Friends of the Earth

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May 1989

Dinas Ail-GylchuCaerdyddMai1990Recycling City CardiffMay 1990

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sponsored uv'l"E[.ECOI\

UK 2OOO Recycling City is a Friendso.f tbe Eartb intiatiue beingdeueloped by a. partnership inuoluingreclamation and. manufacturingindustries, local authorities, tbeuoluntary sector and centralgouernment.

British

J-E[.ECO \Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth Ltd (FoE) wasestablished in the UK in'J.971.. Basedin London it is backed by over180,000 supporters and an activenational nerwork of 290 local groups.It is funded mainly by voluntarycontributionsFoE campaigns on a wide variety ofenvironmental issues, including; airand water pollution, countrysideprotection and agriculture, urbandevelopment, transport, resourcesand recycling, toxic wastes, tropicalrainforests, overseas aid and lrade,energy use, and global warming.FoE trust is committed to research,information and education.FoE is politically neutral, and workswith all parites and other organisationswherever we find areas of agreement.Foe Ltd is part of Friends of the EarthInternational which has membergroups in 35 countries.

British Telecom is pleased to sponsorRecycling City as part of a country-wide sponsorship programme whichembraces the environment, the artsand disabled people and which isdesigned to demonstrate ourcommitment to the community atlarge.

UK 2000 is an environrnent neNsorkof 6 voluntary organisations whoreceive part funding from theDepartment of the Environment.

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At LL"Recycling is one of the clearest examples of how practical action on aregular daily basis can be a significant contribution to protecting andpreserving our environment. It addresses the issues of resource use,energy consumption, air and water pollution, and destruction of naturalhabitats, by enabling the individual to make an impact in the vital areaof waste minimisation.There is increasing evidence that the public are ready to play their partin the process of recycling. What is needed are effective systems of

collection and reuse, so that materials are circulatedberween consumer and manufacturer in a continuous way,rather than being one-trip products destined for landfill orincineration.

Currently recycling rates for domestic waste in the UK aresignificantly lower than in many other European countries.Friends of the Earth initiated the UK 2000 Recycling Cityproject to increase awareness of the environmentalimperatives for recycling and to challenge the obstacleshindering higher levels of recycling in this country. By

working with both private, public and voluntary sectors Recycling Cirycan test a wide variety of recovery methods and show the benefits of co-ordinated action at alocal and national level."

,,,9g^ VDirector, Friend.s of the Earth

"As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Vales, Iam delighted to lend my support to the launch of Cardiffas UK 2000 Recycling Ciry. The strength of this initiativelies in the partnership between the City Council, localindustry and the voluntary sector. The high level ofcommitment Cardiff has demonstrated to recycling in thepast has matured into the most advanced waste disposalstrategy in the UK, which looks set to achieve the Government's largetto recycle 500/o of recyclable household waste before the end of

Ian Grist, MPPailiamentary

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Under-Secretary of State for Wales

UK 2OOO RECYCLING CITY

il,ffiilf,I8 WASTE R E C OVE RY

Recycling City is a national partnership project, sponsorecl by BritishTelecom, aimimg to develop models of effective recycling practice in 4cities throughout the UK.

The project was initiated by the Projects Unit at Friends of the Eartl-r andis being developed by a partnership involving reclamzrtion andmanufacturing industries, iocal authorities, the voluntary sector andcentral government.

Sheffield was launched as the first Recycling CityCardiff as the second on 15th May , 1,990 . In 7997more Recycling Cities will be launched, withthird planned for Scotland.

ORGANISATIOI'l

on22ndMay,7989 and

The Recycling City project is organised through aseries of local and national working parties, withnational co-orclination provided by Friends of theEarth and local co-ordination by the City Council ineach Recycling Ciry.

FUI\lDIt'lGSponsorship from British Telecom provides fundingfor overall co-ordination of the project, and forpromotion at a national and local level. Core-fundingfor new recycling initiatives in each Recycling City isalso provided by British Telecom, supplemented by

twothe

grants from manufacturing and reclamation industries.of the Environment contributes funding through the UK

The Department2000 initiative.

El/ALUATI O NThe Recycling City initiative in Sheffield is being fully evaluated over 3years by a research consortium consisting of Luton College of HigherEducation, Midland Environment Ltd and Warren Spring Laboratory.Funding for this evaluation has been provided by the Department ofTrade and'Industry (DTI), the Department of the Environment (DoE) andthe Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN). Theresults of the evaiuation will be presented at a series of DTI conferencesand published in 6-monthly Recycling Ciry monitoring bulletins.

PART RSHIPThe Recycling City partnership is based on a series of agreed minimuminputs from each sector as follows:

Local Authorities. Allocate suitable sites for fixed collection facilities.o Encourage recycling collection points to be incorporated in new

shopping and housing developments.. Appoint a Recycling Officer to co-ordinate and develop the project

locally.. Credit recycling schemes with savings made in waste collection and

disposal costs.

o Use recycled paper and other reclaimed materials.. Establish an internal office paper recovery scheme.

