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Brighton & Hove

• Local authority: Brighton & Hove Unitary Authority
• Area profile: Urban and suburban
• Area: 8,473 Hectares
• Population: 248,956
• Waste management contract: SITA Contract Services
• Recycling subcontractor: Magpie Community Recycling
• Recycling rate: (1999/2000): 11.1%

Keys to success

• Community sector recycling group Magpie and other organisations that collect waste for re-use and recycling contribute hugely to the area's recycling performance. There are active partnerships in operation between the local authority and these groups, in the case of Magpie this relationship goes back to 1991.
• Involvement of the community sector allows for very low cost expansion of recycling. In the year 2000 Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority made a cost saving against standard refuse collection and disposal of £43,400 by involving Magpie's green box collection service.

• A lot of work has been done to gain the support of a sizeable number of residents who have subsequently become concerned and active in their support of environmental initiatives.

• Charging the public to have their recyclables collected by Magpie has given them a greater ownership of recycling activities and resulted in greater quantities of materials being collected.

Collection methods

• Multi-material kerbside collections operated by Magpie Community Recycling. Residents are charged £16 per quarter by the group to be given a green box into which they place their recyclable materials instead of putting them in the bin. Materials collected are paper (all grades), cardboard, glass bottles and jars, textiles, steel and aluminium cans and foil, and plastic bottles. These materials are sorted from the boxes onto custom-built (by Magpie) electric vehicles on the street and taken to a Magpie depot. From there they are stored ready for transport to the reprocessors.
• High rise mini-recycling centres have been set up so that people who live in places inappropriate for the normal Magpie service can recycle easily. These centres serve a whole block of flats instead of individual households. Magpie collects the materials from these centres each week and they are then included with the recyclables from the door to door service.
• 'Bring sites' situated in easily accessible locations where the public can take recyclable materials to a centralised container. These are serviced by Magpie on contract from the local authority. There are currently 100 recycling points throughout Brighton and Hove.
• Green waste is collected for composting from civic amenity sites (facilities where residents can take their waste, usually bulky household and garden rubbish). The garden waste is collected by a company called Ecovert and taken to KPS where it is composted and used to improve the fertility of local farms.

Public participation in the collection service

There are currently 5000 households participating in the Magpie scheme.

Materials collected at Bring Sites

Average Weights

During 2000 the average weight of the boxes collected by Magpie was 8.2 kg. This is significantly higher than comparable schemes around the country and it seems that by having people buy their inclusion into the scheme they put more effort into separating their recyclables from their refuse.

Costs

The direct cost to the local authority was £26 per tonne in recycling credits (this is money which is paid to Magpie by the Council, and is equivalent to the saving they have made by not having to landfill the material). Therefore the local authority, by involving community recyclers Magpie, have saved £28.80 per tonne (£54.80 - £26.00) on the waste that Magpie are collecting for recycling. This equates to a total annual saving of £43,400 (£28.80 X 1507).

Other Initiatives

• 'Play your part, reduce your waste campaign' educational and promotional campaign run by Brighton and Hove Council. This campaign promotes waste minimisation and recycling during radio broadcasts and magazine reports. Mouse mats have been issued to the districts' libraries, and fridge magnets given out to the public to promote Christmas tree recycling.
• The Real Nappy Consortium is made up of a variety of people with an interest in promoting the use of non-disposable nappies. It includes members from the local authority, representatives from companies who manufacture washable nappies, midwives and parents. The Consortium recognises the fact that 9 million disposable nappies are thrown away every day in the UK (making up 4 per cent of domestic waste), and seeks to inform parents about nappy choices. Consortium members make house visits to parents who are deciding which type of nappy to use so that any confusion can be clarified.
• Research is being done into the feasibility of a real nappy laundry service, which would create jobs in the area as well as being better for the environment. Focus groups will look into the demand and possible incentives to bring more parents into the scheme.
• Brighton and Hove Wood Recycling Project was the first scheme of its kind in the country. The project collects 'waste' wood from building merchants in the area and sells it on to the public. 1000 tonnes of timber have been redirected since July 1998. Contact: Project Officer on (01273) 570500.

Educational activities underway

The 'Play your part, reduce your waste' campaign. This includes the 5R's message (reduce, re-use, refill, recycle, and re-educate) in:-

• the 'Is your pack lunch a friendly lunch' initiative
• a home composting campaign including a worm bin initiative
• the Recycling Rudolph Christmas campaign
• a waste reduction & recycling education pack.

Materials collected by Magpie

The future

Magpie Community Recycling operate the kerbside collections and are planning to expand their services into activites to reduce waste at source and to re-use schemes while also developing local markets for reclaimed materials. They are supported by the council which has been involved since 1991.

There are forthcoming initiatives to develop a mobile phone recycling project, and to research the feasibility of a real nappy laundry service.

Contact:

Environmental Services
Brighton and Hove Council
Bartholomew House
Bartholomew Square
Brighton
BN1 JP

Tel: 01273 292213
Fax: 01273 292250
Email: sue.strong@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Website: www.brighton-hove.gov.uk

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