annual environmental report...let’s recycle ‘awards for excellence’ once more in the category...

AnnualEnvironmental

Report2018/19

CONTENTS

03 Introduction: More Positive Change 05 Awards 07 Performance Monitoring10 Complaints and Compliments11 Process Effectiveness13 Waste: Where Does It Come From?16 Waste: How We Deal with It24 Waste Flow Processing: What Happens to It?28 Locations of Reprocessors31 Media Coverage33 About re334 Glossary

Borough Councils’ Household Waste Collection

Street CleaningBracknell

Reading ParkMaintenance

Hazardous Waste Treatment

SuttonCourtenayLandfill

SuttonCourtenayCompost

re3Grow

EnergyCrops

Smallmead andLongshot LaneTransfer Stations

EnergyfromWaste

Lakeside

BlackburnMeadowsSmallmead

andLongshotLaneHWRCs

re3 resident

SmallmeadMRF

Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham

A YEAR OF RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT, LOCAL AND NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR PLASTIC RECYCLING, NEW GLASS TRUCKS AND MORE POSITIVE CHANGE.

INTRODUCTION: MORE POSITIVE CHANGE

174,976 tonnes of contract waste

75,174tonnes sent toLakeside EfW forenergy recovery

88%16,835

average recovery rate across the partnership

times glass banks were emptied

7,220

24,279 4,478

tonnes of glass collected for recycling from 562 bring banks

tonnes of green waste recycled as compost

tonnes of Street Sweepings collected

AnnualEnvironmentalReport2018/19

03

797,052

99% 23,803 tonnes of dry mixed recycling processed in the MRF

2,393 tonnes of plastic recycled, up 59% compared to the previous contract year

total resident visits

user satisfaction


04

INTRODUCTION: MORE POSITIVE CHANGE

re3 is the waste management partnership between Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils and FCC Environment. The partnership’s aims are to process waste using cost-effective, efficient and environmentally friendly methods, to drive up recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

For the thirteenth re3 Annual Environmental Report (AER), we decided to follow the theme of engagement. This included resident engagement as part of Recycle Week 2018 in September when we opened our doors for the first time to the re3 public and conducted tours of our Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Reading. We embraced the local and national press (BBC and ITV) to support the communication of plastic recycling in August and September 2018. The public engagement delivered increased plastics recycling performance for re3 by 59% in the contract year following the MRF upgrade in February 2018. Our commitment to plastic recycling was recognised within the industry following the re3 plastics MRF upgrade that gained the re3 partnership National Recognition at the Let’s Recycle ‘Awards for Excellence’ in May 2018. Following these engagement programmes, our annual customer satisfaction survey, which is conducted at our Recycling Centres (HWRC), provided us with valuable feedback and an overall customer satisfaction score of 99% and 98% at Smallmead and Longshot Lane respectively – a further improvement on the previous year.

This report also includes updates on our new glass recycling collection vehicles ‘Kate Binslet’ and ‘Jar Jar Clinks’, who both arrived in August 2018 after being named by re3 residents as part of social media engagement activity. In addition, updates regarding the Sue Ryder and Reuse scheme initiatives will be given which have both seen increased landfill diversion and revenue.

This report also reflects on the difficult challenges faced when the industry suffered the impact of the China recycling import review that was implemented in January 2018. As a result, the industry went through a challenging period and at a local level, this required re3 mixed paper to be processed twice through the MRF to meet new market quality requirements. With the growing demand for quality, it is now more important that we focus on producing clean recycling material. Despite the global challenges, our additional efforts ensures we are able to maintain sustainable off-takers that continue to help us improve our recycling performance.

The changes highlighted in this report have been developed through the partnership working together to continue to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and provide a cost effective service. Last year, we continued to work as a partnership on a two-year saving targets of £1.8m, through a variety of initiatives. The purpose of ongoing saving initiatives is to support the councils in maintaining essential services for local residents, the community and follows the adopted re3 Strategic theme of ‘reducing the net cost of waste’ for re3 residents.

Figure 1Year on year comparison for the contract year

Variance (%)

36%

31%

64%

79%

59%

2017/2018

244

358

117

783

1,502

2018/2019

332

468

192

1,401

2,393

Variance

88

111

75

617

891

Plastic Tonnes

Plastics Mixed PTT

HDPE Clear

HDPE Jazz

PET Clear

Total Plastic


05

WINNERSIN THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT YEAR, THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP HAD MANY THINGS TO BE PROUD OF; SOME OF THIS WAS THE PARTNERSHIP’S SUCCESS ENCOUNTERED IN THE INDUSTRY AWARD ENTRIES.

AWARDS

The partnership became finalists in a number of awards including the MRW Recycling Awards and the Awards for Excellence. It was the latter in which the re3 partnership had the greatest success.

The re3 partnership successfully became finalists and, subsequent winners, in the category of ‘Best Use of Design and Technology in a Waste Management Facility’ which was due to the MRF upgrade that was completed in early 2018. The judges were impressed with the innovation and design of the Material Recycling Facility and how the upgrade began to enable a greater array of plastic materials to be accepted for kerbside collections.

The partnership has also been confirmed as finalists for four other industry awards in 2019 with three of these finalist submissions for the MRW National Recycling Awards. The categories which the partnership has become finalist for include; Partnership Excellence, Recycling Excellence (SME Organisation) and Campaign of the Year. In addition to this, we were finalists in Let’s Recycle ‘Awards for Excellence’ once more in the category for Best Local Authority Initiative.

In all of the awards categories listed we are confirmed finalists and re3 are proud of the achievement and recognition we have received over the last three years. We now await the final results in the coming months.

Award for Excellence winners


06

AWARDS INTERNAL AWARDSFCC ENVIRONMENT HAVE AN INTERNAL AWARD SCHEME – THE ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY AWARDS (ABCD AWARDS). THESE AWARDS ALLOW STAFF’S EFFORTS TO BE RECOGNISED FOR ‘DOING THE RIGHT THING’.

The ABCD staff nomination applications are available to all FCC staff and all nominations are reviewed every quarter by a national panel that includes senior management representatives of the business. With over 2,500 staff within the FCC UK operation, being nominated and winning an award is a great achievement. In the previous AER, members of staff at Smallmead Recycling site received the award for the part played in successfully dealing with a fire at the site.

