Work has begun to remove all bring sites from Derbyshire Dales after contamination issues and a revamped kerbside collection system rendered the service ‘unsustainable’, according to the local council.

Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) made the decision to end its contract for dry recycling bring sites with services company HW Martin at its recent Community and Environment Committee meeting (14 January).

A report to the committee recommended that the contract with the company be terminated next month, with all remaining bring sites across the district being removed by the end of February. HW Martin will receive £20,000 in compensation in return for the termination of the contract, which was originally scheduled to run from 2011 to August 2020.

Falling tonnage

Following a ‘fundamental’ change in the council’s kerbside waste and recycling service in 2012, HW Martin advised that its current bring site contract with the council was no longer financially viable due to the diversion of waste to the kerbside collection system, as well as the loss of two sites at Sainsbury’s stores to a private provider. The contract was subsequently altered from 98 sites to 33, 10 of which have since been closed due to landowners disapproving of the high amount of fly-tipping at the sites.

In 2014/15, the sites collected just over 443 tonnes of material (down from 1,700 tonnes in 2011/12) and provided DDDC with a recycling credit income from Derbyshire County Council of £22,289.

In contrast, the kerbside collection service takes 530 tonnes of material every month, taking a total of 6,600 tonnes in 2014/15, up from 3,300 in 2011/12.

Moreover, a recent breakdown of material collected in the containers provided by HW Martin shows that they currently have a contamination rate of 43 per cent, most of which is made up of non-recyclable materials that are disposed of at landfill, with additional disposal costs.

With the contamination tonnage deducted from the overall amount, HW Martin says that the recycling credit received would fall to £13,130, making it economically unfeasible to continue to dispose of the contamination without charge to the council.

In response to the issues, the council considered a further reduction in the number of sites to 19, as well as the possibility of the council paying contamination costs – a measure that would have cost it an extra £22,710 per year. However, it was decided to terminate the contract, with the £20,000 payment covering the loss of recycling credit that may have been generated over the remaining course of the contract.

Public consultation

An online consultation on the use of bring sites concluded that 91 per cent of the 953 responding residents used the kerbside recycling service, though 78 per cent said they used the bring sites for excess recycling waste. The council says, however, that residents can place any excess recycling at the side of their bins for collection, as long as it is contained and visible.

When asked where they would take their recyclables if their local bring site was removed, around 52 per cent said they would take it to a household waste recycling centre (HWRC), with only 26 per cent saying they would divert their recyclables to another bring site.

Closure

The council’s waste and recycling and communications and marketing teams will now jointly lead a rationalisation programme that will see sites withdrawn over a two-week period from 15 February, although one site, at Shawcroft car park, was removed last week.

Charity banks provided for textiles, books and shoes will remain in place until the relevant charities decide to remove them or the landowner requests that they be removed.

The council report, authored by Sandra Lamb, Head of Corporate Services, read: ‘A reduction in tonnage at bring sites following improvements to the kerbside recycling service is not uncommon and has been experienced by several neighbouring authorities, such as Amber Valley, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire, Bolsover and Derby City. Many of the authorities have carried out a rationalisation programme but in some instances bring sites have been removed altogether.’

The Community & Environment Committee report into the bring site closure can be found on the DDDC website.