Recycling & Waste Management
Going underground
We’re all under pressure to recycle. But what does a council do when
residents complain about over-full bins at recycling sites?
The council could commit to clearing recycle sites more often the bins became full and required frequent emptying. The main
but that means more vehicle trips to the collection areas, reason for installing the underground system was to provide
resulting in more CO
2
being produced and council staff being more capacity for residents to recycle.
required to work more hours. That puts budgets, already facing “Since the first unit was installed, the number of complaints
the threat of cuts, under even more pressure. about untidy recycling areas has greatly reduced. So too has the
It was a problem that Bedford Borough Council faced when number of trips we have to make to empty the units.”
recycling sites started to be ‘over-used’ – residents were willing And while the council hasn’t any statistics to back up the
to bring their materials but there wasn’t the capacity for it all to anecdotal evidence, it seems residents have remarked on how
make it into bins. The result was untidy and messy sites. much more pleasing to the eye the recycling areas are these days.
Natasha Ingram, Waste Services Manager at Bedford Borough So when another problem area came to light, at a sports
Council, explained that in order for the problem to be solved, facility where residents were encouraged to use the bins in the
some of the recycle materials would have to go into larger car park, the council moved to deal with the complaints and
containers and the council explored the possibility of using an decided to install another underground unit.
underground system. “Again this site was being over-used and the existing bins
“We decided it was the way forward and our first unit – at a couldn’t handle the amount of rubbish being deposited. This is a
busy shopping centre on the edge of Bedford – allowed for three good thing for us as its means residents are keen to recycle but
containers for glass and one for newspaper and magazines. obviously there was a downside,” added Natasha.
“The site had traditionally suffered from overuse – meaning “The site was completed over the summer and so far there
have been no complaints about rubbish. The council has
invested in a new collection vehicle to empty them more
efficiently and there are further plans to add a third UWS in the
ACP (Concrete) Ltd Bedford borough.”
The latest underground unit, installed by leading waste
PRESTRESSED CONCRETE PANELS
collection innovators, Otto UK, is a bank of four units, each with
TAKE THE STRAIN!
a large metal bin underground for clear, brown and green glass.
Alongside is a chute for paper and cardboard.
There is a small metal unit on top of each unit with a chute for
the bottles and jars. The three hooks on the top of each unit are
to allow the operator to lift the metal containers out of the
ground and empty them on a weekly basis.
Derek Monk, managing director of Otto UK, says that
underground waste systems (UWS) provide major advantages
for residents, councils and the government.
“People have been using the underground system on mainland
Europe since the early 1990s, particularly in the Netherlands, but
also in Germany and France. These countries have readily
embraced the challenges of segregation and recycling.”
Monk’s contention is that underground waste systems are an
PUSH WALLS FOR
BULK STORAGE BUILDINGS WASTE TRANSFER
RECYCLING BAYS
Tel: 01889 598660 Fax: 01889 568160
www. acp-concrete.co.uk
ACP (Concrete) Ltd is part of the Thomas Amstrong Group
10 Solids & Bulk Handling February 2010 www.solidsandbulk.co.uk
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