This year in November 2018, our senior contracts operations administrator who is responsible for the glass collection service, received the award for supporting the procurement of the new glass lorries, managing the transition period and also, for being the catalyst behind the public glass truck naming campaign concept for the re3 contract.

ABCD award winners 2018


07

CONTRACT REQUIREMENTSRE3 IS CONTINUALLY MONITORED TO ENSURE APPROVED SERVICE STANDARDS. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN THE CONTRACTED LEVEL OF SERVICE CAN LEAD TO PENALTY POINTS AND FINANCIAL DEDUCTIONS FOR THE CONTRACTOR. AS A RESULT, ANY CONSISTENT FAILURES TO ACHIEVE THE STANDARD ARE FULLY REVIEWED, AND IF REQUIRED, CHANGES MADE TO THE OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES.

PERFORMANCE MONITORING

The operation of the waste management facilities is monitored on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. With over 70 Key Performance Indicator (KPIs), the contract monitors data including tonnages of materials taken for recycling using the weighbridge system, health and safety onsite, Civic Amenity and Bring Bank Sites and, monthly tonnage performance.

re3 monitors these relevant services in accordance with the performance standard detailed in the contract. These include the following.

Ref Performance TopicSO1 Waste Management and DisposalSO2 Waste Reception and TransferSO3 Civic Amenity and Bring Bank SitesSO4 Markets for Recovered ProductsSO5 Interface with the PublicSO6 Contingency PlansSO7 Contract Commencement and Expiry PlansSO8 Service ManagementSO9 Health and Safety

Weekly Checks Weekly Key Performance Indicators (KPI) checks and daily site checklists are used to monitor key contractual areas. These checks cover environmental aspects, including windblown refuse, daily visitor numbers and bring bank capacity. Site checklists allow us to demonstrate how the Recycling Centres are continuously well maintained.

Monthly ReportsMonthly monitoring reports summarise the operational performances of the contract and enable re3 to review their previous month’s performance and if need be, investigate ways to improve services. The main areas that we focus on for this AER continue to be SO2 and SO3.

Figure 2SO2 Year on Year Failures

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

3 0 0 02

0 02

0 0 0 04 2 22

0 1 04

10

27

19

No. of Failures 2017/18



08


SO2 – Waste Reception and Transfer Vehicle turnaround times at the Transfer Stations (Council collection vehicles).

The contract monitors the period of time each council collection vehicle remains on site. At re3, vehicles have a turnaround time of 20 minutes, if council vehicles exceed the allotted time frame it may result in a performance failure.

In the table below we show that the year on year performance created its challenges for the team, however it is worth noting that the failures represent less than 1% of total council vehicle transactions.

SO3 – Civic Amenity and Bring Bank SitesManagement of bring banks including glass. Site Appearance – Maintaining site cleanliness.

For example, the contract only allows one working day to rectify any issues and failures to do so results in daily penalties being raised that continue to be applied until the issue is rectified.

Service issues regarding the collection of the glass banks under SO3 resulted in 619 penalties which equates to 3.7%.

The majority of the penalties occurred through the transition period of the new glass trucks being phased into service.

46

619

2017/18 2018/19

Figure 3Number of Bring Bank Failures

Figure 4Turnaround Failures

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar





09


ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTSINCE 2006, RE3 HAS PUBLISHED AN ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT (AER) WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES AND MANAGEMENT OF WASTE RECEIVED IN THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT YEAR. THE AER IS A TOOL WHICH ALLOWS THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP TO REFLECT ON THE PREVIOUS YEAR’S ACHIEVEMENTS AND IN THE LAST THREE YEARS WE HAVE ALSO USED IT TO COMMUNICATE POTENTIAL FUTURE CHANGES.

Annual Environmental Report 2009/10Zeroing in on waste


Annual EnvironmentalReport 2012/13Zeroing in on waste

Annual Environmental Report 2014/15

Annual Environmental Report2015/16

RECYCLINGMATTERS

Wokingham Household Waste Collection

Street CleaningBracknell

Reading ParkMaintenance

Hazardous Waste Treatment

SuttonCourtenayLandfill

EnergyCrops

Smallmead andLongshot LaneTransfer Stations

EnergyfromWaste

Lakeside

BlackburnMeadowsSmallmead

andLongshotLaneHWRCs

re3 resident

SmallmeadMRF

Reading, Bracknell Forest and







Figure 5The Twelve Previous re3 AnnualEnvironmentalReports


10 COMPLAINTS AND COMPLIMENTS

THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP CONTRACT USES A STANDARDISED FORMAT TO RECORD BOTH COMPLAINTS AND COMPLIMENTS. BY MONITORING BOTH THESE AREAS, WE ARE ABLE TO EVALUATE THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.

Any written complaint from a member of the public is acknowledged within 3 working days, with a full written response provided within 10 working days.

Between April 2018 and March 2019, the re3 partnership received a total of 37 complaints. 16 of the total complaints were written, which is a reduction of 24% compared to the previous year. The remaining 21 complaints were verbal from members of the public.

Analysis of these complaints show that 76% of these related to our site staff, who through their customer roles, are the first point of contact for members of the public. All complaints are rigorously investigated by reviewing CCTV, conducting interviews and if need be assessing body camera footage. All complaints are treated as a learning opportunity and as a result taken very seriously. Issues are discussed with site staff and the management team, policies or supporting procedures can also be reviewed as part of the process and if need be, toolbox talks are conducted. Through adopting this process, we aim to mitigate reoccurrence.

Along with complaints, the re3 partnership also received 31 compliments about the service provided in the past contract year. 18 of these were written and 13 verbal. Of these compliments, 23 related to Smallmead and 5 to Longshot Lane and 3 for the Bring Bank sites.

Figure 6Number ofComplaints by Site

Figure 7Number ofCompliments by Site

18Smallmead, Reading

7BringBanks

1Other 11

Longshot Lane, Bracknell

23Smallmead,Reading

3Bring Banks 5

Longshot Lane, Bracknell


11

THE OPERATIONS OF THE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES ARE MONITORED ON A DAILY, WEEKLY AND MONTHLY BASIS. THIS INCLUDES MONITORING ENERGY AND FUEL CONSUMPTION; HEALTH AND SAFETY; BRING BANKS; ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS AND UNDERTAKING SPOT MARKET AUDITS.

