The council says the amount of material it collects from blue bins at the kerbside has increased since the introduction of the lockdown last March, with not all of it accepted for recycling. Contamination peaked at 29% in November.
If contamination exceeds 20% the council incurs a financial penalty from its contractor Suez, which it says is a standard provision in many contracts. The council says it paid £50,000 in additional charges between July and December 2020. The figure for January and February 2021 alone is £17,650.
Through its ‘Stick to the Six’ campaign the council is looking to provide better information for residents about the six materials collected for recycling at the kerbside, which are paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, plastic containers, cans and tins, and cartons.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross council told letsrecycle.com: “Until 2020, the materials generated in Perth and Kinross blue bins material have always been good quality with much less contamination, with average levels between 12 and 15%.
“We have seen, through comments on social media posts highlighting contamination at the end of last year, that many of those who responded felt the current system was complicated and wanted clarification of what was accepted through kerbside recycling.
“This has led to the development of the ‘Stick to the Six’ campaign where we are looking to provide some further clarity about the main target materials accepted in the kerbside service so residents can participate easily.”
‘If in doubt, keep it out’
Due to the costs involved in mailing all the council’s 70,000 blue bin users, it used recycling tonnage information from 2019 to identify the poorest performing collection routes in terms of volumes of recyclates compared to general waste. From this, 22,826 properties were chosen to receive an information postcard, posted in the week commencing 15 March.
“It’s important for householders to take the approach of ‘if in doubt, keep it out’”
From 19 March an online and social media part of the campaign began. The council says its Stick to the Six campaign will continue during the coming months online and via its social media channels.
“While lots of items are recyclable, not all of them are accepted through the kerbside service, so it’s important for householders to take the approach of ‘if in doubt, keep it out’,” the spokesperson continued. “It is hoped that by early summer lockdown restrictions we have eased sufficiently to enable us to engage with householders directly to discuss the blue bin service and using it correctly.”
Financial penalty
In 2018/19 the contamination rate in Perth and Kinross sat at around just 12 to 15%.
The council believes the initial rise in contamination was due to more people being at home throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The closure of household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) and the suspension of bulky waste collection services from April to June 2020 are also believed to have contributed.
The council spokesperson said: “As part of the council’s contract for processing our blue bin materials, contamination levels are agreed to ensure that we provide good quality recyclable items, that when sorted can be sold on for recycling.
“When we exceed a level of 20%, we incur financial penalties as additional costs are incurred by the re-processer, as the material is either more difficult and time consuming to sort, poorer quality when sorted so sold at a lower value or if heavily contaminated requires to go for disposal.”
The council says that without additional financial penalties it costs them £5.5 million to dispose of and treat waste and recycling each year.
‘Standard provision’
Suez regional manager Richard Hinchcliffe told letsrecycle.com: “Our contract with Perth and Kinross council includes a standard provision that should the contamination levels in the recycling bins exceed 20%, a financial penalty is incurred.
“The financial penalty only covers some of the additional costs of processing the contaminated material. Contaminated material takes longer to sort and if it is able to be sold, attracts a lower market price. If heavily contaminated, it has to be disposed of either through energy from waste or landfill, where a gate fee and landfill tax are charged.”
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