Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
(UNPUBLISHED DRAFT FOR COMMENT/IMPROVEMENT)
ANALYSIS OF BULKY
WASTE COLLECTIONS AND
BULKY CA WASTE RESIDUE
IN ESSEX & THURROCK
BASE DATA FOR
IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES
FOR DIVERSION AND REUSE
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN / WasteWISE Researcher
kat@mccats.plus.com
07841 346672
Lewis Herbert
ECORRN Network Organiser/WasteWISE Consultant
lewisherbert@btconnect.com
0774 853 6153
1
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Contents
Executive Summary
1.0 Introduction
Table 1 – Purposes of the report
Table 2 – Routes that bulky waste becomes a council responsibility
2.0 Bulky Waste
2.1 What bulky household waste consists of ?
Table 3 – Six major categories adopted for bulky waste analysis
2.2 Assumptions in calculating tonnages
Table 4 – Assumptions
3.0 Bulky Waste Collection Stages
3.1 Five stages in households obtaining a bulky collection
4.0 Bulky waste collections in Essex
Table 5 – Current bulky collection methods and staffing
4.1 Demand for bulky waste collections in Essex
Table 6 – Bulky waste collection charges
Table 7 – Analysis of collection trips made in Essex – 2003/04
Graph 1 – Frequency that average Essex householders require a bulky waste collection
4.2 The impact of charging rates
Graph 2 - Correlation between demand for bulky waste collection and charging
4.3 Quantities of bulky waste collected by Essex districts/unitaries 2003/04
Table 8 – Districts that provided detailed bulky waste figures
4.4 Comparative data from recent wider recent M-E-L studies
Graphs 3 to 6 - Breakdown of bulky waste in 4 districts in Essex – refrigeration and
other bulky items
2
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Graph 7 – Percentage split from a detailed analysis of bulky waste collections – average
of Thurrock and Crawley (West Sussex) 2003/04
Graph 8 – Percentage split from a detailed analysis of bulky waste collections in
Greenwich 2003
Graph 9 – Actual and estimated number of bulky waste items collected by 7 districts in
Essex 2003/04
Graph 10 – Actual and estimated tonnes of bulky waste collected by 7 Essex districts
2003/04
Graph 11 – Actual and estimated number of bulky items collected by all Essex districts
2003/04
Graph 12 – Actual and estimated tonnes of bulky items collected by all Essex districts
2003/04
Table 9 – Breakdown of items in Essex district
4.6 Achievable diversion of household bulky waste
Table 10 – Applying the waste hierarchy ladder to bulky waste - staged approach for
maximising recovery and reducing waste
Table 11 – Estimated reusable and recyclable fraction of bulky waste collections in
2003/04
5.0 Essex and Unitary Civic Amenity and Recycling Centres (called ‘CA site’ for
short below)
Graph 13 – Total tonnage of bulky waste collected at CA Site in Essex (M-E-L research)
Table 12 – Total CA Site waste quantities
Graph 14 – CA Site detailed analysis– bulky waste breakdown for 9 sites in Essex
6.0 Total potential tonnage diversion
Table 13 – Total potential tonnages that could be saved from landfill
Tabulated information shown also in Graph 15
7.0 Conclusions
7.1 Reuse – Wider benefits of taking bulky waste out of landfill
Table 14 – The triple bottom line/wider benefits of reuse
7.2 Developing partnerships
7.3 Further research and planning
3
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Appendices
1 – Estimated quantities of collected bulky waste in Essex (from M-E-L report)
2 – Categorisation of common items in bulky waste
(including listing of items regularly featuring in collections)
3 – Five different levels of ‘bulky reuse partnerships’ - for increasing reuse/diversion of
both collected bulky waste and CA waste bulky residue – WasteWISE concept diagram
Executive Summary
Currently, all 12 Essex district councils and the 2 neighbouring unitaries – Southend and
Thurrock – all collect household bulky waste in door-to-door collections on request from
the householder.
Of the 12 districts in the Essex County Council area, 9 replied to the ECORRN/
WasteWISE survey late 2004, and 5 districts also provided detailed analysis on their bulky
waste collection quantities.
Information on the 4 councils that did not reply (Brentwood, Chelmsford and Tendring, and
Southend unitary) has been added from their websites and from the previous composition
studies by M-E-L Consultants. Data has also been extrapolated using realistic estimates
for quantities in the councils who did not reply to this recent survey.
Overall, the analysis is that an estimated 6208 tonnes of bulky waste items are currently
collected and buried in landfill sites across Essex, irrespective of the quality or re-usability
of the items.
On top of this, a further estimated 4470 tonnes of undiverted bulky waste items are
deposited by householders, along with other waste, at Essex, Thurrock and Southend
CA Sites and also landfilled, after separation of value items by the site contractors.
Of this 10,678 tonnes of bulky waste, an estimated 2130 tonnes (20%) could be potentially
reused by community groups (or other reuse contractors) and a further 1065 tonnes (10%)
recycled by them, adding to a projected minimum of 3200 tonnes (30%) diversion from
otherwise wasted tonnage. This would yield substantial benefits for Essex communities
socially and economically, as well contribute to each council’s recycling targets.
The majority of councils make charges for collections (Table 6) but a significant number
provide free bulky collections, but several are reviewing this policy. The application of
charging by all councils, preferably on a consistent basis, paired with the development of
community reuse alternatives. would yield a significant reduction of bulky waste going to
landfill.
With over 60% of the above being timber, this will also contribute at least 1600 tonnes to
the challenging future Essex and unitary LATS targets for organic household waste.
Roughly 70,000 Essex fridges were also collected and recycled via Technowaste at
Basildon last year, resulting in an estimated further 3000 tonnes of metal and plastic
recycling.
4
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
This is in addition to significant recycling of metal white goods and other metal by sites
contractors from the CA site element.
This report, combined with quantification study into community groups ability to accept
more items for reuse, provides a consolidated information base for future in depth analysis
by London CRN and ECORRN into bulky waste opportunities in Essex. This analysis will
be a positive step in aiding both councils to reduce their waste going to landfill, and
community organisations to achieve their training, redistribution and environmental aims.
Currently, bulky items are not managed or collected in a way to enable reuse. The system
is based on efficient disposal to landfill. A wide range of (low cost) changes would be
needed from effective information to, and choices by, households, dry storage pre
collection, separation of ‘readily reusable/recyclable’ items from real waste, careful
handling, collection then in appropriate flatbed vehicles not compaction vehicles, delivery
to reuse project, etc. These will be developed in the London CRN consultancy work.
Links to three related detailed Essex bulky waste studies
(1) WasteWISE/MEL also recently undertook a very detailed compositional and seasonal
2004 analysis of bulky waste collections for Thurrock Borough Council, including a
comparison to Crawley - an area with very similar demography and reuse plans. This
study assisted the future development of the Second Generation reuse centre, which
secured approximately £250,000 funding for 2005 to 2007. This report is available on
request and is of particular value to councils/organisations with areas demographically
similar to Thurrock.
