Managing Waste within Council Facilities

Clackmannanshire is the Council that has diverted the greatest percentage of waste away from landfill. Over 40% of our municipal waste is either composted or recycled. The Council has to continue to improve on this if we are to meet future diversion targets.For that to be achieved, it will rely on everyone doing their bit.

Outlined below is;

the progress that we as a council have made as part of our contribution to meeting these targets.
the future actions that we will implement as soon as we have the means to do so.
the responsibilities that departments and individual employees are now being encouraged to take on board.

The implementation of the last bullet point will determine in the future, how successful the council is in its contribution to future waste reduction targets.

The Progress Made So Far

Schools have been provided with infrastructure to recycle paper, cans, plastics and cardboard. Composting is also an option. There has been a 20% reduction in general waste bin space used by education services.

Catering Services have reorganised their business with a centralised facility resulting in a 30% reduction in general waste bin space rented to Catering Services.

Kelliebank Depot has its own skips for metal, wood, rubble and cardboard. This ensures waste from council organised repairs is recycled as efficiently as possible.

The main council offices have the following facilities

Paper Bins will increase in number with the current paper bins being replaced by blue bins with a polypropylene liner. Types of paper taken include both white and coloured office paper, magazines, brochures and catalogues, stiff paper/very thin card and envelopes. Each bin will be labelled with a full list of what can be recycled.
Cardboard recycling points are in place and more will be added if there is a need to do so.
Can Bins are located close to vending points and more will be added to where appropriate.
General waste bins for material that cannot be recycled using current methods have reduced in number. Personal desk bins are not necessary.
Ink Cartridges These will continue to be collected on behalf of local charities.
Out of date computer equipment is currently taken to Grangemouth enterprises for reprocessing.
Confidential Waste Containers are located at Lime Tree House and Greenfield. This material is shredded and then recycled.
Glass Waste A very small amount of glass waste is produced as a result of staff bringing in jars of coffee. It is your responsibility to recycle the glass jar. Investing in a collection service for glass is currently not considered a good use of resources. Use your household waste or retail recycling point.

Future Action

As soon as methods for future collection and sorting arrangements are finalised, further improvements will be added. These include the following:

Electrical equipment collections for recycling will be formalised under the Waste Electronic Equipment Regulations.
Small council facilities will be added as soon as they can be accommodated on the collection routes.
Plastics will be added when future commercial collection and sorting are finalised.
Food waste will in the long term have dedicated bins once there is the means to compost all types of food waste safely. In the short term there are no plans to introduce on-site composting or food digesting units but staff are encouraged to take fruit waste home if they have their own compost bin.

Managing Waste - The responsibility of employees

As well as recycling your waste please think about how you can reduce and /or reuse any waste you do produce.

Reduce

Think before printing - Is it necessary?
Read all documents on screen and share them electronically.
Set default duplex setting to print all documents double sided.
Forward electronic copies to colleagues rather than printing multiple hard copies.
Double sided use of paper and reuse paper. There is no need to purchase Post-Its
Reduce margin sizes.
Where appropriate use your own cup or glass when using the water dispensers or taking coffee and tea away from catering points.

Reuse

Have a scrap paper tray for storing old single sided documents that can be used for sending notes. The lids of boxes that hold A4 paper can be used and are an excellent example of reusing waste.
Return unused stationery.

Managing Waste - Your Department's Role

If you purchase goods remember you have bought the liability for any waste that goes with the item.

Review procedures regularly to minimise waste.
Set up a paper usage monitoring scheme for the section.
Ensure all employees are aware of procedures to minimise waste.
Cancel multiple memberships in favour of a section membership and cut magazine duplicate subscriptions.
Stop buying post-it pads and encourage people to use the blank side of old documents.
Re-use A4 envelopes as internal circulation envelopes.
Order stationery that has recycled fibre.
Convert photocopiers to duplex printing as the default.
Before disposing of equipment, use the councils internal information exchange (Coin) to determine whether other sections can make use of it.
Ensure that specifications for new equipment also include the taking away of any packaging.

Businesses

A number of the above actions are also relevant for many businesses. If you run a business then it is in your interest to manage waste out of your business. This is not only good for the environment but is also good for maximising profits.

For further information on waste management for businesses, please visit our Services and Advice to Businesses page.