PROCESS EFFECTIVENESS

Energy ConsumptionOur commitment to reduce energy consumption sees re3 monitor all five operations separately. In the last contract year, our Smallmead site in Reading which includes offices, a Recycling Centre, Transfer Station and a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), consumed a total of 2,436,621 kWh and a monthly average of 203,051 kWh.

Our MRF is our largest consumer of energy and is closely monitored, last year we began to run a second shift at the MRF in order to improve the quality of our mixed paper to meet market requirements and has been reflected in our energy consumption.

Longshot Lane Recycling Centre in Bracknell which includes, offices, an outside Recycling Centre and a Transfer Station, consumed a total of 172,003 kWh last year and a monthly average of 14,333 kWh.

The re3 partnership continues to be committed to reducing energy consumption at both Longshot Lane and Smallmead. FCCE Berkshire, who operate and manage the sites on behalf of the re3 partnership are fully accredited with ISO 50001, 45001, 14001 and 9001 certifications.

Spot Market Audits The re3 partnership undertakes rigorous audits on the companies employed to reprocess recyclables. These audits ensure the companies used are compliant with waste licensing, have sufficient waste storage processing facilities and disclose any enforcement notices, prosecutions or warnings within the last five years. These audits enable the re3 partnership to monitor the end market of material, whether that be domestically or abroad, providing reassurance that the recyclable material is being processed ethically and environmentally.

Health and Safety For re3, health and safety is of paramount impor-tance. In the last contract year, the sites recorded a total of 169 accidents/incidents and 764 near misses across the sites. In addition, no employees were involved in incidents that could be classified as RIDDORs, continuing the health and safety success of previous years.

2,436,621 0kWh energy consumed at Smallmead staff RIDDOR’S for the

second year running

SmallmeadMRF


12

PROCESSEFFECTIVENESS

‘Because’ programme The ‘Because’ health and safety programme has become an integral and well established part of the re3 sites. This programme is all about communication. It creates transparency between all areas of the business and increases staff engagement which can relate to every day issues. More importantly, it can also highlight health and safety issues and trends if need be. Staff meetings are conducted with each area of the business on a monthly basis and the ‘Because’ communication boards provide useful information.

‘Because’ boards include numerous reports; observation reports, near miss reports and staff engagement comments which all formulate into an action plan that includes the issues that need to be addressed. ‘Because’ boards are updated on a monthly basis and are situated in the site tea rooms for staff to view at their own leisure throughout the month. The programme has also adopted a slogan ‘You said… We did’ where issues raised by site staff are captured and acted upon.

To coincide with the ‘Because’ meetings, management staff are committed to completing site walk arounds at both Recycling Centres and the MRF. Site management engage with the working environment as well as the site staff who then provide feedback on an observation report. These observations are relayed to the site staff through the monthly ‘Because’ meetings and are open for discussion in the ‘You said… We did’ action plan.

re3 Bring Bank Facilities The re3 partnership operates a bring bank collection service which intends to increase recycling year on year. The partnership currently operates 562 bring bank bins at 139 sites across the three boroughs of Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham. In the 2018/2019 contract year, the banks were emptied a total of 16,835 times and collected a total weight of 7,220 tonnes.For more information on our Bring Bank service, please refer to our section titled ‘Waste: How We Deal with It’.

‘Because’ initiative meeting


13

WASTE COLLECTIONEACH COUNCIL OPERATES A RECYCLING SERVICE. THE COUNCILS HAVE INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT COLLECTION METHODS, BUT THE MATERIALS THEY COLLECT FOR RECYCLING ARE LARGELY THE SAME.

WASTE: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

Recycling Collection Performance – Contract WasteThe total amount of contract waste in 2018/19 was 174,976 tonnes, a decrease from the previous two years’ figures. This can be accredited to a number of reasons. This reflects the extreme summer we encountered in 2018 which resulted in green waste being lower than average. In addition, we should also take into account the pressure imposed on packaging companies to reduce packaging.

The average recovery rate across the partnership was 88% and is the highest performance since the publication of the first AER, when the recovery rate was just 38.1%.

Since the introduction of the councils’ new Waste Acceptance Policy (WAP), the downtrend in contract volumes has continued. The changes saw a permitted system for all re3 residents, the introduction of a permit scheme for commercial type vehicles, and charges for non-household waste items including, hard-core, soil, plasterboard, asbestos, ceramics and gas bottles. These changes were introduced to prevent non re3 residents and traders from disposing waste at the recycling centres.

Figure 8Total Amount of Contract Waste (Tonnes)

07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13

211,455204,889

193,748 190,965 190,530183,639

13/14

195,069

14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 18/19

199,077192,689

178,275 174,976

196,625

174,976 tonnes of contract waste


14

re3 Street Sweepings The street sweepings are collected from the three borough councils and deposited at either Longshot Lane or Smallmead. From here, the material is transported to one of two recycling treatment facilities with Grundon operating one in Oxfordshire and Invixon operating one in Cambridgeshire. By diverting Street Sweepingsto these facilities we managed to divert over 80% from landfill and at the same time improve recycling and make significant disposal cost savings.

Figure 9Waste Collected from Kerbside in Bracknell Forest(Thousands of Tonnes)

Figure 10Waste Collected from Kerbside in Reading (Thousands of Tonnes)

Figure 11Waste Collected from Kerbside in Wokingham (Thousands of Tonnes)

Green Waste

Recycling

Refuse

4.8

4.6

5.1

22.2

5.5

22.5

5

5.6

22.6

Green Waste

Recycling

Refuse

4.2

3.9

6.2

32.1

6.7

32.2

4.9

7.3

33.3

Green Waste

Recycling

Refuse

7.1

6.9

6.6

29.5

7.0

29.7

6.5

7.1

29.3

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

4,477tonnes of streetsweepings collected


15

WASTE: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

Public CampaignsFind us through www.re3.org.uk and through social media: Twitter @re3recycling, Facebook atre3 Recycling, Instagram and Youtube; both at re3recycling. Also, find our new ‘re3cyclopedia’ app on the App Store and Google Play.

The re3 partnership has embarked on numerous campaigns across the past contract year, all with the ambition to increase the public’s awareness towards recycling and methods to improve.