Reclamation lndustries. Service collection facilities as necessary.

. Provide market and price for recovered materials.

Voluntary Sector. Adopt collection points to ensure that they are kept tidy and well

publicised in return for the income they generate.o Promote and support community initiatives in recycling.o Promote the use of recycled products.

The Partnership. Support the development of community businesses or other local

agencies to recover and recycle waste.

. Ensure the project is effectively promoted in each Recycling City.

BECYCI.ING CITY tTDTo support the raising of finance, introduction and operation of kerbsidecollections within the four Recycling City projects, the partnership hasestablished a not-for-profit company. Called Recycling City Ltd, it will bepart of the Friends of the Earth Projects Unit in its first year, while aimingto become self financing thereafter. The intention of the company is tooffer a service to local authorities and other groups setting up kerbsiderecycling schemes.

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EFFIELUK 2OOO RECYCLING C

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Launched as Recycling City in May 1989, Sheffield has established avariety of schemes, building on experience at home and abroad

Collection BanksA network of recycling collection banks and mini-recycling centres hasbeen set up throughout the city. Banks are provided for paper, glass,cans and, for the first time in the UK, plastics. The siting density of theseis being steadily increased.

Proceeds from the collection banks support both the administration andthe development work of SCRAP (Sheffield Community RecyclingAction Programme) and are distributed to local communityorganisations. SCRAP is also responsible for supporting voluntaryrecycling collections and promoting Sheffield's recycling collectionpoints. There are 25 voluntary paper collections operated by groupssuch as scouts, churches etc. (see also cans)

Blue BoxesIn November 1989, the UK's first kerbside collections using the CanadianBlue Box system were launched in the Stocksbridge area of Sheffield.Householders have been issued with separate bins, the Blue Boxes, tostore recyclables which are picked up on a regular collection day everyweek. The paper, glass, cans, plastics andbatteries recovered are then separatelyloaded into compartments on a speciallydesigned collection vehicle loaned to theproject by Iveco Ford.

Initially 2,000 households were coveredevery week, which was expanded to about3,500 by May 7990. The Blue Boxcollections have proved very popular, withabout 700/o of people participating.

In the first 6 months, over 725 tonnes ofwaste have been collected for recycling.

Plastics SortingTo enable plastics collected in Sheffield to be sold to industry forrecycling, the British Plastics Federation is developing a site, inconjuction with the City Council, which is used for sorting andcompacting recovered plastics waste.from banks and Blue Boxes.

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0lfice CollectionsSheffield City Council operates internal office paper collections which inthe year to May, 1990 collected 72 tonnes of high grade office paper forrecycling.

Aluminium Can Collections and Can VansThe Alumiunium Can Recycling Association has organised collections at40 schools in Sheffield and toJanuary 7990 about 4 tonnes of aluminiumcans were collected by schools and charities in addition to 2 tonnescollected for the Blue Peter Baby Life Appeal.In March 7990, Alcan Aluminium Can Recycling launched a new form ofcollection for aluminium drinks cans in Sheffield, with special Can Vansvisiting supermarkets on regular weekly collection days to purchase thecans, enabling funds to be raised for the Sheffield Children's Hospitaland other causes.

Steel Can ExtractionA magnetic separator at the Council's incinerator together with the Save-a-Can banks recovered about 90 million tinplated steel cans in 7989/90,which is equivalent to about 800/o of all steel cans used in Sheffield.

*53 Sites equipped with bells for white, brown & green glass.

11 Sites equipped with the larger colour segregated bottle banks.

SHEFIIELD COLLECTION BANI(S

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Cutrs Brothers1(rVaste Paper)

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CAR D IFFTHE III('S FIRST 5oo/o RECYCLING CITY?

Recycling Past and PresentCardiff has a long history of recycling and of co-operation betweencommunity groups and the City Council, enabling it to evolve a matureapproach to recycling, considered not as a peripheral activity, thedomain of the commited volunteer, but as the central cog in the wheelof an integrated waste management strategy.

From 7986, C.SAVS (Community Support Anti \7aste Scheme), anationally acclaimed community business, carried out a furniturerenovation scheme, an innovative education programme and a city-widemonthly door-to-door collection, mainly of newspaper and magazinesand rags. Unfortunately C.SA\7S were forced to wind up theseoperations due to financial difficulties following the end of theCommunity Programme scheme. However, the monthly collectionswere taken over by Cardiff City Council, and expanded to include plasticbags.

A Recycling Strategy l0r the tutureEarlier this year Cardiff City Council launched their EnvironmentalStrategy for the 1990's, in which waste management and recycling play acentral role. Cardiff will be the first local authority to give fullacknowledgement of both their collection and :frr,r,':,u:t

disposal costs, identifying the savings to bemade by removing recyclable materials fromthe waste stream. This cost benefit approach isa malor step forward for the funding ofrecovery collections, which are commonlyundervalued in comparison to conventionaldisposal methods.

