North Lincolnshire Council is investing almost £2 million in 13 new waste collection vehicles, as part of a drive to increase waste and recycling productivity.

The vehicles, which are Mercedes Econic chassis, supplied by Hillend Engineering Ltd and fitted with a Farid compaction body and Terberg bin lifter, are equipped with onboard CCTV, new technology which will record when a bin is not placed out for collection in time, excess side waste or when bin lids cannot close due to the amount of waste contained. If a resident does not present their bin for collection, as evidenced by CCTV, then the council will not return for it until the next collection. Charges will not be levied against residents, but they will be educated on how to correctly present their bins for collection, using video evidence to help demonstrate the correct way. Four of the vehicles have already been delivered, and the council will get the rest within the next 14 months.

The announcement comes as local residents are being encouraged to increase their recycling and reduce the amount of waste put in black bins for incineration or landfill as part of its 'Lighten our Load' campaign. It has been reported that approximately one third of the contents of a general waste bin in North Lincolnshire is waste that could be recycled at home, including items such as plastic bottles, tubs and trays, paper, glass bottles and jars, metal cans and tins, cardboard packaging and small electrical appliances. It is hoped that effiency gains will also reduce the £5.8 million spent every year by North Lincolnshire Council on recycling and waste services to households.

Councillor Neil Poole, cabinet member for Commercial, commented: “These new vehicles will really help our waste collection teams deliver a first class service. Residents can help us ‘lighten our load’ by not overloading bins, having their lids raised or putting out extra bags of general waste. This can cause the collection trucks to fill up before all of the bins have been collected and costs much more compared to recycling.

“Residents may from time to time have extra general waste and this can always be taken to one of our Household Recycling Centres.

“Our Waste Collection Operatives do a fantastic job in our communities. Occasionally a bin may be missed due to a number of reasons including vehicle breakdowns and reaching capacity on the amount of waste collected. These new vehicles will reduce breakdowns and increase efficiency.”

Data protection

Installing cameras on waste collection vehicles is not uncommon; in 2015, waste collection company Biffa installed cameras on 50 refuse vehicles, and more than 160 UK councils have CCTV in place on their bin lorries. However, the issue has stirred some controversy in the past regarding data protection.

Waste workers employed by Thurrock council planned strikes in April this year in a dispute primarily caused by the installation of cameras on vehicles, which relayed footage live to the manager’s desk.

65 members of Unite, the UK’s largest union, were due to go on strikes commencing 12 April because of fears the 360 degree video feed would enable management to ‘spy on’ workers and residents, monitor what residents place in their bins and be used as evidence to block collections to some homes.

The strike was called off, however, after Thurrock council conceded that rather than allowing images to go directly to managers’ desks and phones, they would only be viewed by the agreed senior members of the data protection and information management team at the council. Should other council officers require the footage they now have to make a recorded written request, and Unite receives quarterly reports on which council officials have requested permission.

Waste carrier cameras are subject to the surveillance camera code of practice, which illustrates how CCTV systems must balance their purpose with the public’s right to privacy. When Boston Borough Council installed cameras on their lorries, they carried out a privacy impact assessment to this end, stating that despite ‘the potential for invasion of privacy’, their scheme has controls which will ‘mitigate the associated risks, including careful consideration of camera positions to reduce collateral intrusion’.