The Thurrock report included an analysis of the different levels of ‘bulky reuse
partnerships’ applicable for both collections and CA sites e.g. in Thurrock - Appendix 3.
Staged increased diversion starts with service integration at Level 1, running all the way
up to community reuse projects taking over the whole service – Level 5. This concept
diagram provides the means for assessing the best option for each district/unitary given
the need for ‘different horses for different courses’, and for managing expansion in stages.
(2) We can also share a more detailed 2004/5 study by Community Recycling Services
Ltd of bulky waste diversion opportunities for Braintree District Council and its potential
community recycling/reuse partners.
(3) The ECORRN/WasteWISE research team earlier quantified diversion by the Essex
community projects and charity shops in a further report, and estimated that, among a
total diversion of approximately 10,000 tonnes/year, well over 1000 tonnes of household
furniture and electricals are also reused annually by Essex projects and charities
- see ‘publications’ at www.ecorrn.org.uk.
This research also showed that, while on average Essex reuse projects are medium scale,
they have considerable strengths and resources, and the capacity to expand significantly.
The link with this wider research matters, as the diversion opportunities lie in developing
partnerships between councils and projects/infrastructure with the capacity and
commitment to put sustainable diversion schemes in place.
5
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
1.0 Introduction
This report assesses current practice in household bulky waste collections by districts and
unitaries in Essex and analyses diversion opportunities. It is based on responses from 9
districts, Essex County Council and unitary Thurrock Borough Council.
This is supplemented by parallel analysis of opportunities via CA sites and the recent indepth analysis of Thurrock bulky waste composition. Thurrock has been used due to
previous work on collected bulky waste item composition in the district. This report is
available on request.
This report analyses how much bulky waste that community organisations, in the 14
districts/unitaries in Essex, could potentially need access if local or combined bulky waste
reuse schemes were to be created. Organisations would need to work in partnership with
the local authorities in seeking to maximise reuse of materials from the council’s/ waste
contractor’s bulky waste collection services and extra diversion working with CA site
contractors. This assessment provides a base for three purposes:
Table 1 - Purposes of the report
1 Subsequent analysis on the most practical way of maximising the amount of
household bulky waste that can be diverted from landfill through additional reuse
and/or recycling by the community sector. This could be achieved by implementing
best UK practice and by assessing the transferability of reuse partnerships/contracts
working elsewhere.
2 Making wider recommendations e.g. to improve bulky collection systems and
recording methods (given the limited data available for the current project) or
improving marketing/awareness of reuse opportunities so the public assists increased
reuse.
3 Both councils and reuse projects to separately assess current issues and future
opportunities, tackle obstacles, and then discuss the potential for joined up delivery
and increased diversion to reuse (and so the report has been written for both
audiences).
Furniture and electrical goods are replaced and discarded by households at an everincreasing rate. This occurs, at higher replacement rates in affluent areas, well before the
item has broken or is worn out. Discarded items enter the waste stream, and become a
council responsibility, when they are either:
Table 2 – Routes that bulky waste becomes a council responsibility
A
B
C
Taken by the householder to CA
Collected by district
Fly tipped or dumped
Sites (known in Essex as to Civic
councils as part of their
(*) except in the rarely
Amenity and Recycling Centres)
bulky waste service.
successful prosecution.
(*) includes opportunities from household waste left behind by tenants
Currently the final destination for most items is landfill. This report will assess the
potential of these items to be ‘readily reused/recycled’.
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Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
2.0 Bulky Waste
2.1 What bulky household waste consists of?
Bulky household waste is defined in waste regulations as predominantly household effects
that the householder no longer has a use for and wishes to discard. Setting aside
garden/green and DIY waste, the bulk of this is large items, mainly furniture and electrical
goods that are usually being replaced. Households also store significant quantities of such
items, in between occasional clear outs/home moves.
The six major categories of bulky waste items adopted in this analysis are:
Table 3 – Six major categories adopted for bulky waste analysis
Bulky waste category
Example of items
Hard furniture
Cupboards, tables, chairs, wardrobes, mainly wooden
1
but not exclusively
Soft furniture
Beds and mattresses
2
3
4
5
6
Refrigeration
Fridges and freezers, requiring specialist processing
Large kitchen appliances
(known also as ‘white goods’)
Domestic electronic
equipment
Washing machines, cookers, tumble dryers
Other bulky items
Carpets, garden and external play items
Computers, TV’s, stereos, toasters, vacuum cleaners
See the wide range of bulky waste items categorised in Appendix 1
On electricals, the three way split also mirrors the opportunity for separating each stream,
assisted by the WEEE Directive requirements.
Other items do not enter household waste but reach reuse via furniture projects, charity
shops, second hand sale or exchange, car boot sales, donation to friends and relatives. It
has not been part of this study to quantify reuse of items that do not enter the household
waste stream but this is an essential element in understanding and expanding reuse in
Essex. A previous study carried out by ECORRN quantifies the tonnage of items reused
by the community sector and charity shops – see ‘publications’ at www.ecorrn.org.uk.
2.2 Assumptions in calculating tonnages
Table 4 – Assumptions in calculating tonnages
Items
Average weight (tonnes)
Fridges, freezers and fridge freezers
0.045
White goods
0.032
Other bulky electrical items
0.018
Furniture buly items
0.024
Other bulky
0.023
(All WEEE)
(0.025)
(Bulky items, excluding refrigeration)
(0.030)
Source: Averages based on CRN/FRN ‘Measure your Treasure’ weights / item categories.
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Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
3.0 Bulky waste collection stages
As with most local authorities, Essex districts and unitaries currently offer a fairly traditional
bulky waste service where large items are collected from households on request and the
districts charge varying amounts and set different collection policies (Table 6)
Across Essex, separately collected fridges and in the case of Uttlesford, white goods and
larger electrical items, are sent for recycling. Virtually all other bulky waste, including
items collected in mixed loads, and hard/soft furniture etc., are currently sent for direct
disposal to landfill.
There is very little evidence of reuse in Essex once material enters household waste.
Some districts, Colchester, Maldon, Thurrock and Uttlesford actively refer residents to the
local reuse groups in their area. Reuse has, arguably, been neglected in national policy
until recent announcements re: reuse of WEEE, plans for new reuse credits etc.
3.1 Stages in Households Obtaining Bulky Collection - Detailed Look at Five Stages
It is important to understand current collection processes as a base for any changes, and
for better combining the objectives and collections of both councils and community
reuse/recycling groups.
Stage 1: Resident has item to dispose of and chooses between two options if they
require ‘disposal’ – delivery to CA site or collection by district council
The resident decides to dispose of the bulky item.
