Recycling on the Isle of Wight
Recycling on the Island is very good and I would like to thank our residents for their efforts to achieve the 56% that we have reached so far but I do feel that we could do even better so I have asked that the Council put out some communications to help people better understand what goes where and how to improve our rate of recycling going forward.
The collections crews work in what we now refer to as ‘bubbles’, to minimise their contact with other staff arrival times were staggered at the depot and loader were encourages to drive to meet vehicles at the start of each round.
All crews had masks, gloves and full PPE available, as well as radar keys for public toilets and additional soap; wipes and hand gel so that they could ensure they were frequently washing hand during this period.
Kerbside Household Recycling Collections in lockdown -
Paper and Card up 0.7%
Mixed Recycling up 26%
Food Waste up 28%
Garden Waste up 53%
All Recycling and Composting from the Kerbside – We collected 27 per cent more recycling and composting at the kerbside
General Waste – We collected 11.8 per cent more general waste at the kerbside
Our Collection Fleet:
Drove 128,498.98 miles in lock down to maintain a full collection service to all of our residents
Vehicles spent 83,732 hours on the road
Our loaders have walked on average 30,000 steps per day
Maintained assisted collections from the back door of 2190 residents who cannot present their waste at the kerbside.
Household Waste recycling Centres
Our two Household Waste Recycling Centres have been through a transition over recent months due to COVID-19 and I am pleased to report that most residents are happy with our new booking system which permits an allotted time for entry to the tip without queuing out onto the road and has created more certainty and quicker disposal once on site.
Like most of the country, the recycling centres were temporarily shut whilst the teams developed a covid-secure operating environment. This also
ensured resilience for our collection crew by shifting the staff resource flexibly into other operating when needed.
The planning for the re-opening of the Recycling Centres began as soon as social distancing measures were informed to the industry sector, and with the support of the council's in-house software development team, the Recycling Booking system was developed in a matter of weeks.
The booking system times are steadily increasing, it is important to note that these are booking for arrival time not a time limit for being on site, residents are able to unload in the time it takes them to do so. The number of number of vehicles allowed through the site since opening has doubled and are targeting increasing the number slowly up to a maximum safe throughput that does not create a queue on the road. The council is opening bookings in 2 to 3 weeks batches to:
Ensure everyone has a fair chance to book
Ensure slots are not booked speculatively over repeating weeks thus blocking other residents
Allow for gradual increase in numbers whilst ensuring safe on site and on the road outside
Ensure unauthorised commercial waste is not entering the site
A good number of residents have commented positively on the new system particularly that it has removed any queuing times on arrival. The success of the Isle of Wight’s booking system was noted and our Strategic Manager was asked to talk nationally to other local authorities through the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE), to assist them in setting up similar systems.
Energy From Waste Plant, Forest Road
As you might imagine our new Energy From Waste Plant at Forest Road has been held up due to COVID-19. The plant was due to be finished and working fully by summer 2020 but that of course was before Covid came along to spoil the party. I am pleased to report that thanks to the contract we have in place this plant will be completed and we are now looking towards the spring of 2021 for completion providing there is not much more disruption from Covid. The plant is about two thirds complete and is very impressive when you stand in front of it, the boiler seems the size of a small bungalow.
Marine Flare in General Waste
A marine flare left out with normal household waste caused a dramatic explosion at the Isle of Wight Council's Forest Road waste plant recently.
Staff on site contained the incident immediately and nobody was injured. The Isle of Wight Council's Waste and Environment manager, Natasha Dix, explained what had happened: "Somebody had put out a marine distress flare with general waste, and this ignited when it was going through the recycling machinery at the Forest Road plant." There are a few things that are too dangerous to be put in the general recycling, and we so ask people to keep our operatives safe, and not put out old batteries, or pyrotechnics such as marine flares.
"Unused and used fireworks can be put in general waste - they should be soaked in a bucket of water for 24 hours and tightly wrapped in plastic to keep them moist. But marine flares contain explosives, and really should not be put in any waste or recycling. Luckily this flare went off in an area of the plant away from our staff and contractors, and the plant is now working as normal following a clean-up. But had it ignited elsewhere this could have been a far more serious
incident."
With very best wishes,
Steve,
Councillor Steve Hastings
Cabinet Member for Environment, Heritage and
Waste Management. 07870127024
