Sheffield City Council
Guidance for Flats and Apartments
Waste and Recycling Collection and Storage
Requirements for Apartment Dwellings
Under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Sheffield City Council has
a duty to provide waste collection services to households and is able to stipulate the
type of container(s) that will be provided for the storage of waste and recyclables.
The Household Waste Act 2003 requires waste collection authorities to collect at
least two separate recyclables from each household, or make comparable
arrangements. In the case of apartment blocks the provision of a recycling site within
the vicinity of a block is a comparable arrangement.
The guidance given here from the Council’s Waste Management Service, is to help
ensure developers allocate suitable, workable space for the storage of waste and
recyclables and have given due consideration for the servicing of waste collection
and recycling. Further assistance can be obtained by contacting the Council’s Waste
Management Provider, Veolia, as detailed at the end of the guidance. All facilities
should be well-designed and form an integral part of the development proposals.
Waste And Recycling Collection Service for Apartments
Where it is not possible to allocate an individual receptacle to a dwelling the City
Council standard is to provide 1100 Litre Euro Bins for residual waste and 660 Litre
Euro Bins for recyclables. 120 litres per dwelling per week is made available, plus a
20% additional capacity for the segregated collection of paper and card for recycling.
Storage
 A minimum allocation for waste storage of 0.25m3 per dwelling should be
provided.
 Any mixed-use development should provide totally separate storage of domestic
waste from any commercial waste arising from the premises.
 A recycling area should be clearly designated and marked within the waste
storage area.
 Space allocated for bin storage should not have bins stored more than two deep
and should provide ample room for rotating the bins (a minimum equivalent in
space to a 50cm wide band around each bin for this purpose).
 Adequate height, minimum of 2.3 metres from floor to ceiling, of the storage area
should be provided to ensure the lids on all containers can be opened fully.
 A designated area should be provided for the occasional storage of bulky items of
waste by residents (this should be in addition to the minimum 0.25m3 of
designated waste storage space per dwelling).
 Developments of more than 60 units should seek to identify external space close
to the pedestrian entrance for glass recycling facilities. Such spaces should have
a footprint of 1.3m x 1.7m., and be a suitably constructed hardstanding. The
space must be accessible for service vehicles, dimensions given below.
 Developments in excess of 120 units should seek to identify space for recycling
facilities with a total footprint of 20m2 (ideally in a 4.0m x 5.0m configuration, but
could be split into more than one unit with minimum footprint per unit being 1.3m x
1.7m).
June 07
Sheffield City Council
Guidance for Flats and Apartments

All such spaces should be a suitably constructed hardstanding and should be
accessible for service vehicles, dimensions of which are given below.
Access & Servicing
 Any undercover/ internal storage facility for bins must have a level access to the
highway. Any ramp constructed should be equal to that for wheelchair access.
 The surface over which the bins are to be transported (pulled or pushed) should
be a smooth surface (tarmac, block paving or paving flagstones).
 Bins will only be pulled a maximum of 12 metres from the storage area to the
refuse collection vehicle by the waste collection authority.
 Arrangements can be made with the waste collection authority where access is
within the prescribed distance to collect waste direct from storage area.
Alternatively agreement must be sought with the waste collection authority to
designate a suitable collection & return point.
 Roadways should be suitable for a 32 tonne vehicle, and due consideration given
to the potential for vehicles to be parked on the side of the road. The normal
dimensions of a refuse collection vehicle are:
Length:12.5 metres
Width: 3.2 metres
Height: 4.2 metres
 A turning area is required if there is not both an access to and egress from the
site.
 Collection vehicles should not be expected to reverse more than 12 metres.
 Additional factors for consideration for vehicles that collect recyclables are a lifting
height of 8.5m and a crane reach of 6m. Recycling facilities would need to be
located where they can be emptied within these parameters.
For further information/ informal discussion, please contact: Craig Andrews

0114 228 3608
 craig.Andrews@veolia.co.uk
 Veolia Environmental Services
Lumley Street Service Centre
Lumley Street
Sheffield
S4 7ZJ
June 07