Their alternative is to take the unwanted item to the nearest CA site. For the 19% of
households in Essex without a car or van this is not normally an option readily open to
them (2001 census figures).
Another deciding factor for the resident is whether they feel they can afford (or more often
want to pay) the collections fees set by districts. Some Councils - Basildon, Harlow,
Rochford and Uttlesford – currently provide collections for free, which provides little
incentive on households to reuse, or value their unwanted item. Understandably, many
Councils offer reduced charges or free collection to pensioners those on benefit. Table 6
shows the charging to residents of each district in Essex.
The alternate option for the resident is to take the item directly to a local reuse
organisation. This has its limitations transferring goods, locating organisations and the
current countywide lack of reuse awareness, being addressed at least initially by the
current joint council/ECORRN awareness campaign. Information quality for households
needs to be significantly improved and be consistent, with the same information provided
by both councils and reuse groups.
Stage 2: Resident contacts council or waste/client department if they require
collection of bulky item(s)
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Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Households can contact their council office call centre or contractor call centre (Table 5),
at the office either by phone or by completing an application form. Either the contact
centre or waste/client department informs the resident of the options available. Some may
refer the resident to a possible reuse organisation but often only if they ask.
Essex district council websites are generally more informative on average than typical
council sites but more can be learnt and ‘best practice’ adopted, including Castle Point’s
online booking form and Chelmsford’s effective summary of the service and charging, and
referrals to alternative reuse organisations/charity shops.
Stage 3: Call centre informs resident of options, obtains payment and arranges
collection time/details
Households confirm requirements, and Council (or sometimes contractor) then book and
process the job details and passes them on to the relevant collection crew, which is either
an in-house Direct Services Organisation (DSO) or waste contractor (Table 5).
Data management is a key issue here, and the development of IT based systems which
guide all staff, and also enable the managed increase of viable reuse/recycling.
Stage 4: Collection of the item and handling on to vehicle
As shown by council responses (Table 5), in Essex’s case a large amount of collections
are made with caged vehicles or box vehicles with 2 to 3 staff. What is un stated however
is the % collected in compaction vehicles As long as the items are handled with care,
using the appropriate vehicles and handling, most will be in a suitable state for
ready/potential reuse, or to be recycled. The use of boxed vehicles is preferable, as
identified in national guidance prepared for DEFRA by Network Recycling, as this would
prevent water damage due to rain, a problem that materials in caged vehicles suffer.
A key issue is the unquantified proportion of bulky waste collected locally by compaction
refuse freighters – and immediately rendered unreusable/unrecyclable. Potentially
reusable items are being destroyed even before they reach landfill, which would be
averted by both district-led separation, and were the county council to require effective
separation as a pre-condition to accepting worthless bulky waste at landfill.
Stage 5: Delivery of bulky item direct to its final recycling/landfill destination, or
bulking up/ transhipment via temporary storage
Since January 2002, all fridge/freezers are separated and recycled due to the legal
requirement to remove Ozone Depleting Substances from refrigeration equipment. The
success in effective separation, and the systems set up to achieve this, show what can
also be achieved for each other category in Table 3
Apart from refrigeration equipment, current separation is limited:
- only 1 out of the 9 district councils surveyed currently recycles white goods
- 1 out of the 9 reuses some furniture, and
- 1 out of the 9 recycles or reuses other bulky waste.
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Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
The London CRN consultancy will follow up ECORRN investigations, expanding the
research, and assessing barriers/opportunities. The other side of the coin, in reducing
residual bulky waste, is the need to have more reuse/recycling infrastructure – for the
community sector facilities to expand and be taken to their economically sustainable limit,
and for other options to be considered to assist this succeed and complement this change.
Currently, the system is based on efficient disposal to landfill. A wide range of (low cost)
changes would be needed from effective information to, and choices by, households, dry
storage pre-collection, separation of ‘readily reusable/recyclable’ items from real waste,
careful handling, collection then in appropriate flatbed vehicles not compaction vehicles,
delivery to reuse project, etc. These will be developed in the London CRN research study.
4.0 Bulky Waste Collections in Essex
Table 5 – Current bulky collection methods and staffing
Number of full time
Who books in
employees on
District requests?
Current vehicle used
bulky collections
Basildon
Contact Centre
Box vans and any of 11
different freighters
(compaction vehicles)
Unanswered
Brentwood
Contact Centre
Braintree
Contact Centre
Castle Point
Chelmsford
Contact Centre
1 box vehicle with tail lift
for refrigeration, 1 freighter 2 staff 3 days/week
No permanent
1 caged, 1 freighter
collectors
Contact Centre
Colchester
Customer Service
Centre
1 freighter
S Herts Waste
Epping Forest admin team
Harlow
Central call centre 1 freighter
Maldon
Contractor
Unanswered
Rochford
Southend
Tendring
Thurrock
Uttlesford
Automated service
– refuse dept
Cory admin team
Onyx admin team
Cleanaway
admin team
Environmental
services admin.
team
2
2
Unanswered
1 caged for metal
1 freighter for furniture
1 caged, 1 freighter
1 caged (white goods)
Rest in any of 11
freighters
3
Unanswered
10
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
4.1 Demand for bulky waste collections in Essex
The demand for bulky waste collections in Essex varies from district to district. Key factors
in the quantity of bulky waste collection requests are the level of district charges, the
proximity of CA sites to the resident, and whether they have a car. The largest number of
collections per household occurs where districts offer a free service. Table 6 lists the
current collection charges in Essex.
Table 6 – Bulky waste collection charges
Local
Authority
Basildon
FREE
£12
£15
£20
£21£25
£27
£37
£40
£45
Quoted
Free up
to 5 items
Braintree
Up
to 12
Each
f/f
Brentwood
Castle Point
Quoted
each
time
OAP’s 2
items
per yr
Up
to 5
Chelmsford
£18
Up
to 6
Colchester
Each
white
good
Up
to 5
Epping
Forest
Harlow
Up
to 3
Southend
Tendring
Per
trip
Up
to 10
Up
to
15
Run by
S Herts
Waste
For
each
f/f
Free up
to 3 items
per 3
months
Left to
contractor
Left to
contractor
Thurrock
Uttlesford
Up
to 7
Free up
to 3 items
Maldon
Rochford
Higher
amounts
quoted
Up to
3
Up
to 10
Quoted
by Onyx
Quoted
by Cory
> 10
All free,
no limit
11
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
The Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 state that a reasonable payment for collection can
be levied on bulky household items, but there is no guidance as to how to set this charge.
In Essex, very few districts charge the same. Different committees have reached different
conclusions over the years, and member influence has been a significant factor. In cases
of free service, there is no defined rationale for the charging regime. It will generally have
occurred due to being based on delivering a service (to reduce fly-tipping) rather than a
managing a diversion project to reduce landfill.