Alotta bottle The Alotta bottle campaign concluded during the last contract year. The programme funded by FCCEB, was launched to encourage residents, community and charitable organisations to become engaged with recycling and understand the benefits that are associated. Alotta bottle proved to be a great success with data showing that year on year, there was a 5% increase (323t) with the volume of glass collected.

Foil recycling campaign The re3 partnership also embarked on a foil campaign which focused primarily on takeaway containers and the recycling value which is often overlooked. Numerous takeaway companies embraced the campaign. In order to encourage public participation, this involved lids featuring the benefits of recycling foil and a social media competition with prizes.

re3cyclopedia appThe re3cyclopedia app was developed and launched in September 2018 with the vision to improve public knowledge regarding what can and can’t be recycled. The app has proven to be a huge success and the application is used over 4,000 times each month.

4,477

Foil recycling


16 WASTE: HOW WE DEAL WITH IT

THE MATERIALS RECYCLING FACILITY (MRF) IS SITUATED AT THE SMALLMEAD SITE IN READING AND PROCESSES THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP’S KERBSIDE RECYCLABLE COLLECTIONS.

MRF processing and the plastics The MRF sorts and bales mixed dry recyclables (MDR) collected from the kerbside and has been designed to handle up to 50,000 tonnes of co-mingled dry recyclables each year, based on a day and night shift.

Following last year’s upgrade to the MRF facility, the extended recycling opportunities have become well established and the response from the public has been evident. Figures for the contract year show that plastics processed increased by 59% when compared to the previous contract year.


17

The current MRF accepts a vast range of material including plastic bottles, plastic pots, tubs and trays, Tetra Paks, foil, foil trays, aluminium cans, cardboard, paper, aerosols s and steel cans. Through a number of machines and processes, the plant separates the mixed recyclables which are then baled and sent to factories for reprocessing and recycled into various products.

The material that comes from households sometimes contains things which cannot be separated for recycling, this is known as contamination.

When material is not suitable for recycling in the MRF and has to be further separated, it has to be disposed through other means and can impact the quality of target material value. This reduces our recycling performance and adds additional costs. The MRF uses a number of different methods and equipment to separate the mixed material delivered from residents.

Some of these methods are:

• Pre-sorting: This allows waste which will damage the machine to be removed• The trommel: A large rotating drum which separates larger items from smaller ones • Disc screen: This separates very small items and break up glass which the MRF is not designed to handle• Air knives: These work alongside sensor-based sorting equipment and remove paper and four different types of valuable plastics • Eddy current separator: An electrical current which removes valuable aluminium cans • Overband Magnet: Used to sort the steel cans • MRF picking team: Pick off contaminants that should not be there, which is called a negative pick, ensuring that the separated material is ready for reprocessing

Since February 2018 the MRF has run a second shift which was introduced to accommodate the market collapse of mixed paper as a result of China restricting its commodities imports in January 2018. As a result, re3 mixed paper is rerun through the MRF process to reduce contamination (from 14% to 4%) increasing quality by 10%.This has resulted in a grade of mixed paper which is higher in quality, meeting the new market quality requirements.

Sorted material in the MRF


18

WASTE: HOW WE DEAL WITH IT

MRF Code of ConductThe re3 MRF adheres to the WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) Code of Conduct. This is a standardised approach for measuring all collected recycling materials delivered for processing at all UK MRFs.

In October 2014, regulations regarding Mixed Dry Recyclable (MDR) collected at the kerbside changed. All MRFs processing more than 1,000 tonnes of MDR, must sample and test the composition of both their input (waste received) and output (waste which has been sorted) streams. The idea of sampling is twofold – firstly, we are required to provide consistent and robust data about the materials coming to site with a view to contributing to the improvement in quality of recyclate material nationally. The second is because recyclate material deemed high quality helps improve confidence and participation in recycling, making the recyclate market more resilient and ensuring the material produced after it has been sorted is suitable for reprocessing.

FCCE Berkshire samples at least 60kgs of waste for every 100 tonnes delivered from each of Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils. Loads which are to be sampled are separated from the bulk waste stream and placed in a sorting cabin. The waste here is then split into different waste types ranging from; aluminium cans and aluminium foil, steel cans, plastic bottles, plastic pots, tubs and trays; paper, card and non-recyclable material (contamination). From here we are able to assess the quality of material we are processing and if it is target material.

Figure 12Sampling Results for the Contract Year 2018/19

Wokingham 85.67%

Bracknell Forest

Reading

82.17%

83.25%

14.33%

17.83%

16.75%

Non contaminated Contaminated


19


Transfer Stations Both Longshot Lane and Smallmead facilities operate a Transfer Station which handles contract and trade waste. The Transfer Stations allow for collection vehicles and traders to dispose of commercial waste at their convenience. The waste is then bulked and sent for reprocessing or disposal at a later date.

Longshot Lane, BracknellThe Longshot Lane Transfer Station in Bracknell is a facility that can handle 100,000 tonnes of waste per year. Waste is delivered by Bracknell Forest and Wokingham Borough Councils collection teams and MDR is bulked and sent to the Smallmead MRF. Being able to deposit MDR at Longshot Lane, rather than Smallmead saves operational costs and time for the collection teams.

Smallmead, ReadingThe Smallmead Transfer Station is the larger of the two the re3 partnership operates and is able to handle 200,000 tonnes of waste per year. Here, Reading and Wokingham collection teams deposit green waste, refuse and mixed recyclates.

Smallmead Transfer StationLongshot Lane Transfer Station


20


TransportEach of the partnership councils continue to collect MDR in one container or bin, making it easier for residents to recycle. Once the MDR reaches our MRF, the different recyclables are separated through the MRF process. All refuse collected from the three boroughs is taken to either Longshot Lane or Smallmead Transfer Stations. From there, the waste is loaded and transported to either Lakeside Energy from Waste facility in Colnbrook, Berkshire, or to the licensed transfer station (Greatmoor EfW), composting facility and landfill site at Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire.

Recycling Centres The re3 Recycling Centres recorded just over 797,000 visits across both sites in 2018/19, with an average of 1,183 visits at Longshot Lane per day and 1,001 average visits per day at Smallmead. Overall the total site visits decreased by 8,668 on the previous contract year. This follows the previous contracts year’s trend of reduction in 2016/17 with the introduction of the vehicle permits for commercial type vehicles and resident permits for local residents.

