COSLA
EXCELLENCE
AWARDS
2010
2010 APPLICATION FORM
Please refer to the ‘2010 Guidance for Applicants’ before completing this application
form.
The deadline for submission of entries is 5pm on 2 October 2009. Submission
arrangements are detailed at the end of this application form.
The application form is split over five sections to reflect the assessment criteria, and to
facilitate the leeting process. It is up to you to decide the content and length of each
section, but your application must not exceed three pages in total (excluding the
cover pages).
CATEGORY TITLE Category 7: One To Watch
Project Name Skip the Landfill
Lead Organisation Fife Council
Department/ Team Building Services - Green Team
Participant or Partner
Names
Award coordinator
Contact details
1. Steve Anderson
2. Liz McIntyre
3. David Nicholson
4. Ian McFarlane (Environmental Services)
5. Roddy Sneddon
6. Hayley Williamson (Environmental Services)
7. Bernie McVetis
8. Jim Hynd
9. Bruce Smith
10. Bob Colford
Steve Anderson
steve.anderson@fife.gov.uk , phone number 450885
Can we publish an anonymised version of this application form on our website?
YES
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
In one short paragraph please describe this project and what it has achieved.
We will use this in any future publicity material.
Fife Council’s Building Services is responsible for the repair, maintenance and improvement of Fife
Council’s housing stock. We are also responsible for the maintenance and contract works for the
Council’s non domestic properties such as schools, care homes, libraries, as well as undertaking work
for Fife Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service. Whilst undertaking these projects, there are high
volumes of waste which until recent times was viewed as a cost factor, with little consideration to the
landfill or the environment. There was an average spend of half a million pounds on waste per year
which was growing year on year, with the increased productivity of our service. There was no
measurement of volumes and no identification of the waste streams that could be diverted from the
landfill as recyclable waste by sorting at source, but it was clear that a large percentage of waste was
going to landfill (approximately 96%) with just under 5% being recycled.
Waste management is now a fundamental part of all construction/building work from planning stage and
throughout the project. The practice of reduce, reuse and recycle is now ‘the norm’ across the Service.
Recycling rates have changed from 5% in August 2008 to 90% by April 2009 with an additional benefit
being the service contribution towards the reduction of 13.34% of carbon emissions. Building Services
are committed to delivering zero waste to landfill. Therefore achieving 100% recycled waste!
PLANNING
· a clear rationale, defined processes and focus on stakeholder needs
· contributes to organisation’s goals, community plan and SOA, and national policy context
In line with Fife Council’s target to reduce carbon emissions by 3% year on year, we have set an
ambitious target to send zero recyclable waste to landfill by October 2009. This can help towards
achieving Fife Council’s goal of being the leading Green Council in Scotland by 2011, as well as the
Scottish Government target of 5% limit on landfill of municipal waste by 2025. In order to improve, we
needed to measure the volumes and types of waste we produced. These statistics would allow us to
identify where we should prioritise our efforts and identify realistic opportunities for improvement. The
improvements have been achieved by tacking waste management in a number of ways. In the initial
stages:

By establishing a partnership with Fife Council’s Environmental Services to use their expertise and
advice

Waste targets were included in our Service Improvement Plan to minimise recyclable waste going to
landfill sites (target of zero by October 2009) as well as an annual monitor of our carbon footprint by
Environmental Services on reduction of waste

Working with government support organisations such as Envirowise, Waste and Resources Action
Programme (WRAP), National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) and Scottish Environment
Protection Agency (SEPA) for help and guidance

Full commitment and leadership from senior management of Building Services to lead the green
initiative

Establishing a ‘Green Team’ within Building Services to champion the project across the service.
The Green Team is a cross section of employees from all levels of our service who are responsible
for generating ideas, identifying opportunities and encouraging colleagues to ‘reduce, reuse and
recycle’

Site Waste Management Plans were introduced as a decision making tool for Site Managers to help
predict types of waste and identify opportunities to reduce the percentage of waste taken to landfill