It would be easier for Councils to market their service together if they shared the same
pricing scale and this would also make it much easier for the general public to understand.
If there were to be effective 121 links made with local community reuse organisations,
there could also be an agreement between the local authority and the organisation to what
share of the collection charge/current bulky collection and disposal budgets goes to which
party, and also covering wider joint issues.
What would be essential would be for the costs of collection by a community organisation
to be covered (e.g. transport costs, administration etc) if any scheme involving reuse
organisations in diverting more bulky waste were agreed. This could be achieved by
agreement, for example, by forwarding a percentage or a fixed amount of the charge to the
householder.
To achieve the successful introduction of a community organisation in bulky waste
collection, there needs to be no loss of service/so noticeable change is positive for the
household. Therefore, there should often be no immediate change to the collection
charges to the public, unless explained by councils for wider reasons.
In Basildon, Harlow, Rochford and Uttlesford, where collection is currently free for the first
specified number of items, there would need to be an alternative method for the reuse
organisation collection costs to be covered e.g. transfer of budget saving, or a new
charging arrangement would need to be implemented. Another element, for the
organisation achieving more items for reuse, may be that the Councils could pass over any
recycling credits gained from the bulky collection for items that turned out to not be
reusable.
Thought should also be given by the districts giving the option of ‘7 items or more’ to
reducing this, thus decreasing the amount of waste being collected. From our research in
Thurrock, there was clear evidence that this type of charging results in ‘pooling’ – where
households share the charge and arrange a single collection. This is definitely not
assisting in waste diversion/reduction.
Table 7 identifies the current vehicle trips made to collect bulky waste from households in
Essex. All analysis presupposes that each household has only made one request in the
year analysed (2003/04). In reality it is likely that some houses never use the service and
others that use it more than once a year.
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Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Table 7 – Analysis of collections trips made in Essex – 2003/04
Number of households in
district (2001 census)
72,095
56,790
30,182
35,461
66,110
66,403
52,125
34,019
25,323
33,180
70,000
63,751
61,018
28,965
* Basildon
Braintree
Brentwood
Castle Point
Chelmsford
Colchester
Epping Forest
* Harlow
Maldon
* Rochford
Southend
Tendring
Thurrock
* Uttlesford
Number of collections in
2003/04
19,000
4,000
1,811
1,905
3,967
1,300
4,000
18,200
780
7,000
4,200
3,825
3,591
7,700
Collections per
household per year
0.3
0.07
0.06
0.05
0.06
0.02
0.08
0.5
0.03
0.2
0.06
0.06
0.08
0.3
Numbers in black are actual figures. * Districts with free collections. These have been
omitted in extrapolating districts to the four non-reply councils as none of these ‘unknowns’
provide a free service. The numbers in red are estimated using averages from charging
councils.
Graph 1 uses the information in Table 7 for 2003/04 to estimate how often the average
household requests a bulky collection.
Overall it suggests that while some households depend on the service, and use it fairly
frequently, most Essex households rarely or commonly never use it.
Uttlesford
Thurrock
Tendring
Southend
Rochford
Maldon
Harlow
Epping
Forest
Colchester
Chelmsford
Castle
Point
Brentwood
Braintree
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Basildon
Years
Frequency that households in Essex districts are estimated to require a bulky waste
collection - the overall average is once every 8 years
District
The Districts that offer a free service have the highest rate of requests.
13
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Harlow offers a free service for up to three items but does not appear to have such a large
amount of collection requests. This could be due to Harlow being a small district with a
fairly concentrated population. People with a car, are therefore not far from the Temple
Bank CA Site.
Colchester has the lowest demand for collections. Colchester charges for white goods
separately at £12 and only offers up to 5 items at £21.54. This could be an indicator as to
the best charging method. It may also be related to CA site usage.
4.2 The impact of charging rates
The relation of charging to the number of collection trips/requests is shown in Graph 2. It
is clear that there is strong correlation between the two where Basildon, that has the
highest demand, also charges the lowest amount.
Irregularities in the correlation occur in Thurrock (with householders opting to take their
items to the CA Site); in Braintree (perhaps due to it giving an option for 12 items); and
Castle Point (again due to increased use of local CA Site).
Graph 2
12
10
8
6
4
2
Basildon
Harlow
Uttlesford
Rochford
Thurrock
Epping
Forest
Braintree
Castle
Point
Colchester
0
Maldon
demand/charge rating
Correlation between demand for bulky waste collection and method of
charging
District
Number of collections (1 = highest demand)
Charging (1 = lowest charge)
4.3 Quantities of bulky waste collected by Essex districts/unitaries 2003/04
A detailed look at districts with available data.
Each Essex district offers a bulky waste collection to its residents. In surveying the 14 the
districts, only 5 were able to provide detailed information (and therefore have detailed
processed records/analysis) on the tonnages of bulky waste their service collected.
This shows the need for districts to improve data collection/recording and begin effective
14
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
recording so improvements can be made and tonnages to landfill reduced. Table 8 shows
the number of items/tonnages of bulky waste collected by the 5 providing detailed data.
All
other
bulky
Number
of items
Tonnage
TOTAL
Fridges /
Freezers
Item
type
Table 8 – Districts that provided detailed bulky waste figures
Quantity Braintree
Castle
Rochford
Thurrock
Point
Number
1,333
1476
1,967
1,821
of items
Tonnage
60
66
62
82
Number
of items
Tonnage
Uttlesford
2,322
116
5,806
6384
-
9,393
15,000
174
192
-
282
450
7,139
7860
-
11,214
17,322
234
258
-
364
566
Where tonnages were not supplied, they have been calculated using the coefficients listed
in Table 4. The figure for fridges and freezers in Rochford includes all WEEE, hence the
tonnage calculation takes this into account.
4.4 Comparative data from recent wider recent M-E-L studies
A recent detailed bulky waste composition analysis/comparison carried out by M-E-L/
WasteWISE in Thurrock and Crawley (West Sussex), as well as in Greenwich (SE
London), provides Graphs 7 and 8, breakdowns of the bulky waste items collected. From
comparing these with overall Essex breakdowns (Graphs 3 – 6), there is relative
consistency in the percentage of refrigeration against the percentage of other bulky waste.
The range of Essex refrigeration composition is from 13% to about 20%, with the lowest in
Greenwich and Uttlesford and the highest in the Crawley/Thurrock comparison. From
these figures it is possible to estimate an average Essex breakdown of bulky waste at 17%
refrigeration and 83% other bulky. Using these estimates, it is also possible to predict
some further breakdowns for the districts in Essex that were unable to supply complete
information (graphs 9 and 10) and detailed provide results for 7 districts.
Graph 7 also provides a good guide to the likely split of wider bulky waste composition
across Essex districts and unitaries who charge - though a further split between hard and
soft furniture is acknowledged as a useful next step.
