been entrusted by the Joint Waste Partnership to deliver vital frontline services to the councils. In addition to providing substantial cost savings and satisfying the councils and residents needs, a desire to define tomorrow s environment and leave a lasting legacy of environmental and social sustainability will be central to our approach. Nicola Peake Managing Director; Kier Environmental

4 What s changing? Waste and recycling collections Although Kier start the new contract on 1 st April, there will be no changes to Eastbourne s services until the third week of July 2013 onwards. All residents will be given plenty of information about what is changing and when it is changing, through a major awareness campaign which is described later in this document. Listed below is a summary of the changes that will come into effect in July: Waste and recycling collections Refuse There are no changes to the normal refuse collections and residents will still place their refuse into the existing grey bins. The collection day may be different in some areas, but these changes won t happen until the third week in July onwards. Recycling For those living in a house and who currently have a green wheeled bin for garden waste, this bin will be used for recycling from the third week in July onwards. For those who don t currently have a green wheeled bin, one will be delivered. Below are examples of what can and can t be recycled in the green wheeled bin, and full details will follow. Yes please Tins and cans* Paper Cardboard Telephone directories Plastics (bottles and packaging) Tetrapaks * There s no need to remove labels and a quick rinse in the washing up water for cans and plastic bottles will be fine. No thanks Refuse Garden waste Broken windows Glass Food waste Mirrors Light bulbs

5 For those with a green wheeled bin, a sticker will be placed on the lid when garden waste from this bin is collected for the last time, to make it clear that the use has changed. Once people see this sticker, they can then start putting their recycling into the bin for the first collection of the new service. This will be approximately two weeks from when they see the sticker. Green wheeled bins containing recycling will be collected every other week. Garden Waste For those who already have garden waste collection a new brown wheeled bin will be delivered. Below are examples of what can and can t be recycled in the brown wheeled bin. Yes please Grass cuttings Shrub cuttings Plant cuttings Flower cuttings Weeds Branches Roots No thanks Refuse Paper Cardboard Food waste Pet waste Rubble and soil Large root balls Vegetable peelings Brown wheeled bins will be collected every other week. Anybody currently receiving a Green Garden Waste collection service who does not wish to continue with this service, can cancel it by contacting the Council via to customerfirst@eastbourne.gov.uk, or by letter to Customer First, Eastbourne Borough Council, 1 Grove Road, Eastbourne, BN22 4TW, or by telephone on The Current Recycling Box The current recycling box will now be used for glass, as this material will be collected separately. Yes please Glass bottles Glass jars There s no need to remove labels and just a quick rinse in the washing up water for jars and bottles will be fine. No thanks Lids from jars and bottles Window panes (broken or otherwise) Light bulbs Pyrex or other oven proof glassware Mirrors

6 Advice as to how customers should present all their recycling will follow in the detailed information packs which will be delivered to each household. Flats For residents living in flats, there will be no major change to the current system of containment and collection, although the scope of materials that can be recycled will increase. Informing the residents Efficient and diligent participation in waste and recycling services is key to a successful outcome. If people put the wrong things in the wrong bins or place bins out on the wrong day, it can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction with their service, as well as operational difficulties and increased costs. This is a particular challenge when waste and recycling services change and to mitigate the risks in Eastbourne, a major communication and awareness campaign is being run to inform residents of the changes to their services. Above: A new logo will be used across the partnership area to help promote the new services and encourage more people to recycle more rubbish This campaign is being developed and run by EnviroComms, a specialist communications agency working in the waste sector. They were responsible for Rother s communication campaign when they changed their services back in Such was the success of this campaign, it is now used as an example of best practice by the World Bank and EU on a global stage. EnviroComms has worked with over 100 UK local authorities on other similar campaigns and their involvement here in Eastbourne will ensure the best possible levels of resident participation. The campaign that will be deployed in Eastbourne will comprise the following key elements: Advertising Website A series of press and outdoor adverts will start in early May and run through to late July. A campaign website will be launched that will enable residents to find out more detailed information about the changes to their waste and recycling services. The domain name for this site is and is scheduled to launch in early April with a holding page and a full site launch scheduled for 1 st May Around the same time the council is re- launching its own website, where residents will be able to report problems and request services online.

7 Direct Mail (Phase 1) A leaflet and letter will be sent to homes to alert people to the planned changes and when they can expect to receive their new containers. These will be sent in two batches, currently planned as follows: Circa 50% of households to receive these items week commencing: 13 th May 2013 Circa 50% of households to receive these items week commencing: 27 th May 2013 Doorstepping A team of doorstep recycling advisors will visit approximately 20,000 homes considered to be the lowest performing in terms of current recycling participation. Their task will be to inform people about the new services and to identify and overcome any barriers to participation. Doorstepping will be carried out over a four to five week period starting 13 th May 2013.

8 Direct Mail (Phase 2) An information pack will be sent to all residents containing detailed information on the new services; what can and can t be recycled and how, tips, advice and a collection calendar. These will be sent in two batches as follows: 50% of households to receive these packs the week commencing 3 rd June 2013 (bins will be delivered to these households during the following three weeks) 50% of households to receive these packs the week commencing 24 th June 2013 (bins will be delivered to these households during the following three weeks) Events Christmas campaign A waste and recycling education bus and staff will be attending several public events throughout the summer, to provide a resource for residents should they have further questions regarding the new services. A campaign will be run in the lead up to Christmas, providing a new collection calendar, information about recycling and festive waste, and to provide a timely boost to participation in the scheme. Please note: The designs of the communication materials included here are indicative of these items in terms of style and layout only.

9 How can you help? As a key stakeholder and community leader, there is much you can do to help support the aims of the Partnership, and Eastbourne s new waste and recycling services, by acting as key advocates. We ve suggested a few things you can do below but these are by no means exhaustive. Inform There is no need to specifically run local community awareness events to promote the new services but where you are involved in local meetings or other public occasions, you may wish to pass on the messages about the new service to those present if you feel it appropriate. Answer Some residents will have questions or concerns. We hope that we have provided enough information here to enable you to answer these questions, but if you feel you need more detail, please let us know. Get social! If you have access to community Facebook or Twitter platforms, please use these to disseminate information about the new services. We will be circulating copy blocks for you to use on these pages and would encourage you to use these. These will be available from late April. Feedback Please let us know if there are any issues or opportunities you identify through discussions with your community that you feel we should know about. Roadshows We will have available a travelling roadshow featuring an educational vehicle and recycling display. This will make an excellent addition to any public event. If you or someone you know is involved in organising a summer fete or public event and would like us to consider attending this with the roadshow, please get in touch (an area approximately 12m x 7m will be required). Get in touch If you need any more information, please get in touch: Online: customerfirst@eastbourne.gov.uk Phone: Post: Customer First Eastbourne Borough Council 1 Grove Road Eastbourne BN21 4TW