1. 32 I October 2015 I www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk
PROFILE I LOCAL AUTHORITY
www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk I October 2015 I 33
LOCAL AUTHORITY I PROFILE
Not as easy as ABC
Only a few years ago, Ashford Borough Council was ranked the country’s worst recycler. Its environmental contracts
and operations manager tells Geraldine Faulkner how the local authority jumped up the league table
J
onathanLongley,environmental
contractsandoperationsmanagerat
AshfordBoroughCouncil(ABC),is
notamanwhobeatsaboutthebush,
especiallywhenitcomestodiscussingthe
transformationintheKent-basedcouncil’s
recyclingfortunes.
“Goingfromhavingbeentheworst
recyclingauthoritytoachievingwhatweare
aroundnow,55%,itisanexceptional
achievement,”hesaysproudly.
“Ashfordwasthelowestrecyclerinthe
countryandoperatingaweeklysack
collectionforresidualwasteandabluebox
recyclingschemethatwasonlyavailableto
36,000propertiesandthatwaslimited
recyclates,”recallstheoperationsmanager.
“Itwasabigchange,notonlyforthe
council,butalsoforresidentstohavewheeled
binsandswitchtoanalternateweekly
collectionandweeklyfoodcollection.”
Rankedbottomoutof353localauthorities
inDefra’s2012-13recyclingleaguetable,ABC
wasincentivisedtogiveitsrecycling
andwastemanagementsystemsa
completemakeover.
Consequently,thecouncilmorethan
quadrupleditsrecyclingperformancefrom
12%toananticipated55%for2014-15.This
hasresultedinAshfordnowboastingthe38th
slotinDefra’s2013-14recyclingleaguetable.
Howdidthecouncilmovefrombeing
theworstrecyclerinthecountrytothe
mostimproved?
Let’swindbacktheclock
“Backin2010therewasaresidentsHaveyour
saysurvey,thekeyfindingofwhichwasthat
residentswantedtorecyclemore,”recalls
Longley,whohasbeenwithABCforless
thanayear.
Beforethenhehadbeencontractmanager
withSwaleBoroughCouncilforeightyears.
“Obviouslyitwasdifficulttochangewithin
thelifecontractwithourthenwaste
managementservicesproviderwithout
withachuckle:“Basically,youdon’texpecta
councilofficeratyourdoor.”
Sincethenthecouncilhasundertaken
initiativestoreinforcetherecyclingmessage.
Alongwitha‘calltoarms’toresidentsto
maintainhighrecyclingstandards,Biffawas
instructedtoleavelabelsonanybinsthat
includedincorrectitems.
“Asothercouncilswillknowfromtheir
ownexperience,aftertwotothreeyears
everythingstartstogodown,soyouhaveto
re-engagewithpeople.We’recontinually
tryingtoengagewithresidents,”saysthe
contractsandoperationsmanager.
“Iwentonthelocalradiostationtodiscuss
issuesoncontamination,whichisadifficult
subjecttodiscuss,soyoutrynottouse
emotivewordsthatconjureupimagesof
whitesuitsandgasmasks.”
Changingattitudes
Lookingatthebiggerpicture,Longleypoints
tothechallengeofchangingresidents’
attitudetothewastetheygenerate.
“Peopleseetheirwasteassomeoneelse’s
problem.‘Iputitinmybin,Ipaycounciltax
andyoutakeitandit’snolongermyproblem’,”
statesthecouncilofficerbeforepredicting
thatuntilthegovernmentmakespeopleaware
oftheirresponsibilityfortheirownwaste,itis
goingtobeanuphillstruggle.
“Thenthere’sanelement,where
recyclinglevelsarelow,thatsimplydon’tcare,
andengagingwiththemischallenging,”
addsLongley.
Interestingly,thisthreatenstopriseopena
Pandora’sboxofanoff-limitdiscussion,
namelythatifthereisa(albeitsmall)section
ofthecommunitywhowillneverrecycle,
isitworthspendingtime,effortandmoney
ontryingtopersuadeandeducatethem
todootherwise?
“It’sgenerallyasmallminoritywhoput
theirordinarywasteintoarecyclingcontainer
anditraisesthequestion:Ifthereareareas
whererecyclingdoesn’tworkfinanciallyisit
bettertoremovetheoptions?”saysLongley.
Inthemeantime,heemphasisesthatABC’s
prioritywillbetocontinuegettingthe
recyclingmessagerightandtakingitdownto
thelowestdenominator.
