Kerbside Recycling: feasibility study (P.121/2014) – report of the Minister for Transport and Technical Services.

STATES OF JERSEY

KERBSIDE RECYCLING: FEASIBILITY STUDY (P.121/2014) – REPORT OF THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

Presented to the States on 16th December 2015 by the Minister for Transport and Technical Services

STATES GREFFE

2015   Price code: C  R.137

"If you ask parishioners, they'd ask why everyone else isn't doing it"

"Is it  "Reduce the amount of waste" beneficial

for us as  "Have an environmental

an island to  benefit"

recycle?

"The population are all for Yes"

recycling"

"It will be the normnex fot gr the ene

"Not everyone has transport; it has to be easy and accessible"

"Increase the  "I am very happy amount that's  that we recycle and

recycled from a  every parish consistent  should seriously approach"  consider it"

Kerbside Recycling: feasibility study (P.121/2014) – report of the Minister for Transport and  Technical Services1  

Foreword by the Minister for Transport and Technical Services

Transport and Technical Services (TTS) has worked in liaison with the Parish Connétable s to bring forward this report as required by P.121/2014. Our Recycling Manager has had meetings with the Connétable s individually, and we would like to thank them for their time and acknowledge their helpful participation.

Five parishes currently have their own kerbside recycling schemes, with a sixth parish starting in 2016. Although the ongoing cost of collection comes from parish rates, Transport and Technical Services helps with the set-up of the scheme, providing both advice and the receptacles needed for households. This relationship had seemed to work well over the years and has been manageable in terms of resources.

In compiling this report, we have been able to get useful feedback from the parishes on how successful their schemes have been and a general insight into their thoughts about recycling.

For those parishes who do not have a scheme in place, we have been able to get their current views on the way forward that would most suit them, and it has been very encouraging to see the degree of positivity that has been shown and this has been a good indicator that kerbside collection of recyclables across the Island will be achieved at some point in the future.

Deputy E.J. Noel of St. Lawrence

Minister for Transport and Technical Services

Contents

1.0 Summary

Responding to this proposition has provided another opportunity to engage with the parishes and focus discussions on moving recycling forward, so that every home in Jersey has equal access to recycling through Island-wide kerbside collections.

Discussions with the individual parishes identified a positive will to increase recycling; however, there was a common view that this could be achieved by each parish implementing their own kerbside recycling scheme rather than developing one unified Island-wide scheme.

It is therefore recommended that Island-wide kerbside recycling would be best achieved by channelling this momentum into an action plan that can be developed in partnership with the parishes. This will provide a roadmap for the phased introduction of kerbside recycling in the parishes that are not yet providing this service, and a consistency in the materials that are collected due to the co-ordinated approach with TTS.

The findings strongly indicate that an approach which pursues a singular Island-wide kerbside recycling collection would be detrimental to increasing the Island's recycling rate, due to the resistance of the parishes, as the primary stakeholders, and the resources that would be required to achieve an outcome that can be more easily realised with a co-ordinated partnership approach.

2.0 Task

The following proposition was lodged and unanimously accepted by the States Assembly on 9th September 2014:

"THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

to request the Minister for Transport and Technical Services, in liaison with the Parish Connétable s, to investigate the feasibility of bringing forward a scheme for the Island-wide collection of household recyclables of selected materials (kerbside recycling') and to report to the States with recommendations by the end of 2014."

An amendment to revise the timescale to respond to the proposition to the end of 2015 was also accepted.

The actions from the above proposition were identified as:

• Investigate the feasibility of bringing forward a scheme for the Island-wide collection of household recyclables of selected materials (kerbside recycling')
• Report to the States with recommendations by the end of 2015

3.0 Approach

The Parish Connétable s were defined as the primary stakeholder group that would influence the feasibility of an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme.

In order to fully understand the views of the parishes, the following engagement approach was taken:

Method: Presentation to the Comité de Connétable s (13th July 2015)

  Aims:

• Presentation of the proposition and the principles of kerbside recycling

• Provision of an information pack to each Connétable to assist in the preparation for the individual parish meeting with TTS

Outcome:

• 10 of the 12 Connétable s attended the meeting and were provided with  information packs and an outline of the next steps
• The 2 parishes not represented at the meeting were sent information by post

Method: Meetings with individual Connétable s (August – September 2015)

Aims:

• Discussion to understand:

• Is there parish support for an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme?

• What are the issues/barriers associated with an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme?

Outcome:

• Meetings were held with 11 of the 12 Connétable s and/or relevant parish officials
• Notes of the meetings were approved by the attendees to ensure the accuracy of the report to the States Assembly

The findings from the individual parish discussions were then assessed to identify if there was support for an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme within the parishes, and to understand any common themes that were linked to moving this forward.

0. Findings
1. Is there parish support for an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme?

The first question that was posed to each Connétable and/or parish official was Does your parish support an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme?'

In principle this question appeared very straightforward; however, it proved very difficult to answer with a Yes/No' response due to the number of contributing factors. For example, the majority of parishes that already deliver a successful kerbside recycling scheme responded that they were in favour, providing no changes would be made to the existing scheme. Additionally, a No' response and an I don't know' response were collected from two parishes where the Connétable s felt parishioners should be consulted before a positive answer could be given.

The responses to this question also identified a distinction between support for the principle of Island-wide kerbside recycling (i.e. all Jersey households receiving a kerbside recycling collection), and support for it being delivered as a unified Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme (i.e. one scheme that delivers kerbside recycling across the Island).

The majority of parishes supported the principle of Island-wide kerbside recycling, but this support did not extend to delivering one unified Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme.

