WRAP has today (8 November), issued new guidance on how to improve management performance at household waste recycling centres (HWRCs).

Aimed at ‘all those involved in the management of HWRCs’, including local authority officers, waste management companies and third sector reuse partners, the guidance was developed in conjunction with local authority representatives, to provide ‘advice and supporting evidence on efficient and cost-effective HWRC management’.

Linda Crichton, Head of Collections and Quality at WRAP, says: “HWRCs have an important role for the public, who expect to be able to recycle a wide range of materials at a clean and modern site, during hours convenient for them. In response, the increasing efforts of local authorities and contractors to improve HWRC services has helped drive significant improvements in HWRC recycling performance in recent years.

“However, while local authority budgets continue to be squeezed, HWRC services are naturally an area where councils are looking to be more cost-effective. Our new guidance draws on real-life examples of good practice in HWRC management, and provides advice on how to improve performance and cut costs.”

Once such example is the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP), which ‘refined’ HWRC services to boost efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Comprising of four London boroughs: Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton, the SLWP put its networks of HWRCs out to tender in 2008 and has since seen ‘improvements to infrastructure and operations, the introduction of material diversion targets and enhanced contract management’, resulting in a saving of £876,000 through landfill tax costs.

Read more in WRAP’s HWRC guidance.