Both Recycling Centres accept a large variety of materials for recycling and this can be found on our website or alternatively through downloading the re3cyclopedia application.

www.re3.org.uk

User Satisfaction SurveyThe Annual User Satisfaction Survey which took place in September 2018 questioned 2412 users on their thoughts about the Longshot Lane and Smallmead Recycling Centres and staff. 98% of Longshot Lane survey respondents rated the site as ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ good overall, whilst this figure was 99% at Smallmead.

797,052 99%

total resident visits

user satisfaction

FCC transport


21


Bag Splitting Recovery and Recycling at Longshot and SmallmeadThe partnership continues to follow DEFRA (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) guidelines and focuses on improving recovery and recycling rates in line with the waste hierarchy. The bag splitting scheme has been a feature on both our sites since September 2016.

Residents should come to the recycling centres having pre-sorted their waste, however designated bag splitting areas have been developed at both sites. From the designated deposit areas, bags are split open with any recyclable material extracted. The scheme has gone strength to strength and has yielded positive results on a monthly basis.

Data collected from the programme shows that between April 2018 and March 2019, 728 tonnes of bin bags were processed and approximately 50% of this was recyclable content and 6% recoverable content. Since commencing of the bag splitting scheme, the recycling centres have processed 2,192 tonnes of bin bags – this equates to 89 refuse trucks. Of this, 60% of this has been recyclable content which can be reused or remanufactured into new products.

Figure 13Bag Splitting Data 2018/19

Longshot Lane

Smallmead

53%

47%

47%

53%

Recycled Not recycled


22


Glass trucks and Bring Bank FacilitiesThe re3 Contractor continues to work alongside the councils to improve bring bank facilities. There are currently 562 glass recycling banks at 139 sites across Bracknell, Reading and Wokingham borough councils. In the 2018/2019 contract year, the banks were emptied 16,835 times with a total weight of 7,220 tonnage, an increase of 384 tonnes.

Bring Bank facilities across a variety of locations include recycling banks for glass bottles and jars. All bottle banks have re3 signage branding which includes contact details. This allows residents to reach re3 should they need to report any issues regarding the bring bank sites.

Across the re3 partnership there are also a selection of charity banks including textiles, book and CDs managed by other organisations.

Service related feedback is reviewed daily and also recorded as part of the contract performance requirements. As a result, and despite some of the transition challenges experienced with the introduction of the two new glass trucks, the team continues to deliver a high quality service, as highlighted in the performance monitoring section of this report.

Following our announcement last year which revealed the names of our new glass collection vehicles – ‘Kate Binslet’ and ‘Jar Jar Clinks’ – the new vehicles arrived and commenced collections in August 2018. After a transition period both have now successfully become front-line vehicles.

Lakeside Energy from Waste (EfW)Energy from Waste (EfW) is defined as ‘an energy recovery process that generates renewable power in the form of electricity, heat or transport fuels from the controlled incineration of residual waste.’ EfW contributes towards carbon emission reduction and uses waste that would otherwise go to landfill.

During the previous contract year, the Lakeside Energy from Waste facility processed over 439,534 tonnes of residual waste. 75,174 tonnes of this was sent directly from re3.

Material Inputs from EfW include: • Mixed household waste which will arrive in refuse collection vehicles (Municipal Solid Waste – MSW) • Non-hazardous commercial and industrial dry wastes with similar characteristics to household waste• Non recoverable wastes arising from Material Recycling Facilities • Other non-hazardous, non-recoverable combustible waste

7,220 tonnes of glass emptied fromBring Banks

Jar Jar Clinks glass truck


23


The EfW plant uses advanced moving grate technology and is equipped with atmospheric pollution control equipment that will ensure the plant conforms to the requirements of relevant legislation.

As with all EfW plants, Lakeside is regulated by the Environment Agency and must abide to strict air emissions. Once the waste has been burnt, the by-products of the process include bottom ash (which is used in the aggregate industry). Lakeside EfW processed 439,534 tonnes of which, approximately 80,000 tonnes will become non-hazardous bottom ash and 8,000 tonnes will be fly ash – 100% of this is being used as building materials.

The flow diagram shown below demonstrates how the waste is combusted to produce heat and create electricity. Waste is seen as a renewable energy source. This is because EfW facilities generate enough electricity to power their own needs and also export over 263,819 MW of electricity to the National Grid which is enough energy to power 55,000 homes.

The average recovery rate across the re3 partnership area for the 2018/19 period was 87.88%. The recovery rate is a contractual measure of the total amount of waste delivered to recycling, Energy from Waste, beneficial use, reuse and composting. This is a continuation of the 2017/2018 positive contract year performance.

This sudden change to the imports of materials had a significant impact on the recycling industry not only in the UK but globally as China was one of the largest importers at the time.

Prior to the China ban and reduced imports on recycling material, the Chinese economy imported approximately 60% of Europe’s fibres (mixed papers). Initially the change in material exports had a drastic impact due to the struggle to find sustainable outlets for all materials, especially fibres (mixed paper) and this resulted in an instant demand for cleaner grades of mixed paper at a substantially lower income value. With this change, the market has adapted with most of the material now produced at re3 remaining within the UK and Europe.

Jayplas have become a major off-taker for the re3 recycling contract following the upgrade to the MRF in early 2018. Following this upgrade, the partnership wanted a sustainable UK off-taker for all re3 plastics. Established in 1975 and with almost 40 years' experience in the plastic recycling industry, Jayplas is the UK market-leader in post-consumer plastic recycling. They sort and process industrial quantities of a whole variety of used plastics into feed stocks for packaging companies and in doing this re3 plastic is guaranteed to be used in the circular economy.

Jayplas operate a national collection and distribution network, comprising of a fleet of more than thirty five tractor units and two hundred trailers that supply the eight Jayplas facilities across the UK with each facility specialises in a unique polymer type and process. As an innovator in the sector, Jayplas continue to develop new products and processes to ensure its customers' exacting requirements are met and they leads the industry by maintaining the highest standard of service and exceptional quality of product.


24

EXPORTING RECYCLING COMMODITIESIN JANUARY 2018, CHINA ANNOUNCED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION AND BAN OF CERTAIN WASTE STREAM MATERIALS; THIS SAW A TOTAL BAN ON THE IMPORT OF PLASTICS AND MIXED PAPER. IN ADDITION TO THIS, IMPORT RESTRICTIONS MEANT CONTAMINATION RATES FOR OTHER MATERIALS, SUCH AS CARDBOARD, WERE LOWERED FROM 1.5% TO 0.5%.