Healsowarnsagainst“compartmentalising
people.Youhavetodealwithindividual
circumstancesand,whileyouwanttoputin
efficiencies,thereisno‘onesizefitsall’
solution.Ourjobistocontinueoperations
andseekadjustmentswithoutputtingthe
costsup.”
Andnowasteauthorityresponsibleforbin
collectionswoulddisagreewiththat. RWW
significantcost,butsinceitwasakeypriority
forresidentsandhadcross-partyapproval,
alongwithabackdropofgovernmental
cutbacksandtheneedtosavemoney,we
enteredintoapartnershipwithMaidstone
andSwaleBoroughCouncilsaswellasKent
CountyCounciltocreatetheMidKentJoint
WastePartnership.”
Theaimofthepartnership,asthe
wastedisposalauthority,wastohelpthe
fourcouncilsinvolvedtodeliverthe
requiredefficiencies.
“Bycreatingthewastepartnership,our
purposewastogiveresidentswhatthey
wanted,”statesLongley.“Plus,weareableto
savehalfamillionpoundsperannum.Soit’sa
doublewinforresidentsandassistedin
enablingABCtonotincreaseitscounciltax,
meaningthatoursisthelowestinKent.”
Ashfordarrangedforanotherresidents’
surveyin2014,whichindicateda90%
satisfactionratewiththerecyclingservice.As
wellasappointingBiffaasserviceproviderin
2012,anewbincollectionservicewas
introducedinJuly2013.“Wewentfrombeing
theworstrecyclerandmovinguptheleague
tabletoalsodeliveringcustomersatisfaction,”
rememberstheoperationsmanager.
Nonetheless,thejourneyhasnotbeenan
easyone.
“Peoplefearanychange,particularlywhen
theywereusedtoputtingtheirrefuseinto
sacksandweproposeddeliveringfour
separatecontainerstothem,”saysLongley
withasmile.“Therewasalittlebitof
resistancewhentheproposalswerefirstput
forwardbut,asIexperiencedinSwale,ifyou
weretotrytotakeawaythebinsnow,the
residentswouldfightyouforit.”
WhatinitiativesdidABCintroduce
tobringresidentsroundtothenew
bincollections?
“Werananextensivecommunications
campaign,whichincludedgettingalocal
reportertotrialthescheme.Thatgotusgood
press,”recallsLongley.“Wealsoappointeda
behaviourchangeofficerandheldroadshows,
whichallowedpeopletocometousandask
questionsandallaytheirfears.”
Gettingthemessageacross
Thecampaignincludedtailoredbillboards
thattoldresidentstowatchoutforthenew
bins,andsocialmediasuchasTwitterwas
usedtohelpgetthemessageacross.
Thecontractsandoperationsmanager
again:“Atthestartoftherollout,whenwe
deliveredthebins,therewerealsopeoplelike
myselfgoingouttospeaktoresidentssothat
anyquestionscouldbeansweredthereand
then.Wealsomadesitevisitstopeoplewho
hadexpressedconcernaboutputtingbinson
theirproperty.Wedidn’twantpeopletoseeus
asthecouncilimposingitswill;insteadwe
wantedresidents’buy-in.Asitis,theresults
speakforthemselvesandresidentshave
boughtintoitinabigway.”
However,aseverylocalauthority
knows,thepathoftruerecyclingdoesn’t
runsmoothly.
InAugustthisyear,therewasanincidentin
AshfordwhereaBiffabincrewwasforcedto
abandonacollectionaftertheywerechased
andabusedbyangryresidents.
Theepisodewastriggeredwhenthecrew
refusedtoemptyabinbecauseitcontained
itemsthatcouldnotberecycled.
“Theladyinvolvedintheincidenthadfood
wasteinherbinwhichwasnotacceptable.As
myphilosophyistomeetissueslikethishead
on,Iwenttoseeher.Inmyexperience,Ifind
it’seasiertospeaktopeopleface-to-faceas
they’realotmorereasonablewhenyoudo
that,”Longleysays.Hepausesbeforeadding
Fact file: Ashford
Borough Council
- 120,000 residents
- 52,000 properties
- Borough covers 220 square miles
- Chargeable fortnightly garden waste
collection with an annual charge of £35
- 5-litre internal kitchen caddy is supplied
free for weekly food waste collections
- Textiles and WEEE are collected on
alternate weeks in tied carrier bags on top of
the recycling bin
- Sharps, syringes and clinical waste are
collected at residents’ request
Jonathan Longley, ABC’s environmental contacts and operations manager