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3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 COMMUNICATION

Waste Watch's role was to provide support and information to householders in the trial area, to encourage participation and keep contamination to a minimum. Householders often needed time and encouragement to help them understand the importance of recycling their waste. This was particularly important because households were adapting to the new alternate weekly collection system.

3.1.1 Additional Staff

Temporary staff were hired for the first collection of organic waste to assist with checking brown bins for contamination. However, it quickly became apparent that the normal refuse collection crews could easily check the bins themselves, and the temporary staff were no longer used.

Waste Watch also hired additional customer care support during the first collections to assist the Council's customer care officer with the anticipated additional calls. This was necessary as a large number of calls were received through the hotline number at the start of the trial.

3.1.2 Stickers for Wheeled Bins

Calendar and materials

At the start of the trial, Daventry District Council provided a sticker for the brown organic bins listing the organic materials requested for recycling and a calendar displaying the collection days for each bin for the next six months.

"Please Remember"

During the week prior to the first green waste collection, Waste Watch provided the collection crews with bright yellow stickers to attach to the grey refuse bin. The sticker served as a reminder for householders to 'Please Remember' that the first collection of their brown organic bin would take place the following week.

Contamination

During collections, the collection crew quickly checked each brown organic bin for any unwanted items. If any obvious contamination was discovered, the collectors did not empty the brown bin and attached another Waste Watch-provided sticker to it which informed the householders that it was not emptied due to contamination. This sticker also included a reminder of the organic material that should be put in the brown organic bin. The hotline number also was clearly displayed so that householders could contact Waste Watch for further assistance.

At the beginning of the trial the main reason for rejecting brown organic bins was because householders had bagged their garden or kitchen waste, often thinking they were being helpful. Waste Watch advised householders to leave organic waste loose in the brown bin and the contamination problem was significantly reduced.

Additional waste

The Council maintained their policy of not collecting additional waste outside the grey refuse bin. When extra waste was put out for collection, the collection crew placed it back into the empty bin and attached an 'Additional Waste' sticker on to the grey refuse bin. The sticker also displayed the hotline number for residents requiring further assistance.

Christmas

Over the Christmas period Daventry District Council suspended the green waste collection for one month and provided a weekly refuse collection. In previous years, most households had put out additional waste after the holidays so it was obvious that a fortnightly refuse collection at this time would cause numerous problems for householders and the collection crews. One week prior to the reintroduction of the green waste collection a reminder sticker was placed on the grey refuse bin which included a reminder to recycle Christmas trees.

3.1.3 Householder Letters

The addresses of households where contaminated brown bins or additional waste was found were recorded by the collection crews and given to Waste Watch. These households were then written to with an offer of further assistance or a home visit.

3.1.4 Hotline Telephone Number

All information produced by Waste Watch clearly displayed the hotline number. This number was the Council Services Department's customer service line and enabled calls to be logged in their computer system and details stored on a database. The table below shows an example of the majority of calls received through Daventry Districts Council's computer system, representing around 500 calls.

Table 2 - Nature of customer calls to the hotline number

3.1.5 Home Consultations

In some circumstances, the problems could not be resolved over the telephone. Visits were offered to these householders if they were experiencing problems with additional waste or if they were unsure of the items they were able to recycle in their brown organic bin.

Several households experienced repeated problems with additional waste and requested larger grey refuse bins. In exceptional circumstances, if Waste Watch were satisfied that the householders were recycling all the items possible through the kerbside facilities, a recommendation was passed to the Council explaining that additional capacity was required. Additional recycling boxes for dry recyclables were also provided where needed.

There were two main reasons for additional waste - either that a family were using disposable nappies or that there were large quantities of food packaging waste which could not be recycled through the Council's scheme.

3.1.6 Introduction Leaflet

The first information leaflet Waste Watch produced provided an introduction to the trial and some background information on the project partners and Waste Watch's role. Some householders were recycling for the first time so the information was clear and simple. Operational details were supplied again - a calendar of the collection dates and a list of the organic materials that could be put in the brown bin. Waste Watch aimed to make waste and recycling as interesting as possible so cartoon characters were introduced to communicate the information in a friendly way.

3.1.7 Newsletters - Green Waste Update

Following on from the introduction leaflet, Waste Watch produced three newsletters called Green Waste Update throughout the trial period. These provided householders with an update on the trial and information on relevant waste issues.

Green Waste Update 1

This was delivered immediately after Christmas and contained information on the recycling of Christmas trees and suggestions for an environmental New Year's resolution. It also explained the composting process and gave a calendar of the collection dates. The opportunity was taken to emphasise the list of items requested for recycling in the twin bin scheme and the red and blue box scheme to encourage recycling in general.

Green Waste Update 2

This was delivered in the Spring and reported the results from the first two waste analyses (see 4.1 for further information) and the survey of 80 householders participating in the trial. It also included advice on waste minimisation and environmentally-friendly gardening information. A second calendar of collection dates was included as a reminder.

Green Waste Update 3

This final edition of the newsletter was delivered at the end of the trial in August and reported on the results of the final waste analysis and survey questionnaire. Householders were also thanked for participating in the trial and encouraged to continue reducing, reusing and recycling their waste.

3.1.8 School Visits and Poster Competition

In March 1999, Cycler, Waste Watch's rapping robot, visited four of the schools in the trial area. The educational visits were well received by the children and helped to further inform them of the reduce, reuse, recycle message and increase awareness of recycling organic waste.

The Cycler visits coincided with the launch of the poster competition which asked two age groups of children to design a poster to 'help Cycler recycle organic waste'. The winning schools received book tokens and the children who created the winning posters received a family pass to the Earth Centre, the venue in Doncaster which introduces the concept of sustainable development in an interactive and fun way.

3.1.9 Media Coverage

The Green Waste Trial had much local press interest from television, radio and print media. Council representatives were interviewed on commercial and BBC radio, and a short visual report featured on the Anglia Television programme "About Anglia". School visits by Cycler, the rapping robot, were also covered by local press.

3.1.10 Kitchen Pre-sort Bins

Waste Watch provided each household with a kitchen pre-sort bin, distributed with the introductory leaflets in November 1998. Waste Watch anticipated that providing the pre-sort bin would make it easier for householders to sort kitchen waste and would act as a visual reminder to save this waste and increase diversion from the grey refuse bin.

The kitchen pre-sort bins were introduced after the first waste analysis to determine whether the quantity of kitchen waste increased with their use. In this way, householders experienced recycling their kitchen waste both with and without the pre-sort bins and could report on their usefulness.

3.1.11 Timetable of Activities

The following table gives a breakdown of the elements of the trial and when they were undertaken.

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