The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and environmental consultancy Ricardo-AEA have launched a new tool to help local authorities identify savings and efficiencies in their waste collections.

The ‘Opportunities Checklist’ was launched today (24 February), and shares examples of ‘innovation and improvement’ in delivering waste services.

The checklist comprises ‘useful guidance and case studies that may be of interest to a local authority, or its partner(s), wanting to drive efficiencies and improve performance’ in the following areas:

• Collections
• Communications
• Household waste recycling centres (HWRCs)
• Joint Working
• Staff
• Street Cleansing
• Treatment and disposal
• Public realm

It also highlights the scale of potential saving that each recommendation could deliver: high (more than £250,000); medium (£50,000-£250,000); and low (£0-£50,000)

For example:

• ‘high’ efficiency actions include diverting organic waste from disposal to treatment routes and working with other councils to sell materials and procure services;
• ‘medium’ actions include introducing permitting schemes for vans and trailers at HWRCs and establishing joint communications campaigns and workshop provisions with other authorities/organisations; and
• ‘low’ actions include implementing water circulation systems on street cleansing vehicles and working with the community to clear and gate back alleyways to prevent fly-tipping.

It is hoped that the tool will help local authorities and businesses protect services and deliver waste reduction/recycling targets in a time of austerity.

Nearly 70 per cent of authorities affected by cuts in central government funding

The two bodies launched the tool after they undertook research into the impact of austerity on local authority waste collection and cleansing services.

More than 220 local authority officers responsible for waste, recycling and street cleansing at 183 UK authorities responded to the online austerity survey last year, along with 105 organisations that work with authorities to deliver these services.

The findings have been published in the ‘Waste on the frontline – challenges and innovations’ report, released today, which reveals that 69 per cent of respondents reported budget cuts related to austerity measures and 28 per cent cuts due to changing council priorities, with a further 16 per cent facing a budget freeze. (However, 10 per cent reported no change, and three per cent indicated that they had had a budget increase.)

Responses indicated that the cuts experienced to date have ranged from £100,000 per year from some of the district and borough councils to in excess of £2 million per year for larger local authorities.

As such, councils said they have responded by taking a range of actions, including:

• restructuring the workplace (by making redundancies and giving existing staff more responsibilities);
• freezing pay and reducing training;
• cutting budgets for communication initiatives (as these are often seen as being ‘non-essential’, compared to vehicles and manpower);
• postponing infrastructure development in favour of short-term contracts;
• rerouting or ‘rationalising’ collection rounds and extending the use of collection equipment;
• implementing charges for garden waste collections and revisiting charges for bulky waste collections;
• removing services, such as separate food waste collections;
• reducing opening hours of HWRCS; and
• working in partnership with neighbouring councils on initiatives and on negotiating contracts.

The report then goes on to highlight case studies of local authorities undertaking ‘innovative’ saving measures.

‘Challenges are here to stay’

Speaking of the findings, CIWM Chief Executive Steve Lee said: “Most local government services have already been feeling the squeeze and, as the third largest area of budget spend, waste has not been exempt. Nor can it be in the future.

“Given that the majority of those surveyed believe that they will face further budget cuts for three to five more years, the resilience and expertise of those who will have to manage these services in the future and deliver even greater efficiencies, becomes a critical success factor.

“We think most authorities will need to introduce initiatives like those in this report and that even smarter ways of working – in service delivery, partnerships and communications – will be needed. The challenges are here to stay and the innovation has to be maintained.”

He concluded: “This report puts forward a valuable portfolio of ideas and measures for any council looking to make efficiency savings and will hopefully encourage the sharing of learning and best practice.”

Ricardo-AEA Director Adam Read said that the survey demonstrated “how willing local authority officers and their supply chain partners are to share both their concerns and their ideas” and highlighted that authorities and businesses should refer to the Opportunities Checklst for “examples of measures and associated cost savings [that will assist them] in the decision-making process”.

The consultancy will be hosting a free webinar this Thursday (26 February) in partnership with CIWM and LARAC, which will analyse the report findings and highlight how procurement strategies can be leveraged to deliver additional service improvements within tight budgetary constraints.

The full report and supporting survey results appendix can be found on the CIWM and Ricardo-AEA websites.