WASTE FLOW PROCESSING: WHAT HAPPENS TO IT?

Figure 14Export Summary Table

Destination

UK & Europe

UK

UK

UK & Europe

What Happens to it?

Manufactured into recycledpaper/cardboard

Reprocessed and transformedinto a new plastic material

Recycled into new newsand pamphlets

Used to make new paper,boards and hard paper

Material

Baled Cardboard

Plastic

Newspapers andPamphlets (includingmagazines)

Mixed Paper

Company

DS Smith,Bolton Brothers,Smurfit & Peute

Jayplas & Roydon

Palm Paper

DS Smith,Clearpoint,Newport paper,Smurfit & Peute


25


ReuseThe re3 partnership is committed to recovering or recycling as much material as viably possible. The partnership is partaking in a number of programmes all with the intention to hit the UK’s 50% recycling rate by 2020.

Sue RyderSince 2011, the re3 partnership has been working with the Sue Ryder charity and this association continues to help benefit thousands of people each year who are in need of care.

For 65 years, Sue Ryder has provided care for people to live the best life they can, this often is helping those who have life threatening conditions or complex health issues. At a local level, Sue Ryder’s Duchess of Kent and Nettlebed Hospices provide end of life care to hundreds of people each year in and around Central and West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire.

Household items or furniture brought to our Recycling Centres are initially inspected by our staff to see if they are viable for the charity. Any items which are suitable for the charity are placed to one side and later collected by the charity to go on sale in their shops. In the previous contract year a total of £17,772 was raised, an increase of £6,033 compared to the previous year’s total.

Precycle Precycle is a local company who take unwanted items and give them a second chance. They operate with many of the UK charity organisations and have outlets across the world for a variety of reuse items. The items include: pots and pans, books, small electrical appliances, crockery, bikes, DVDs, CDs, and the list goes on. As a result of this, the reaction from re3 residents has been overwhelmingly supportive. Starting with a trial at Smallmead and then rolling out this service at Longshot in November 2017, both sites now have designated areas for Precycle which allow residents to dispose of unwanted items that they feel still have a use.

re3 material being loadedfor recycling


26


Green MachineGreen Machine is a local community run company which runs Community RePaint and gives volunteer or employment opportunities to disabled and disadvantaged people. The Community RePaint programme in East Berkshire, is one of the largest and collects much of its paint from our Recycling Centres in Reading and Bracknell. When unwanted paint is brought to sites by the public, site staff separate paint that can be used by the RePaint programme. The reuse of paint benefits the environment by reducing material which is sent to landfill and reduces the carbon footprint.

Beneficial Use Beneficial Use describes the reuse of often inert materials. Examples of this are the reuse of hardcore as a construction aggregate and soil for landfill remediation and landscaping. Soil and hardcore deposited by re3 residents is collected separately at both Longshot Lane and Smallmead Recycling Centres and Transfer Stations.

RecyclingRecycling is defined as the action or process of converting waste into reusable material. The material which is recyclable is closely monitored to ensure reporting of re3 material is accurate. The partnership reports tonnages to the council on a monthly basis to aid monitoring and recycling rates.

Energy from Waste (EfW)In accordance with the PFI contract, 70,000 tonnes of waste per annum is sent to Lakeside EfW for energy recovery. The Lakeside EfW generates a heat which is then used to generate steam which is used to power a turbine generator unit. The generator provides enough electrical power to run the plant and contribute to the National Grid. See section ‘Waste: How We Deal With it’.

Sustainable LandfillLandfills are designed to control and manage municipal solid waste (MSW) that is spread and compacted to the smallest volume and covered. Municipal waste not suitable for recycling or recovery is sent to the licenced FCCE landfill site at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire.

FCC Environment provides landfill services to re3 and whilst landfill is the least preferred option for disposal of waste, the landfill practice which FCCE subscribes to incorporates sustainable elements.

re3grow Compost Following last year’s announcement that the re3 partnership had produced its own compost using our association with Sutton Courtenay Composting Facility, we received incredible feedback from the residents, resulting in the expansion of our re3grow compost production.

In May 2018 we began to sell 2,000 bags of compost to residents which adhered to the Soil Associations and the Association for Organics Recycling requirements. The compost was produced using 24% of local green waste which was brought to re3 recycling centres. In late 2018, the process to produce the product for 2019 had already commenced in order to provide the compost at an earlier date, in larger volumes and, with a higher percentage of re3 material. In February 2019, 6,000 bags of the new re3grow compost was available at our Recycling Centre sites for public purchase. Through working closely with the Sutton Courtenay Composting team in Oxfordshire, the new 2019 compost contained at least 90% of re3 residents green waste.

The re3grow compost is an additional programme the re3 partnership has embraced in order to create a circular economy for its green waste.

Figure 15Reuse Summary

Variance (%)

117%

907%

182%

291%

2017/2018

271

404

£32,915

£5,411

2018/2019

587

4,067

£92,810

£21,176

Variance

316

3,663

£59,895

£15,764

Precycle Reuse

Total Tonnes (Ex Bikes)

Bicycles (No. of)

Total Revenue

Total Landfill Avoidance


27


Food Waste re3 are continuously looking for new ways to improve recycling within the three boroughs and this year was no exception. The re3 partnership began to explore the possibilities of collecting food waste in its commitment to reducing waste and improving recovery, recycling and reusable rates.

During the contract year, a Contract Notice of Change was submitted by the partnership requesting that a viable option of Food Waste treatment as part of the contract should be considered. This allowed the re3 Contractor to explore sustainable treatment options though a procurement process. It also allowed for the operations and management (O&M) providers (FCCE Berkshire) to begin to explore the operational changes which would need to be implemented for the handling, storage and management of the service to commence.

In late 2018, FCCEB on behalf of the re3 partnership signed a contract with Seven Trent Green Power (previously Agrivert) who was selected to provide the off-take service for food waste recycling treatment at their anaerobic digestion plants in Wallingford and across the Southern region.