This was demonstrated by the response from the parishes already operating successful kerbside recycling schemes that wish to maintain their existing collections, and the lack of overall parish support for moving away from a parish by parish' approaching to implementing kerbside recycling schemes.

The responses are summarised over the page:

Does your parish support an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme?

Yes, but with no change to the existing parish kerbside scheme

Don't know: Two parishes were unable to

answer without the question being asked at Don't know a Parish Assembly

No: One parish was unable to say Yes' No without the question being asked at a

Parish Assembly. The second answered

No' as they favoured a parish by parish'

approach.

Yes

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fig 1.0 Summary of responses to the question: Does your parish support an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme?'

Do you support a 'parish by parish' approach to implementing kerbside recycling schemes?

Don't know: Two parishes were unable to answer without more Don't know information to enable the comparison of this approach with a unified

collection scheme

No: One parish recognised "a greater benefit to an Island-wide

No approach" however this could be achieved through the provided

recommendations

Yes

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fig 2.0 Summary of responses to the question: Do you support a parish by parish' approach to implementing kerbside recycling schemes?'

2. Concerns and issues associated with an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme

A set of five core themes were evident from the individual parish discussions that supported the finding that kerbside recycling should be delivered across the Island, but it should not be provided as one unified Island-wide scheme.

The themes are illustrated below and explained in more detail:

Existing  

kerbside  Parish recycling  autonomy schemes

Environmental Cost benefit

Fig 3.0 Summary of core themes

1. Existing kerbside recycling schemes

All of the parishes that run kerbside recycling schemes were very happy with their service, and were either resistant to any changes being made or refused to support a unified Island- wide approach that would change the existing parish scheme in any way.

2. Parish autonomy

Each parish currently controls the way their waste is collected, charges for this service through the parish rates system, and is accountable to parishioners for the cost and quality of the service provided, whether waste only or waste and recycling.

Feedback from the parishes evidenced support for this existing approach which allows each parish to provide a service to match its needs. Parishes were proud of the level of service that parishioners received due to the expert parish knowkedge that had developed by those deliverying the service.

The majorty of Connétable s also raised the question of accountability as they are responsible for the level of service and the value for money parishioners receive and wished to maintain this going forward.

Concerns were raised regarding the provision of kerbside recycling as a centralised service as it was felt that the existing levels of service would decline.

3. Cost benefit

The majority of the parishes did not consider the provision of a unified Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme to have an opportunity for cost efficiency.

There was also concern regarding the sustainability of any cost savings in the long term, and a common view that if any cost efficencies were possible, they would be outweighed by the benefits of the existing service levels acheived by the individual parishes, the accountability of each parish to parishioners, and any disruption by changing existing schemes and service providers.

A number of parishes had started to explore the cost of implementing a kerbside recycling scheme, and so a unified Island-wide scheme would have to be delivered cheaper than the estimates already received in additon to maintaining the level of service of the existing waste collections.

4.2.4 Environmental

The most commonly cited benefit of a unified Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme by the parishes was environmental. Examples of the expected enviromental benefits were increased recycling and less residual waste.

A number of responses were categorised as recognising a social benefit, for example kerbside recycling would increase the accessibility of recycling, raise awareness of recycling, and encourage people to think about the waste they produce.

Increased accessibility and awareness are factors that are likely to contribute to an increase in recycling and so are related to the environmental benefit of an Island-wide kerbside recycling scheme.

5.0 Conclusions and recommendations

The engagement with parishes to explore the feasibility of unified Island-wide kerbside recycling has evidenced a positive support for the general principle of recycling, with the majority of parishes citing environmental and/or social benefits to kerbside recycling.

This momentum should be channelled into moving the accessibility of kerbside recycling forward but, as strong support was demonstrated for the continuation of the existing parish by parish' approach, the implementation of a unified Island-wide scheme that centralises the service away from parishes risks damaging this positive will, and could result in the objective for all homes in Jersey to receive a kerbside recycling collection being further impeded.

In order to move forward so that the principle of Island-wide kerbside is achieved, we recommend each parish that is not yet providing a kerbside recycling scheme is asked to provide a timescale in which this service could be provided, taking into account existing contractual agreements and resource requirements for the new scheme. A framework that that outlines the recyclable materials that should be collected as part of a kerbside recycling scheme in accordance with the Island's Waste Strategy would also be provided to parishes to help with this process.

This information can then be collated by TTS, and an action plan for the implementation of kerbside recycling in all parishes can be developed in partnership with the parishes to achieve Island-wide kerbside collections.

This approach harnesses the positive support that has been demonstrated for kerbside recycling and recognises the appreciation for the current service providers. It also acknowledges that, by 2016, 6 of the 12 parishes will be providing kerbside recycling schemes independently, and so the action plan will focus on the remaining 6 parishes, some of which have already started to investigate their own kerbside recycling collection.

In addition to accommodating the timescales of the individual parishes, a phased delivery programme would also ensure TTS resources can be allocated to support the specific parishes in implementing their own kerbside recycling schemes and meeting the cost of providing the receptacles to households.

One of the parishes suggested that a forum is established for the parishes to share information about waste and recycling practices, and to develop procurement expertise in terms of managing a tender process and formulating contracts. This would mean that the varying levels of knowledge and experience within the parishes could be shared, and there would be an opportunity for parishes to learn from each other and maintain value for money in the services they provide.

A summary of the recommendations is shown below:

•TTS to provide parishes that are not yet providing a kerbside recycling

scheme with a framework outlining what recyclables should be collected

•Each parish not currently delivering kerbside recycling to discuss and

agree a timescale with TTS for implementing a scheme which develops into a joint action plan with a phased approach to achieving kerbside recycling throughout the Island

•A parish forum to be established to share waste/recycling experience

and procurement knowledge

Fig 4.0 Summary of recommendations