The pilot was launched in the Hillside and Bellevue areas in January 2015 and included providing extra communal recycling capacity to residents, as well as expanding the range of materials that could be collected.
The trials saw the rebranding of existing separate paper and packaging banks as mixed recycling bins, fortnightly blue box glass collections replaced with on-street glass bins and the replacement of kerbside recycling collections with communal mixed recycling bins.
Report
In a report to councillors ahead of a meeting last week officers claimed that the trial had particularly seen an increase in the volume of glass collected from residents.
It said: “On average it was estimated that glass collection in this area increased from 1166kg per fortnight to 3692kg (approximately 300%).”
The second pilot in the Bellevue and Broughton area – saw larger side loading bins, which had been used to collect residual waste altered for the collection of commingled dry recycling.
The officers’ report added: “The mixed recycling bins collected an estimated 1051kg per week (1.e. 2102 kg over two weeks). This represents an increase of 583kg (38%) through using communal bins instead of the kerbside box collection. Once again it should be noted that this would represent the minimum improvement as in reality the boxes would not all be full.”
Trial
This trial follows on from the successful roll-out of a new kerbside recycling service for more than 140,000 homes in the city between 2014 and 2015 (see letsrecycle.com story). The changes also involved a reduction in residual waste capacity, whilst also increasing the available capacity for recyclable materials for households.
Recycling bins placed next to landfill bins were less likely to be contaminated with general waste, while the amount of recycling collected was influenced by convenience for residents, according to the report’s conclusions.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, environment convener, said: “We are making great strides in reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill here in Edinburgh, with a number of successful initiatives to encourage recycling under way.”
City councillors have acknowledged the impact of the scheme at the latest transport and environment committee meeting, but believe any expansion would have to take into account differing streetscapes and road layouts across the city.
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