A food waste collection service commenced on 1st April 2019 from Wokingham Borough Council. Once collected food is deposited at our Smallmead transfer station facility in Reading. From here, the food waste is bulked up and sent to Seven Trent Green Power where it is processed through an anaerobic digestion plant. The waste is deposited into a bunker, macerated and contaminants removed, including plastic bags. Here the bags are squeezed to remove liquid (which is used in the digestion process) and placed away from the operation for preparation to send to an EfW facility - around 98% of food waste is recycled as part of the process. Macerated food waste is transferred into tanks which then, through the anaerobic digestion process, creates methane gas as a by-product during the decomposition process. The methane gas produced is used to power a generator and provides enough energy to power both the facility and 2,500 homes.

During the 75 day digestion cycle, the waste is transferred between five tanks during different phases of the process. The final stage involves pasteurising the waste, killing the bacteria and producing digestate which can be used for agricultural fertiliser.


28 LOCATIONS OF REPROCESSORS

Company

A1 Group

BCMY

Berrymans

BoltonBrothers

Clearpoint

Countrystyle

CredentialEnvironmental

CSS Recycling

CylinderCare(Wastecare)

DS Smith

DS Smith

FCCEBlackburnMeadows

GDEnvironmentalServices

G&P Batteries

GreenMachine

GrundonWaste Service

Invixon

J Mould

Jayplas

JMP Wilcox

Living Fuels

Postcode

RG41 4SP

BN17 7QU

WF11 0HP

IP6 0SL

HG2 8QT

ME9 8SR

DL5 6DX

RG14 5EY

IG11 0EQ

ME10 2TD

UB8 2FR

S9 1HF

NP18 2BS

WS10 8UR

RG12 1RL

OX10 6PJ

LN9 6NF

RG30 3XN

LE11 0JN

NN18 2DT

IP26 4JQ

Miles fromSmallmead

5

47

157

101

263

75

220

14

47

75

27

138

96

91

9

13

128

1

72

91

96

Miles fromLongshot

4

43

159

93

254

66

223

23

38

66

15

141

104

96

0

18

127

11

73

97

91

Material

Metal: Scrap Ferrous

Cartridges & Mobiles

Loose Glass

Cardboard

Mixed Paper

Plasterboard &Wood

Tyres

CRTs / WEEE – SDA

Gas Cylinders &Fire Extinguishers

Mixed Paper

Baled & Loose Card

Paint & Chemicals

Tyres

Household Batteries

Paint & AluminiumFoil

Street Sweepings

Street Sweepings

Soils & Hardcore

PET Clear, HDPE Natural, HDPE Jazz

Textiles & Media

Cooking Oil

End Market

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

Netherlandsprocessing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

Exported to Eastand West Africa,Poland, India,Pakistan. Some UKprocessing

UK processing

No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Figure 16Reprocessors of re3 Waste and their Distances from Smallmead and Longshot Lane


29

LOCATIONS OF REPROCESSORS Company

Morris Metal

NewportPaper

Novellis

Palm Paper

PearceRecycling

Peute

Precycle

Recolight

Roydon

SelectEnvironmental

Seneca

Sims Metal

SlickerRecycling

Smurfit Kappa

Sue Ryder

SuttonCourtenayComposting

Seven TrentGreen Power(Agrivert)

Synergy

Veolia

WN Thomas

Postcode

YO14 0PU

Belgium

WA4 1NP

PE34 3AL

AL4 0JZ

Netherlands

RG30 1EA

CR0 0XZ

M27 8LU

SN5 4HG

NW10 0UX

GU46 6ED

DY13 9BZ

ME6 5AX

GU47 9DU

OX14 4PW

OX7 4EB

CT4 7BA

LS9 0SJ

SL1 3QR

Miles fromSmallmead

192

205

150

107

38

348

2

38

155

40

32

10

83

62

10

19

13

90

210

18

Miles fromLongshot

192

196

155

104

32

341

10

29

160

49

24

7

90

53

5

26

20

81

208

11

Market

Baled Steel Cans

Mixed Paper & BaledCardboard

Baled AluminiumCans

Loose News &Pamphlets

Loose Cardboard

Mixed Paper &Cardboard

Bric a Brac, SmallWEEE, Books/Media,Bicycles

Florescent Tubes

PET Clear

Asbestos

RDF Material

Ferrous Scrap & Large WEEE / Fridges& Freezers

Engine Oil

Mixed Paper &Cardboard

Furniture: Reuse

Green Waste

Food Waste

Gas Cylinders &Fire Extinguishers

Wood

Metal: Non-Ferrous& Ferrous

End Market

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

Netherlandsprocessing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

UK processing

No.

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41


30

LOCATIONS OF REPROCESSORS

1828

36

2

8

33

115

321141

29

9

3539

100 miles50

50m

75m

100m

125m

150m

175m

200m

225m

250m

25m16

3731

13

5

7

22

403

34

38

26

4

2120

2519

14

17

1224

30

610


31

The partnership decided to conduct a number of programmes which most noticeably included tours of the MRF. These tours were available for the public to book throughout the week and resulted in the programme being overbooked.

The public feedback that was received during Recycle Week was overwhelming and consequently, further tours have been conducted.

“I've learnt a lot from the visit and have a much better understanding of the whole recycling process and what I can and can't recycle, and why. I've already received lots of positive comments from the ladies who took part, such as ‘very interesting and good fun’, ‘amazing and fascinating!’, ‘it was a great success", and "very well worthwhile’.”

“At the outset few of us had any real ideas on how recycling should be tackled believing that most waste was destined for landfill. The fact that over 85% of waste entering your site is now recycled is now a massive plus and we congratulate re3 for finding and developing the various markets for our waste products”.

MEDIA COVERAGE

NATIONAL RECYCLING WEEK THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP EMBRACED RECYCLE WEEK IN SEPTEMBER 2018, WHICH WAS ACHIEVED BY USING NUMEROUS PLATFORMS TO INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT RECYCLING NOT ONLY LOCALLY BUT ON A NATIONAL SCALE.


32

This news coverage enabled the local community to understand what was recyclable in their area but aside from this, it also highlighted the regional differences of what is recyclable around the country. This followed the message throughout the contract year of engaging with the public and creating greater clarity around recycling.