A Recycling City Voluntary Development\Torker will be appointed, part-funded by UK2000 Cymru, to complement the Council'seducational outreach work.

50% Recycling ol total domestic waste - in f iue years'$fith the following systems in place Cardlff should become the first ciryin the UK to recycle at least 50o/o of it's total domestic waste.

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AN INTERGRATED APPROACH TOWASTE RECYCLING

lltlIltll-RECYCtI],lG CEiIIRESThe first stage of Recycling City developments in Cardiff will be toestablish a network of 20 landscaped mini-recycling centres throughoutthe ciry, with collection banks for paper and glass, and cans too at 6 sites.

CITY.WIDE BLUE BO)(ESThe second stage will be to build on the door-to-door collectionsalready operating in Cardiff. By 1993 Cardiff intends to establish a city-wide Blue Box scheme covering 110,000 households.

The Blue Box collections launched in November 1989 in Sheffield haveproved the most successful recycling collection method currentlyoperating in the UK and afe on their way to achieving the Government'starget of recoverinB 50o/o of recyclable waste.

ANAEROBIC OIGESTIO]'lCardiff City Council are also planning to commission an anerobicdigestor within 2 years. Anaerobic digestion is a natural processwhereby the organic elements of domestic waste are broken down at amuch faster rate and more safely than would be acheived in landfill. Thedigestor harnesses this process to produce a biogas and a rich humus.

Biogas has a number of uses including local heating, electricitygeneration and powering vehicles. The humus can be used as a soilconditioner or for landscaping purposes. Organic kitchen wasteaccounts for around 300/o of total domestic refuse.

The digestor will also incorporate a magnetic separator to recover steelcans which make up about 70/o of domestic waste.

lndustria! WasteThe City Council are fully aware of the problems that someindustrial/commercial waste presents. The Council's Recycling Strategymakes provision for investigation into the possibility of recyclingbuilders' waste and rubble, together with tyres and hospital clinicalwaste.

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RECYCLI NG CIIY PARTNENS

Aluminium Can Recycling Association (ACRA)

British Glass

British Plastics Federation (BPF)

British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA)

British SteelTinplateCheshire Recycling LimitedDepartment of the Environment (DoE)Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

Friends of the Earth

Independent Waste Paper Processors Association (I\7PPA)

Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN)

Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC)

The Reclamation Association

Save-a-Can

SHEFFIELD

Alcan Aluminium Can Recycling

cutts Brothers Ltd (\raste Paper)

PLM Redfearn (Glass)

Sheffield Community Recycling Action Programme (SCRAP)

Sheffield City CouncilRayovac Vidor Ltd (Batteries)

CARDIFFpartners ako include:ALCOA (Aluminium Comany of America)Cardiff City CouncilClarfield'Waste Paper

Friends of the Earth CymruRockware Glass

UK 2000 Cymru

CO]'lTACTS FOB IURTHER INFORllllATIONNATIO]'lAI. AI'ID Il,lEDIA E1llOUIRIESFriends of the Earth: Recycling City ltdDavid Mansell, Recycling Ciry David Birley, Managing DirectorNational Co-ordinator Recycling City LtdRebecca GwynnJones, Prol'ects c/o 25-28 Underwood StreetI

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Unir Publicity OfficerFriends of the EarthZ6 -ZB tl nderwood StreetLondon N1 ZQTel 01-490 7555

I.OCAt ENOUIRIESShellield City CouncilSteve Jenkinson, AssistantDirector, Cleansing DepartmentSheffield City Council, Town Hall,Sheffield S1 2HH;Tel:0742-735508

Shellield Community BecyclingAction Programme {SCBAP}Judith Warrender /Nicola Gilbert,Voluntary Sector Development\TorkersRecycling City Office, 140Devonshire Street, Sheffield 53 7SF;Tel:0742-721170

PUBt!CATIO]'lSAvailable from PublicationsDespatch, Friends of the Earth,z6-z8 underwood SrLondon N1 ZQ '

. Recycling City launch manualMay 7989 G2.50)

. Blue Box information pack(s2.00)

. Sheffield Recycling Cirymonitoring bulletins (S3)

. Finding sponsors forcommuniry projects G,7 .95)

. Recycling - the way forward:information pack (S1.75)

London N1 ZQTel01,-490 7555

Cardifl City CouncilColin Kirkby, Recycling OfficerRobert Little, Recycling OfficerRecycling City Office, Cardiff CityCouncil, Hodge House,St Mary's St, Cardiff CF1 UT

o Market barriers to paperrecycling (56)

. Paperchase - a guide to officepaper recycling (S,1.50)

. Recycling - leaflet (50p)

Available from local RecyclingCiry olfices:. Recycling A-Z guide to

Sheffield (1,1.00)

. Recycling A-Z guide to CardiffG,1.00)

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O Recycling City,May 7990Designed by MM Design, SheffieldPrinted on 100% Recycled Paper

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