The quality of material collected by councils offering a free service is lower on average, as
people use the free service (and arguably abuse the free service) to also dispose of
rubbish they would find other means to dispose of. There is also sometimes a thin line
between collections of bulky waste and flytipped material, with both ending up in the same
vehicle.
15
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Graphs (3 – 6) – Breakdown of bulky waste in 4 districts in Essex – refrigeration and other
bulky items
Castle Point
Braintree
19%
19%
81%
Thurrock
Uttlesford
13%
16%
81%
84%
Refrigeration
87%
Other Bulky items
Graph 7
Percentage split from a detailed analysis of bulky waste
collections - average of Thurrock and Crawley (West
Sussex) 2003/04
22%
26%
7%
5%
Refrigeration
White Goods
Other Electrical
Furniture
Other Bulky
40%
Graph 8
Percentage split from a detailed analysis of bulky waste
collections in Greenwich 2003
35%
13%
9%
4%
Refrigeration
White goods
Other electrical
Furniture
Other bulky
39%
16
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Graph 9
Actual and estimated number of bulky waste items collected
by 7 Essex districts 2003/04
Number of items
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Harlow
Uttlesford
Rochford
Thurrock
Castle
Point
Braintree
Maldon
District
Refrigeration
Other bulky
Using the tonnage conversions in Table 4, it is possible to convert these estimates into
tonnes.
Graph 10 shows these tonnages and the actual tonnages from the surveys.
Graph 10
Actual and estimated tonnes of bulky waste collected
by 7 Essex districts in Essex 2003/04
800
700
Tonnes
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Harlow
Braintree
Uttlesford
Rochford
Thurrock
Castle
Point
Maldon
District
Refrigeration
Other bulky
17
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Fridges make up a significant percentage of the collected bulky waste stream in all the
districts. The quantity of fridges has been consistently high since the EU regulations on
Ozone Depleting Substances took effect. Householders often have no other options and
retailers have effectively have passed this cost on to the councils, by ending most takeback. Reuse groups would be more willing to test/refurbish these items if councils would
agree to accept un-reusable ones back.
Using these known and estimated quantities, per household, it is also possible to estimate
the breakdown for districts that did not reply to the survey or did not have the data to
supply (Graphs 11 and 12).
Graph 11
Actual and estimated items of bulky waste collected
by Essex district - 2003/04
Number of items
40000
30000
20000
10000
Number of Fridges/freezers
Brentwood
Maldon
Braintree
Epping
Forest
Castle Point
District
Thurrock
Rochford
Tendring
Chelmsford
Colchester
Southend
Uttlesford
Harlow
Basildon
0
Number of other bulky
Some of these figures are estimates, but useful nevertheless to assist an overall
countywide modelling of volumes and opportunities.
18
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Graph 12
Final actual and estimated tonnes of waste from bulky
waste collections by districts in Essex 2003/04
1200
Tonnes
1000
800
600
400
Brentwood
Maldon
Braintree
Castle Point
Thurrock
Rochford
Tendring
Chelmsford
Colchester
Southend
Uttlesford
Harlow
Basildon
0
Epping Forest
200
District
Tonnes of Friges/freezers
Tonnes of other bulky items
As with Graph 11, some of these figures are estimates, but useful to assist an overall
countywide modelling of volumes and opportunities. Appendix 1 shows overall M-E-L
modelled estimates on the quantities of bulky waste in Essex.
Table 9 details the estimated amount of furniture and WEEE in the bulky waste collections
for each council, an essential means to assist 1-2-1 partnerships between councils and
local reuse projects, and for wider analysis e.g. the case for central /shared reuse centres,
combinations with CA sites etc.
Using the detailed analysis of Thurrock/Crawley and Greenwich, it is also possible to
predict that a substantial percentage of ‘other bulky items’ is furniture (average 39.5% of
total) and other WEEE (average 12.5%).
Table 9 shows the estimated total quantity of the three most interesting categories of bulky
waste collected by each district in Essex. In addition to these totals, a further 3873 tonnes
across Essex does not fall into these 3 categories (examples of these other items may be
seen in Appendix 2). These items will generally be less predictable in terms of reusability
but may have higher potential for recycling.
19
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Table 9 – Breakdown of items in Essex districts
Refrigeration
Furniture
WEEE
(excl. refrigeration)
District
Quantity Tonnes Quantity Tonnes Quantity Tonnes
7123
321
12291
295
3890
97
Basildon
3552
160
6850
164
2168
54
Harlow
2322
104
5925
142
1872
47
Uttlesford
2380
107
4590
110
1453
36
Southend
2258
102
4354
104
1378
34
Colchester
2248
101
4335
104
1372
34
Chelmsford
2168
98
4180
100
1323
33
Tendring
1967
89
3794
91
1201
30
Rochford
1821
82
3710
89
1174
29
Thurrock
1772
80
3418
82
1082
27
Epping Forest
Castle Point
1476
66
2522
61
798
20
Braintree
1333
60
2293
54
726
18
1133
51
2186
52
692
17
Maldon
1026
46
1979
47
626
16
Brentwood
32,579 1466 27,280
653
8631
215
TOTAL
68,490 items
Total quantity
2334 tonnes
Total tonnes
4.6 Achievable diversion of household bulky waste
Not all of the bulky waste collected through district bulky waste collections will be reusable,
some will be too worn out to be reused. For example, much currently may have been left
out in the rain for collection and will have to be recycled or disposed of.
Table 10 identifies a six stage process for recovering value and reducing bulky waste,
whether collected by councils or delivered by the public to CA sites (given that waste
reduction is not an option at this stage).
A key issue is the effective streaming of material as it is collected, with a clear focus on
‘readily reusable/reusable’. Such items must be in resaleable condition, or easy to recover
to that point. Much as people may hope that a missing chair leg can be fixed, the reality is
that the cost and hassle will generally prevent it being anything other than a timber
recycling opportunity. Such choices need to be swift and brutal.
Reuse will usually be the preferred environmental option, including over recycling,
provided it is practical, financially deliverable and properly managed, including swift
resale/redistribution given very limited storage facilities, and the high overheads they
involve. Given their current success in waste diversion, it is acknowledged that a high
percentage of bulky waste still available at CA Sites is made up of ‘potentially’ rather than
‘readily reusable’ bulky household items.
20
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Table 10 – Applying the waste hierarchy ladder to bulky waste
- staged approach for maximising recovery and reducing waste
‘Readily
Stage 1
Minimal
reusable’
Can be reused/resold with nil or negligible extra effort
resource
use
‘Potentially
Stage 2
Resource
reusable’
Clearly require extra effort - refurbish, repair and then
dependent
sell/transfer them
‘Readily
Stage 3
Minimal
recyclable’
Easy to separate materials like metals and
resource
uncontaminated wood
use
‘Potentially
Stage 4
Resource
recyclable’
Require disassembly or reclaim to enable materials
dependent
recycling
Stage 5
Treat and remove hazardous components in the remaining residue
Stage 6
Dispose of the remaining non-hazardous residue
This report therefore focuses particularly on the district collections made from households,
which are considered to offer greater opportunities for increased diversion, including a
significant ‘readily reusable’ fraction. There will, however be items that will fall into any
one of the other 5 categories of bulky item streams in Table 3.