Identifying and establishing partnerships with suppliers to reduce packaging waste

Working closely with waste contractors and recycling specialists to seek further practical
opportunities which would make sorting at source easier for the workforce to bring into practice,
whether waste was depot or site based, with the wide geographic and logistical problems that could
be encountered.
Assisting private skip hire firms to source further recycling initiatives within Scotland such as Viridor
Electrical Recycling for the disposal of power tools and batteries, etc.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010
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DELIVERING
· implemented in all relevant areas and across all the required stakeholders
· carried out in a structured and logical way , using robust and sustainable methods
Building Services has many different types of work underway at any given time, with various waste
streams as a result. Our approach involves a wide cross section of people such as employees, partners
and private contractors helped us to put the following into operation:

Introduction of Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) which are used to predict waste and put in
place measures to minimise and dispose of it appropriately from planning stage and throughout all
work projects

Educating/training employees on the Council’s commitment to becoming the leading green council
and zero recyclable waste to landfill was provided to all operational staff by Environmental Services
through tailored sessions at each depot; this placed emphasis on the importance and benefits of
changing to gain support, co-operation and ownership from all employees within the Service

Carbon emissions for travel have been reduced as a result of providing better access to recycling
facilities across Fife; this makes the process of taking waste directly to the recycling centres easier
and quicker for the geographical challenges or construction works within Fife

Finding ways of recycling more types of waste, for example roofing tiles, wood and windows

Uplifting recyclable waste direct from construction sites

Specifying and buying materials that can be recycled

Transferring surplus materials between jobs by employing effective material management

Exchanging surplus materials with suppliers and contractors

Introducing Just-in-Time (JIT) systems to remove the need for storage on site, reducing damage and
wastage

Using plastic crates for storage of materials on sites instead of plastic bags

Issue of reusable, canvas bags for life within the stores rather than the issue of plastic carrier bags

Purchasing a baling machine to prevent skips being taken up by cardboard and polythene waste
created by incoming goods resulting in less skip uplifts and a subsequent reduction in carbon
emissions

Training given to labourers and yards men by Environmental Services on sorting at source within the
depots and the contract sites.
During all the steps taken in delivering our targets, we ensured that best value was being achieved by a
realistic and common sense approach to effectiveness and efficiencies which were deliverable and
achievable by the workforce. This was possible by good communication, full involvement of staff at all
levels and encouraging ideas from the ‘coal face’.
IMPROVING +
EVALUATING
· evidence of leading practice and innovation being achieved
· appropriate measurement and learning, and how this has led to continuous improvement
Performance measurement is now possible with waste as we are now given an audit of skip contents
collected from Building Services’ depots and sites. Each operational team within Building Services was
involved in setting recycling targets for their area of work. For example, the roofing team set their target
at 75%, but reached 100% by segregating all the roofing tiles at source for recycling. The Green Team
will be setting corporate Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to measure this across the different areas of
our service based both on the quantitative information (savings on spend on waste expenditure) as well
as the qualitative information (materials diverted from landfill by sorting at source). The statistics on
spend and volumes/types of waste are regularly shared with employees in ‘Green Team’ meetings, team
talks, Building Services newsletters and Asset and Facilities Management Newsletters.
Communication is critical to the future success of keeping the project alive and developing projects
within the service. Training has been given to a section of employees within Building Services staff, but
further plans are being developed to hold a ‘green day ‘event to stimulate more ideas and innovation.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010
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The statistics from Environmental Services’ Skip Services Team have been very encouraging. The
statistics evidence that as well as achieving our interim target of 90% of recyclable waste being diverted
from landfill by April 2009, we can also demonstrate that real financial savings are being achieved by
sorting at source through the landfill tax savings. Landfill tax is currently £39 per tonne, but rubble and
tiles are £2.50 per tonne and wood, paper and scrap (*which has further lucrative revenue from scrap
metal merchants) are £24 per tonne. By sorting at source we are able to make financial savings, as well
as the environmental savings of over £5,000 per month (this is based on information from the skip hire
team from April this year).
Most of our waste is collected by Environmental Services but there are some private skip hire firms
which we use for logistical and practical reasons. Before we set our ambitious targets, many of these
firms were not recording our volumes of waste, nor were they seeking full recycling opportunities. We
worked with these firms to source recycling suppliers that would help them to reduce the recyclable
waste such as wood, plastic etc going to landfill. By establishing new partnerships with contractors who
have the capabilities to recycle, reuse and reduce waste from the construction industry, Building
Services have become industry leaders.
* This revenue varies according to index price for copper, household cable, aluminium etc.
RESULTS +
IMPACT
· a convincing mix of customer perception and internal performance measures
· clear line of sight to the delivery of the Single Outcome Agreement
· a full range of relevant results showing improvement over time
We have succeeded in turning around our recycling rates from 5% in August 2008 to 90% by April 2009
and contributed to the reduction of carbon emissions of 13.34% (target being 3% year on year).
We have made significant achievements in the following:

