Officers representing Waste Management will be present at the meeting to outline the rollout of the new Orange Bag Recycling Scheme across the City during October, replacing the previous Green Box Scheme.
Minutes:
Officers, representing the Waste Management service attended the meeting to outline the implementation of the new Orange Bag recycling scheme that was to be rolled out across the City during October 2011.
It was stated that the scheme would be replacing the current Green Box scheme and would enable householders to recycle a much wider range of materials than at present, to include the following items: -
Plastic Bottles Wrapping Paper
Plastic food containers Greetings Cards
Plastic film Telephone Directories
Carrier bags Cereal boxes
Newspapers Cardboard
Magazines Food tins
Paper Drinks cans
Catalogues Foil trays
Junk Mail Empty aerosols
Envelopes Glass Bottles.
Each household would receive a roll of 30 Orange bags and as many filled bags could be left out each collection day, the collection days to remain the same as for the current Green Box scheme. Towards the end of each roll a yellow sticker was inserted for the purpose of requesting more bags that would be left that same day.
Householders would be given the opportunity to retain the existing Green Boxes or use the sticker that would be delivered as part of a welcome pack prior to the scheme starting, to ensure that the box was removed.
It was stated that any split bags would be cleared away by the collection teams and that the separation of materials would be undertaken mechanically at the recycling Centre, a procedure that could not be achieved with the Green Box scheme and where the sorting was carried out manually at the kerbside. Under the new scheme the vehicle used would be similar to the current refuse collection vehicles and the orange bags would be loaded at the rear and then compacted within the vehicle itself.
Officers were asked to outline other areas of recycling available and also to explain the Bulk Waste Collection Scheme. Officers reported that under the Bulk Waste Scheme, each household was entitled to a free collection of up to 5 items of bulky waste, every 3 months.
A member of the public questioned whether consideration had been given to assist elderly people who did not drive, for example, and encourage them to dispose of items, and whether the community skips could be re-introduced. Officers stated that the previous community skip scheme had been withdrawn partly on cost grounds and partly because the skips were being abused with paint and oil being deposited in them, and also it had been found that people were continuing to dump rubbish even when the skip was not in position.
A member of the public stated that the City Council did not allow vans to drop rubbish at their recycling centres without a permit, but were still prepared to send vehicles out to collect rubbish. Officers reported that the permit scheme was to prevent the abuse of the system as it had previously been found that businesses were abusing the system and making multiple drops of rubbish at no cost. Officers further stated that vans were allowed into Bridge Street recycling centre on a ‘one-off’ basis to drop off rubbish. This allowance was not made at Spence Street due to space limitations. It was agreed that this allowance was not widely known as it could help to discourage ‘fly tipping’.
It was generally agreed that fly tipping in the area was a major concern and several suggestions, including that of timetabled collections at certain times of the year as a form of amnesty, might be considered. City Wardens had also been asked to look at arranging a ‘Community Clean-Up’ in the area, as this approach had been tried successfully in other areas of the City, but this was still at an early stage of planning. The City Mayor would however be kept informed of the issues around fly-tipping in the area with a view to looking at measures to address the problem.
In conclusion it was reported that those residents with access to Smart phones could download a ‘One Clean Leicester’ app that would enable a site where rubbish was dumped to be located and photographed and sent to the City Council where it could be investigated and cleared up.