Various studies have attempted to quantify and categorise bulky waste collected from
households around the country. The Liverpool-based Furniture Resource Centre (FRC)
are a project that are contracted to carry out all bulky waste collections for Liverpool City
Council, and have also taken over collections for nearby Halton Borough Council. FRC
continue to achieve a reuse / recycling figure above 32% from the bulky waste collected, in
areas less affluent than all Essex districts, and significantly less affluent than the majority.
As demonstrated by FRC, at least 30% of all bulky waste collected can be reused or
recycled, particularly collected/non-CA items. The following estimated figures in this report
are calculated based on that achievable 30% diversion rate. It is believed that two thirds
of this figure is reusable (level 1-2 in Table 10) and one third recyclable (level 3 and
potentially 4). It should be noted that factors that are likely to be of influence the local
diversion quality figure include: socio-economics; car ownership; access to Civic Amenity
sites; and public attitudes to waste. There is also a large amount of ‘attic waste’ in Essex,
material stored by households that is also ‘readily reusable/reusable’.
In addition to the throughput tonnes in Table 9, Table 11 provides critical data to assist in
modelling the scale of potential community reuse/recycling facilities needed, and to assist
in income projections. All fridges currently go to Technowaste and that is expected to be
the subject of a separate study.
Constant coefficients have been used in this analysis, but it recognised that the ‘readily
reusable/recyclable’ %s will vary across the different categories.
21
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Table 11 – Estimated reusable and recyclable fraction
of bulky waste collections in 2003/04 (tonnes)
Divertable
Refrigeration WEEE
Furniture
Other
to…
bulky
Reuse
64.2
19.4
59
108.2
Basildon
Recycling
32.1
9.7
29.5
54.1
Total
96.3
29.1
88.5
162.3
Harlow
Reuse
32
10.8
32.8
60.4
Recycling
16
5.4
16.4
30.2
Total
48
16.2
49.2
90.6
Reuse
20.8
9.4
28.4
52.2
Uttlesford
Recycling
10.4
4.7
14.2
26.1
Total
31.2
14.1
42.6
78.3
Reuse
21.4
7.2
22
40.6
Southend
Recycling
10.7
3.6
11
20.3
Total
32.1
10.8
33
60.9
20.4
6.8
20.8
38.6
Colchester Reuse
Recycling
10.2
3.4
10.4
19.3
Total
30.6
10.2
31.2
57.9
Chelmsford Reuse
20.2
6.8
20.8
38.2
Recycling
10.1
3.4
10.4
19.1
Total
30.3
10.2
31.2
57.3
Tendring
Reuse
19.6
6.6
20
36.8
Recycling
9.8
3.3
10
18.4
Total
29.4
9.9
30
55.2
Rochford
Reuse
17.8
6
18.2
33.4
Recycling
8.9
3
9.1
16.7
Total
26.7
9
27.3
50.1
Thurrock
Reuse
16.4
5.8
17.8
32.8
Recycling
8.2
2.9
8.9
16.4
Total
24.6
8.7
26.7
49.2
Epping
Reuse
16
5.4
16.4
30.2
Forest
Recycling
8
2.7
8.2
15.1
Total
24
8.1
24.6
45.3
Castle
Reuse
13.2
4
12.2
22.2
Point
Recycling
6.6
2
6.1
11.1
Total
19.8
6
18.3
33.3
Braintree
Reuse
12
3.6
10.8
20.4
Recycling
6
1.8
5.4
10.2
Total
18
5.4
16.2
30.6
Maldon
Reuse
10.2
3.4
10.4
19.4
Recycling
5.1
1.7
5.2
9.7
Total
15.3
5.1
15.6
29.1
Brentwood Reuse
9.2
3.2
9.4
17.4
Recycling
4.6
1.6
4.7
8.7
Total
13.8
4.8
14.1
26.1
TOTAL
440.1
147.6
448.5
826.2
Total
250.8
125.4
376.2
136
68
204
110.8
55.4
166.2
91.2
45.6
136.8
86.6
43.3
129.9
86
43
129
83
41.5
124.5
75.4
37.7
113.1
72.8
36.4
109.2
68
34
102
51.6
25.8
77.4
46.8
23.4
70.2
43.4
21.7
65.1
39.2
19.
58.8
1862.4
22
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
From Table 11, it is possible to see that there is large potential for increased reuse of
furniture, WEEE, and refrigeration. Much is potentially divertible locally as most (but not
all) districts in Essex have viable furniture reuse projects and or hospice/charity shops that
reuse/redistribute/resell furniture. Several also reuse WEEE, after function/PAT testing.
The category ‘other bulky’ may have a smaller reusable fraction than average as it
includes a range of household/garden items and often also includes parts of items or items
that are non-standard, some of which may not be easily reused (for the range of items see
Appendix 2). There will, however, be compensating scope for a larger % of recycling from
this category. The split here may reverse (20% recycled, 10% reused).
5.0 Civic Amenity and Recycling Centres
(shortened to ‘CA site’ below)
There is further potential for reuse of bulky waste from items that are taken to CA sites in
Essex. A recent study, carried out by M-E-L measured the amount of residual bulky waste
landfilled from CA Sites in 9 districts in Essex. Graph 13 shows the total estimated tonnes
of bulky waste (using averages from figures of one month in the winter and one in the
summer, multiplied up) and Table 12 shows the CA Site estimated further
reusable/recyclable tonnes for a year. Harlow and Tendring show the least bulky waste
delivered to their Sites. Harlow also has a significant quantity of bulky waste collected
from door-to-door collections (Graphs 9 and 10).
Graph 13
Total tonnage of bulky waste residue at CA Sites in Essex
(from M-E-L research)
250
Tonnes
200
150
100
50
Tendring
Harlow
Brentwood
Colchester
Epping
Forest
Rochford
Southend
Chelmsford
Basildon
0
CA and R Centre
WEEE
Furniture
Other
Source: Figures taken from M-E-L Report for Essex CC 2004
23
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Table 12 – Total CA Site bulky waste quantities
Potentially Potentially
Total
CA Site
reusable
recyclable
tonnage
Pitsea, Basildon
519
104
52
Drovers Way, Chelmsford
463
93
46
Stock Road, Southend
402
80
40
Rayleigh, Rochford
329
66
33
Luxborough Lane, Epping Forest
323
65
32
Shrub End, Colchester
316
63
32
Coxtie Green, Brentwood
231
46
23
Temple Bank, Harlow
137
27
14
Rush Green, Tendring*
148*
30*
15*
TOTAL TONNES
2868
574
287
Total
potential
156
139
120
99
97
95
69
41
45*
861
Source: Figures taken from M-E-L Report for Essex CC 2004
*Results appear too low. No furniture was recorded for the analysed month, so it is likely
that there may be issues with this data – as furniture was not counted during the summer
month analysed.