Website UpgradeIn March 2019 the re3 partnership launched its new and improved website. After feedback through the user satisfaction surveys, the new website was designed to be easy to navigate and to convey important information to local residents which include; what can be recycled, facility opening times, kerbside collections, and facts about the re3 partnership. Since its launch in mid-March, the website has seen an average of 11,418 monthly site visits.

NATIONAL NEWS IN ADDITION, THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP AND ITS RESIDENTS FEATURED IN A NUMBER OF MEDIA ARTICLES AND WERE FEATURED IN NATIONAL NEWS BROADCASTS ON BOTH BBC AND ITV.

BBC media coverage


33

THE RE3 PARTNERSHIP WAS INITIALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1999 WITH BRACKNELL FOREST, READING AND WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCILS AGREEING TO WORK TOGETHER TO DEVELOP WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES FOR THE THREE LOCAL AUTHORITY AREAS.

About re3

After securing a 25 year PFI (Private Finance Initiative) contract, FCC Environment (formerly Waste Recycling Group (WRG) joined the partnership, and the company re3 Ltd was created to deliver the contract on behalf of the councils.

The individual councils, as unitary authorities, continue to be responsible for both the collection and disposal of waste. However, the contract stipulates how waste is to be treated in accordance with national legislation and regulations which govern recycling, recovery and diversion targets.

Councils must provide waste collection facilities including Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and bring bank recycling facilities.

Through the re3 partnership, both the provision of these facilities, and the disposal of the waste collected, are contracted to re3 Ltd. re3 Ltd in turn employs FCCE Berkshire (part of the FCC Environment group) to operate the waste management facilities.

Smallmead Recycling Centre

GLOSSARYLandfill SiteDesigned, controlled and managed disposal sites for municipal solid waste spread in layers, compacted to the smallest practical volume, and covered by inert material applied at the end of each operating day.

Materials Recycling Facility (MRF)A recovery operation that separates mixed materials into their individual streams before transferring them to reprocessors.

Municipal wasteMunicipal waste comes under the control of the Local Waste Disposal Authority and includes household waste and other wastes collected by a Waste Collection Authority or its agents.

Overband MagnetA piece of equipment used in a Materials Recycling Facility to separate steel cans.

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) PFI is one of the main mechanisms through which local authorities (LAs) can procure assets in a value for money way in partnership with the private sector. It is a procurement methodology for asset-based services. Long term fixed price contracts are entered into with private sector contractors to deliver services to specified performance standards.

Picking TeamMembers of staff whose role is to remove items of contamination from the mixed dry recyclables on the conveyors in the Materials Recycling Facility.

Recycling Centre (HWRC)A Recycling Centre is a facility where members of the public can dispose of household waste and also often contain recycling points.

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)This is the term used for general waste that has had bulky waste materials removed and is then shredded into a specific fraction size with further recycling material removed. It is then bailed and wrapped ready for transport or export for use as a fuel at an energy recovery facility.

Recyclables/RecyclateMaterials that still have useful physical or chemical properties after serving their original purpose and that can, therefore, be reused or remanufactured into new products.

Reportable Incidents (RIDDOR)A reportable incident or RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) is the law that requires employers, and anyone else with responsibility for health and safety within a workplace, to report and keep records of work-related deaths, serious injuries, cases of diagnosed industrial disease and certain ‘dangerous occurrences’ (near miss accidents).

Spot Market AuditsThese are audits carried out on the companies that re3 use to ensure they are fully compliant with waste licensing and have sufficient waste storage and processing facilities and disclose any enforcement notices, prosecutions or warnings in the last five years.

Transfer StationTransfer Stations are a where local waste collection vehicles and trades people disposing of commercial trade waste deposit their waste. The waste is held here prior to being bulk loaded into a transport vehicle and sent for reprocessing.

Turnaround FailuresTurnaround Failures occur when, after weighing in, an Authorised Vehicle (vehicle depositing waste on behalf of the Council) is on site longer than 20 minutes before being weighed out. Reasons not accepted for taking longer than stated to deposit waste include site congestion, computer breakdowns and bulk loader blockages.

Waste Acceptance Policy (WAP)This is the re3 Councils partnerships policy that dictates what wastes can be accepted at the Recycling Centres and how it will be received; this includes waste types, recommended limits on quantities and also the policy for vans and over heights.

WEEEWaste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.

WRAPWRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a registered charity. It works with businesses, individuals and communities to achieve a circular economy through helping them reduce waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an efficient way.

Average Recovery RateThis is a contractual measure of the proportion of contract waste diverted to Energy from Waste, Recycling, Beneficial Use and Composting.

Beneficial UseBeneficial use describes the reuse of inert materials. Examples of this are the reuse of hardcore as construction aggregate and soil for landfill remediation and landscaping.

Bring Bank SitesAn alternative name for the community recycling sites provided by the local authority/contractor and charities, for convenient public access to recycling services. These sites often consist of different recycling banks for different materials.

Certifications ISO 50001 – Energy Management. 45001 – Occupational Health & Safety. 14001 – Environmental Management. 9001 – Quality Management.

CompostingA natural process to recycle organic material into a fertilizer used to improve soil.

ContaminationContamination occurs when non-recyclable items are placed in a recycling bag or bin, making it more difficult to process at the Materials Recycling Facility.

Contract WasteContract Waste is defined within the contract but broadly covers household waste collected by the councils or their agents, waste brought to and deposited of at the Recycling Centres by householders and industrial and commercial waste disposed of via the transfer station.

Co-mingled materialsRecyclables, all mixed together, such as paper with plastic bottles and steel cans. Co-mingled materials require sorting after collection.

DEFRADepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Eddy CurrentA tool used in a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) to separate aluminium cans.

Energy from Waste (EfW)Energy from Waste is the application of sound proven combustion engineering principles to a variety of technologies which reduce and sanitise the residual municipal waste fraction, after recycling and composting has taken place, in order to recover energy.

FCC Environment (Formerly Waste Recycling Group (WRG)) Parent company of re3 Ltd. FCC Environment is one of the leading waste management services companies in the UK and the fourth partner of the re3 partnership.


INTRODUCTION: A YEAR OF POSITIVE CHANGE

11

re3 Ltd.Smallmead Waste Management ParkIsland RoadReading RG2 0RP

T 0800 988 3023E [email protected]

The information is provided by re3 Ltd, every care has beentaken to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the contents. Designed by www.cream-design.co.uk

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