South West Fife Area Committee
Date: 17 February 2010
Agenda Item No.
Evaluation of Household Waste Collection
Options
Report by: Head of Environmental Services
Wards Affected: 1,15,18 and 19
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to update members on progress of the household
waste collection trials, including one being conducted in
Valleyfield/Torryburn/Culross
Recommendation(s)
Members are invited to comment on the contents of this report and to provide a
view with respect to future developments of the council’s household waste
collection service. This view will be reported to the Environment, Enterprise and
Transportation Committee.
Resource Implications
There are no resource implications associated with this report
Legal & Risk Implications
There are no legal and risk implications associated with this report
Policy & Impact Assessment
There are no policy and impact assessment implications associated with this report
Consultation
The following have been consulted in the production of this report:
The Executive Director of POS
The Executive Director of Finance and Procurement
1.0 Background
1.1 Household Waste Collection Options
In April 2009, the Environment, Enterprise and Transportation Committee instructed
the Head of Environmental Services to test the following household waste collection
options.
Option
1
Area
Guardbridge/Leuchars
Description
2x weekly collection of

Co-mingled food and garden waste
using the existing garden waste
wheeled bin.
No other changes
2
Markinch
2x weekly collection of:


Co-mingled food and garden waste
using the existing 240 litre garden
waste wheeled bin.
Landfill waste using 140 litre
wheeled bin.
4x weekly collection of:


3.
Valleyfield/Torryburn/Culross
Paper using 240 litre wheeled bin.
Cans & plastics using 240 litre
wheeled bin
2x weekly collection of:



Co-mingled food and garden waste
using the existing 240 litre garden
waste wheeled bin.
Paper, using 140 litre wheeled bin.
Landfill waste, using 240 litre
wheeled bin
4xweekly collection of:

Cans & plastics using 240 litre
wheeled bin
The options testing began in September 2009 and are ongoing.
2.0 Outcomes & Proposals
2.1
The main outcomes of the options testing are set out in the undernoted table:
Area
Food Waste
Collected
Cans &
Plastics
Collected
Landfill Waste
Collected
Recycling
Rate for
Test
Period
Guardbridge/Leuchars 1.0 kg/hh/wk
N/A
9.3kg/hh/wk
46.8%
Markinch
2.2kg/hh/wk
0.8kg/hh/wk
3.9kg/hh/wk
70.9%
Valleyfield/Torryburn/
0.5kg/hh/wk
0.5kg/hh/wk
6.6kg/hh/wk
49.6%
Culross
2.2
The above table clearly demonstrates that the option tested in the Markinch area is
providing a significantly higher yield of food waste and cans & plastics than the other
areas. It also provided the lowest landfill waste production per household by a
considerable margin, and by far the highest recycling rate.
2.3 Application of the Markinch option to all Fife households that are currently provided
with the three bin system could increase the amount of waste diverted from landfill by up to
24,000 tonnes per year, raising the council’s overall recycling rate from its present level of
nearly 45% to an estimated 56%.
2.4 An attitude survey of 370 householders in the areas in which the options have been
tested established the following satisfaction levels with the collection systems:
Area
Food Waste
Cans &
Plastics
Paper & Card
Overall
Service
Guardbridge/Leuchars 84%
N/A
99%
70%
Markinch
96%
99%
99%
90%
Valleyfield/Torryburn/
86%
97%
100%
98%
Culross
2.5 It is estimated that the application of the Markinch option to all Fife households that are
currently provided with the three bin system could yield revenue savings of approximately
£1.5 million per year from 2014 relative to business as usual, taking into account savings
in landfill tax payments and potential landfill allowance scheme penalties.
2.6 It is proposed to maintain the options that are being tested pending further
consideration by the Environment, Enterprise and Transportation Committee. It is hoped to
present a report to that committee on 4 March 2010.
3.0 Conclusions
3.1 The testing of household waste collection options provides clear evidence that the
option being tested in Markinch has the potential to provide significant improvements in
recycling performance if applied Fife wide. In so doing it has the potential to make a
significant contribution to the council’s zero waste to landfill objective and the Big 8 target
of becoming the Leading Green Council.
3.2 Implementation of the Markinch option on a Fife wide basis also has the potential to
significantly reduce the council’s financial risk from landfill tax payments and landfill
allowance scheme penalties.
Report Contact
Chris Ewing
Environmental Sustainability Manager
Kingdom House, Glenrothes
Telephone: 08451 55 55 55 440446
Email – chris.ewing@fife.gov.uk