Graph 14 – Detailed CA Site analysis - bulky waste breakdown for 9 sites in Essex
WEEE
Furniture
WINTER - Drovers Way,
Chelmsford
Other bulky
SUMMER - Drovers Way,
Chelmsford
0.95
(2%)
8.55
(33%)
9.04
(34%)
23.03
(45%)
27.51
(53%)
8.55
(33%)
WINTER - Shrub End,
Colchester
3.55
(14%)
SUMMER - Shrub End,
Colchester
6.73
(25%)
7.91
(30%)
11.37
(44%)
10.91
(42%)
12.06
(45%)
24
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
WEEE
Furniture
WINTER - Rush Green,
Tendring
4.31
(20%)
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Other bulky
*SUMMER - Rush Green,
Tendring
0.85
(28%)
9.91
(45%)
0%
7.55
(35%)
WINTER - Rayleigh, Rochford
2.18
(72%)
SUMMER - Rayleigh, Rochford
6.41
(17%)
6.44
(39%)
7.98
(49%)
17.32
(45%)
14.75
(38%)
WINTER - Pitsea, Basildon
1.97
(12%)
SUMMER - Pitsea, Basildon
6.06
(18%)
6.64
(14%)
11.39
(34%)
21.68
(45%)
19.38
(41%)
16.41
(48%)
25
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
WINTER - Stock Road,
Southend
SUMMER - Stock Road,
Southend
4.6
(9%)
21.33
(42%)
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
1.03
(6%)
4.35
(26%)
24.61
(49%)
WINTER - Coxtie Green,
Brentwood
0.2
(1%)
11.06
(68%)
SUMMER - Coxtie Green,
Brentwood
2.29
(9%)
2.49
(20%)
5.56
(43%)
23.3
(90%)
4.69
(37%)
WINTER - Temple Bank,
Harlow
SUMMER - Temple Bank,
Harlow
0.96
(5%)
9.84
(35%)
2.96
(17%)
14.02
(50%)
4.37
(15%)
WINTER - Luxborough Lane,
Epping Forest
7.88
(28%)
13.85
(78%)
SUMMER - Luxborough Lane,
Epping Forest
2.26
(9%)
10.24
(40%)
11.48
(44%)
17.67
(63%)
4.00
(16%)
26
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Eight out of the nine CA sites follow the sequence that more bulky waste delivered during
the winter months (after Christmas/January sales, many people replace major household
items) than in the summer months (when many people are on holiday more than spending
time on major purchases). The only CA Site not to follow this pattern is the one analysed
by M-E-L in Tendring, where the results appear to be in error (perhaps problems occurred
in recording) as there is no furniture measured in this month. There is little consistency
across CA sites on bulky waste composition or in seasonality. A number of factors (car
ownership, accessibility to site, etc.) will affect the use of the CA Sites and also
composition, combining differently for specific sites.
6.0 Total potential tonnage diversion
The following analysis combines data sourced for both Essex door-to-door bulky
collections and CA Site bulky waste and is shown graphically in Graph 15.
Table 13 – Total potential tonnages that could be saved from landfill
Deliverable
Extra diversion
Total extra
diversion from doorprojected from
diversion from
District
to-door collections
CA Sites
landfill
Basildon
376
156
532
Braintree
70
96 (ave) #
Brentwood
59
69
Castle Point
77
96 (ave)
Chelmsford
129
139
Colchester
130
95
Epping Forest
102
97
Harlow
204
41
Maldon
65
96 (ave)
Rochford
113
99
Southend
137
120
Tendring
125
*45
Thurrock
109
96 (ave)
Uttlesford
166
96 (ave)
1862
1341
Total
166
128
173
268
225
199
245
161
212
257
*170
205
262
3203
# - CA average from M-E-L survey also applied to CA sites in districts not covered by
M-E-L compositional analysis.
*As stated previously, Tendring result appears too low. In total there are 4 CA sites in
Tendring, so actual figure will be higher than average Essex district, notwithstanding local
factors such as relative deprivation of most of Tendring etc.
27
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Graph 15 - Potential annual tonnages to be diverted to
reuse/recycling - for each Essex district
600
500
Tonnes
400
300
200
100
Uttlesford
Thurrock
Tendring
Southend
Rochford
Maldon
Harlow
Epping
Forrest
Colchester
Chelmsford
Castle Point
Brentwood
Braintree
Basildon
0
District
Total potential diversion from CA and R Centre
Total potential diversion from door-to-door collections
7.0 Conclusions
To summarise, the potential for reusing a larger quantity of Essex bulky waste in is high.
In each district there are hundreds of tonnes of furniture, fridges, washing machines, that
are being sent to landfill, many in good, working/reusable condition,. It is important to
recognise the combined benefits of reuse of these potential tonnages.
7.1 Reuse – wider benefits of taking bulky waste out of landfill
Reuse is worth more effort, combining the agendas of different sectors, and combining the
complementary objectives of different council departments. This is enhanced by changes
such as the favouring of reuse in the WEEE directive, and the likelihood of reuse credits
coming into effect nationally in the near future.
Table – 14 The triple bottom line
Environmental
Less landfill space filled
Economic
Local economies can
benefit, including in less
affluent areas
Less energy used than in
disposal/recycling
Greater economic
efficiency in reduced use
Social
Families/ individuals/
communities/
businesses can benefit
from affordable furniture
Jobs are created for
manual/skilled workers
28
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Less manufacture of virgin
materials
Other environmental
impacts e.g. global warming
reduced.
of raw materials, and less
expense in buying reused
than in buying brand new
Less expense than in
disposal or reprocessing
Reuse of bulky waste can
become self supporting
with proper management
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Training and job
opportunities are
available for those who
find it hard to get work or
training (e.g. people with
learning difficulties, exprisoners & other
groups)
Opportunities for
community volunteering
7.2 Developing partnerships
In improving performance, the most important factor to be addressed is then to develop
effective dialogue and equal partnership between the district councils and local or
potentially new reuse organisations. In a majority of Essex districts (Harlow, Epping
Forest, Rochford, Uttlesford, Thurrock, Maldon, Tendring, Southend) the bulky waste
collections are managed by waste contractors. These districts would have to create clear
three-way agreements for successful diversion of bulky waste. CA Site contractors also
have contracts and need to be included in plans for increased diversion.