establishing partnership working with Fife Council’s Environmental Services, Government agencies
such as WRAP and Envirowise, as well as private waste contractors through the ‘Green Team’

accurate records maintained of all volumes and categories of waste recycled and sent to landfill

consistent target setting for recycling to meet government and council objectives

environmental policy statements are requested from contractors in Building Services documentation
such as Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) for Sub Contractors and Tender Documents on
Sustainability and Environmental Policies for materials

training in Site Waste Management Plans within Building Services, with plans to be incorporated into
project software for the planning stage and throughout the project; they are also a mechanism for
driving change within the private sector

develop employee involvement in green initiatives with awareness and participation

overcoming resistance to cultural change within Building Services to encourage good working
practices which deliver the ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ initiative by training, employee induction and
contribution management objectives

roofing and capital project recycling has improved by segregation of roof materials and recycling of
uPVC windows, ironmongery, glass and metal from old windows

improved office and depot management with dedicated recycling areas with containers for office and
depot recycling waste; recycling bins within depots for cans, plastic bottles and paper; recycling of
glass, lamps, batteries, electrical equipment, metal and wood as well as further investment in baling
machines for cardboard and polythene waste

continue to develop and improve on the achievement at present to deliver zero recyclable waste to
landfill by October 2009

reinvesting into the community with money saved from recycling our waste materials

contributed to Fife Council’s objective to be the ‘greenest’ council by 2011.
We have not finished – we will continue to monitor, manage and review our statistics and realise the
savings by continuing to source recycling opportunities in order to realise ‘zero recyclable waste to
landfill’.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010
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THE COSLA CHAIR’S AWARD
This category is awarded at the discretion of the Chair and is open to submissions under any of the
seven categories. It is awarded to those submissions of exceptional standards or merit demonstrating
achievements above the limits stipulated in the assessment/judging criteria for the relevant category.
Alternatively, submissions can be considered which can demonstrate being conducted in exceptional
circumstances.
Do you wish your submission to be considered for the Chair’s Award?
NO
In about 300 words, please highlight the reasons why this submission should be considered for the Chair’s Award:
Next steps
 Have you answered the assessment criteria set out in the guidance?
 Is your application form 3 pages or less? (anything more, including
appendices, will be automatically rejected)
 Has your application form been authorised by an appropriate person?
 Have you indicated whether you wish the application form to be
published?
Submitting your application
Please email your application by 2 October to:
Category 1 submissions
exawards2010-1@cosla.gov.uk
Category 2 submissions
exawards2010-2@cosla.gov.uk
Category 3 submissions
exawards2010-3@cosla.gov.uk
Category 4 submissions
exawards2010-4@cosla.gov.uk
Category 5 submissions
exawards2010-5@cosla.gov.uk
Category 6 submissions
exawards2010-6@cosla.gov.uk
Category 7 submissions
exawards2010-7@cosla.gov.uk
Queries surrounding the submission of applications can be made to:
Adam Stewart (adam.stewart@cosla.gov.uk / 0131 474 9275)