For Essex to manage and implement successful bulky waste reuse schemes, it will be
beneficial for projects to be defined on a district-to-district basis, rather than a simplistic
‘one size fits all’ countywide approach. The three fairly recent ‘waste strategy areas’ also
assist as building blocks in expanding reuse and diversion.
Districts that have strong reuse groups will be ideal initial project areas, where there will be
less need for complex new and/or partnership arrangements.
Different solutions will be appropriate in different parts of Essex, and it is also useful to trial
and develop alternatives, as there are few models to follow in equivalent UK councils.
Appendix 3 shows the various partnership alternatives for increase both bulky waste and
CA site items reuse, starting with service integration at Level 1, and running in stages all
the way up to community reuse projects taking over the whole service – Level 5. This
concept diagram provides the means for assessing the best option for each Essex
district/unitary/strategy area, and for managing expansion in stages.
For this start to be achieved, these districts will often need to improve the quality of their
data with regards to bulky waste. There is, currently, a lack of data on both the quantities
of waste arising and on what quantity of this waste is ‘readily reusable’ – the opportunity
for a greater understanding of the nature of bulky waste. The approach of Thurrock,
Crawley and Greenwich is a step forward in recording each item collected electronically for
data analysis, a process that could be emulated by all districts in Essex.
29
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
This will be assisted by further developments of the county and unitary management of
disposal e.g. separate recording of bulky waste and bulky residue tonnages to landfill.
Districts councils that have not taken advantage of linking within themselves, with their
housing and social services departments, would also benefit from doing so. These
departments are involved in house clearances, where many good quality items are
collected and often sent to landfill. These departments also work with ‘needy families’ and
could provide opportunity in increasing market demand, an issue that is also important to
address.
7.3 Further research and planning
In furthering a bulky waste reuse partnership, research into the optimum future
arrangements, expanding retail/redistribution, and market development are necessary to
avoid risks of market saturation for some of the reuse organisations involved. Plans need
to be made for creating new markets.
This may include shifting items from affluent postcodes to more deprived postcodes and
the targeting of items that are more ‘sellable’. This will include assessing both the facilities
and funding held by the group, potential for districts to aid in renting of facilities or storage,
as well as realising the prime aims of the reuse organisation. All of the reuse
organisations in Essex focus on providing for social needs and this focus cannot be lost.
It will also be important for London CRN to extend the research and to target gaps e.g. the
understanding key aspects like reusable material in the residue being delivered to landfill
from CA Sites. There is also greater opportunity to engage the support of the public if they
know collected items are going to a ‘good cause’ e.g. their stored and currently wasted
‘attic waste’ can often be of better quality than items collected in door-to-door collections.
Overall, having a system that operates more transparently, with full analysis and focus,
and with increased consistent diversion quality across Essex will maximise the opportunity
for councils to reduce their waste, and achieve their LATS and recycling targets.
It will also enable community, training and reuse organisations to achieve much more in
the future on their social aims.
30
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
Appendices 1 to 3
A recent analysis of Essex’s entire household waste stream by M-E-L estimated the
following quantities of bulky waste in each district. The methodology in this analysis was
to adopt the national average that bulky waste comprises around 2% of the total municipal
waste stream.
APPENDIX 1 – OVERALL ESTIMATED BULKY WASTE TONNAGES (M-E-L)
M-E-L Report - Estimated quantities of collected bulky waste in
Essex
2500
1500
1000
500
Ba ck
si
ld
Br on
Ep ain
tr
pi
ng ee
Fo
re
Te st
nd
rin
g
R
oc
hf
C
or
as
tle d
Po
in
U
t
ttl
es
fo
C
rd
he
lm
sf
or
So
d
ut
he
Br
n
en d
tw
oo
d
M
al
do
C
n
ol
ch
es
te
r
ur
ro
Th
ar
lo
w
0
H
Tonnes
2000
District
31
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
APPENDIX 2 – CATEGORISATION OF COMMON BULKY ITEMS
Furniture
(hard)
Furniture
(soft)
Garden
items
Table
Chair
Storage/wall unit
Coffee table
Shelving
Wardrobe
Cupboard
Filing cabinet
Chest of drawers
Bedside cabinet
Dressing table
Desk
Kitchen cupboards
Book cabinet
Fire guard
2-piece suite
Sofa
Sofa bed
Armchair
Recliner
Single bed (inc.mattress)
Double bed (inc.mattress)
Bunk bed (inc.mattresses)
Mattress (on their own)
Swivel chair
Foot stool/pouffe
Lawnmower
Strimmer
Barbeque
Gate
Green waste
Bicycles
Garden furniture
Ladder
Garden toys
Tent
Wheel barrow
Washing line
Fencing
Plant pots
Water butts
Fridges
and
freezers
White
goods
Other
electrical
items
Other
household
items
Fridge
Freezer
Fridge/freezer
Washing machine
Tumble/spin dryer
Dishwasher
Cooker
Microwave
Hi-Fi
Record player
Speakers
TV
Video
Computer
Vacuum cleaner
Lamp
Heater
Electric fire
Sewing machine
Telephone set
Doors (interior and exterior)
Carpets/flooring/underlay
Paint
Storage box
Bric-a-brac (boxes)
Curtains/blind
Curtain rails/pole
Push chair/pram
Cot
Baby seat
Large toy
Bin
Suitcase
Head board (on their own)
Bathroom suite items (sink/bath etc)
Shoe rack
Ironing board
Exercise machine
Stack of wood
Bags of packaging (plastic/cardboard)
Sports equipment
Mirror
Quilt/duvet
Typewriter
Wheel chair
Tools
32
Analysis of bulky waste collections and bulky CA residue in Essex and Thurrock
- Identifying opportunities for diversion and reuse
Katarina McCartney
ECORRN/WasteWISE
APPENDIX 3 - FIVE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ‘BULKY REUSE PARTNERSHIPS’
– WASTEWISE CONCEPT DIAGRAM
Five levels of bulky waste diversion - partnerships for increasing
reuse/diversion of collected bulky waste and CA waste residue
Maximising Diversion
– Bulky Waste Collections
Maximising Diversion
- Residual CA Site Bulky Items
Group refurbishes items and/or
takes over whole bulky.
Level 5
Group refurbishes items on a
retail site located on the CA site.
Alternating collections:
Week 1 = Reusables (group
collection)
Level 4
Group opens retail site (bring
and buy) on CA site.
Group ‘cherry picks’ material
from depot after collection e.g. 3
times per week.
Level 3
Group operates permanent
container on CA site.
Joint booking system/shared
forms on website.
Level 2
Contractor diverts target
material/group ‘cherry picks’ e.g.
3 times per week.
Shared calls/call centre/ With
referrals to community
organisations.
Level 1
Information at CA site to divert
people with items that local
groups need.
Week 2 = Disposal (contractor)
33