Banter 37: Waste and Recycling Regulations, 18Sep24, Matthew Coulter
Matthew made us all aware of how the 2021 Regulations impact us at both the personal and the council level, and gave a lively presentation demonstrating what needs to be done - and how to do it
Video Timeline (min:sec):
00:00 - 23:54 Introduction & Presentation
23:54 - 58:54 (end) Q & A
Presentation:
AI Markdown of Presentation (ie all the text, none of the pictures:
Simpler Recycling - July 2024 Presentation
Changes to Waste Legislation
How will this impact businesses?
Presenter: Matthew Boulter Commercial Services Manager
What is changing?
The Environment Act 2021 was introduced to enhance the UK’s protection of the environment.
Section 57 of the Act relates to waste, and part of the new reforms will require all businesses and public service buildings to separate recyclables from their general waste.
These reforms will affect both household and business waste services.
The aim of these reforms is to:
Increase recycling rates
Reduce the amount of waste sent for disposal
Save energy
Conserve natural resources
Protect the environment
Suite of Waste Reforms:
Extended Producer Responsibility
Deposit Return Scheme
Simpler Recycling
What are businesses expected to do under the new Simpler Recycling reforms?
All businesses will be required to separate their waste and have separate collections for the following materials:
Glass: such as drinks bottles and rinsed empty food jars
Metal: such as drinks cans, food tins, empty aerosols, aluminum foil, aluminum food trays, and tubes
Plastic: such as rinsed empty food containers and bottles (plastic film mandatory from 2027)
Paper: such as old newspapers and envelopes
Cardboard: such as delivery boxes and packaging
Food: leftovers or waste generated by food preparation
There are currently no exemptions, and these separate collections are mandatory irrespective of the amount of recycling glass and food waste a business produces.
When will these changes impact businesses?
There is a two-stage approach based on the number of employees a business has:
Businesses with 10 or more full-time equivalent employees:
Separate recycling glass & food waste collections in place by 31 March 2025
Businesses with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees:
Separate recycling glass & food waste collections in place by 31 March 2027
Plastic film and flexibles: Not required to be separated and recycled by any business until 31 March 2027.
What do businesses need to do to prepare for the changes?
Speak to your current commercial waste provider to see what recycling collections they can offer and what capacity they have.
Understand the type and volumes of the recycling material produced by your business to help inform the container size and collection frequency you may need.
Consider how the recyclable material will need to be separated at your business and what additional resources/equipment you may need to enable this (extra internal containers, training for employees, etc.).
Identify and address any barriers to separate recycling collections (e.g., space for bins).
Support for businesses to be compliant with the changes:
Dorset Council can offer all the additional recycling collections businesses require under the reforms.
Instant quote online for recycling services: dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/businesswaste
Waste audits to help understand the volumes of waste produced and what service/containers would be best for your business.
Information, advice, and resources are available to support businesses becoming compliant with the changes: businessofrecycling.wrap.org.uk
Thank you for listening
Questions?
Meeting Summary
Sep 18, 2024 11:55 AM London ID: 834 5460 8536
The meeting revolved around discussions on climate change, waste management, and recycling practices. The participants shared their experiences and concerns about the current waste management systems, the challenges of recycling, and the need for a more circular economy approach. They also discussed the upcoming waste legislation changes, the export of waste materials, and the importance of community collaboration and education in promoting sustainable practices.
Matthew to continue delivering presentations to communities about upcoming waste legislation changes.
Amanda to follow up with Mid Counties Co-op about what happens to plastic films collected in their stores.
Claudine to meet with the waste partnership to discuss communication strategies for reducing public bins.
Frank to continue promoting the "refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle" hierarchy in sustainability efforts.
Matthew to seek clarification from Defra on how extended producer responsibility will apply to packaging from China.
Climate Change, Waste Management, and Listed Buildings
mervyn expressed his interest in the topic of climate change and waste management, as he had previously been involved in these areas during his tenure at the District Council. He found the weekly banter sessions organized by Graham to be very useful for sharing ideas and learning from others' experiences. mervyn also shared his approach to engaging with climate change deniers, emphasizing the benefits of taking action regardless of one's stance on the issue. Graham and Stuart shared their own experiences with listed buildings and the challenges of obtaining necessary permits for home improvements. The group agreed that a more pragmatic approach is needed from government regarding listed buildings to make them more livable and accessible for the general public.
Waste Legislation Changes and Personal Anecdotes
The meeting began with Stuart and mervyn discussing the lack of consistency, which mervyn attributed to personal preferences. Graham suggested adding locations for identification. Graham, Kirsten, and Amanda shared personal anecdotes about their children's university choices. The conversation ended with a positive outlook on the northeast region. Later, Matthew from Dorset Council presented on upcoming waste legislation changes impacting businesses and households.
UK Environment Act Reforms and Recycling Initiatives
Matthew discussed the UK's new Environment Act, introduced in 2021, which aims to enhance environmental protection. He highlighted three key reforms: simpler recycling, extended producer responsibility, and a deposit return scheme for disposable drink containers. The reforms aim to increase recycling rates, reduce waste, and conserve energy and natural resources. Matthew also mentioned the proposed deposit return scheme, which has been implemented in Scotland and is expected to be introduced in England. He expressed uncertainty about the logistics of the scheme and the timeline for the reforms, which are uncertain due to the new government. By 2026, all households in the UK should have access to a weekly food waste service, a minimum fortnightly garden waste service, and be able to recycle glass, metal, plastic bottles, paper, and cardboard. The reforms also include the recycling of plastic films and flexibles by 2027.
Waste Management Legislation Changes in Dorset
The upcoming changes in waste management legislation require businesses in Dorset to have separate recycling collections by specific deadlines. Large, medium, and small businesses with over 10 employees must implement separate recycling, glass, and food waste collections by March 2025, while micro-businesses have until March 2027. All businesses must recycle films and flexibles by 2027. Matthew emphasized the need for businesses to engage with waste providers and prepare their workforce for these mandatory changes, acknowledging challenges like space constraints for multi-bin setups.
Waste and Recycling Process Discussion
Stuart expressed his interest in waste and recycling, particularly in understanding the recycling process and what goes wrong. He shared his difficulty in finding information about the process and his desire to know the percentages of plastic that get recycled and how much goes to energy from waste. Matthew acknowledged Stuart's concerns and explained the recycling process in Dorset, which includes separating materials, using sensors and air blasts to sort them, and then sending them to specific reprocessing facilities. He also mentioned that there is always a proportion of non-targeted materials which end up as energy from waste. Matthew admitted he was not a specialist in this area but mentioned that the industry claims their emissions are effective. He also shared that Dorset does not send anything to landfill.
Waste Export Discussion and Recycling Practices
Graham initiated a discussion about the export of waste materials, particularly plastic bags, and where they end up. Matthew admitted he didn't have all the answers but mentioned that materials, including plastics and card, are sometimes exported to Asia and China. He also noted that the effectiveness of this process is uncertain. Amanda, a director of Mid Counties co-OP, expressed interest in the recycling of plastic films in major supermarkets and planned to ask this question at her organization. She emphasized the importance of sharing information on good practices to incentivize positive change.
Waste Management Practices and Recycling Challenges
Amanda discussed her household's waste management practices, including separate bins for various waste types and a composting service. She also highlighted the issue of recycling blister packs and her role as a master composter. Amanda mentioned the Parish Council's initiative to remove public waste bins by 2030 and the signs placed on bins encouraging people to return packaging to their vendors. Claudine expressed concerns about the lack of transparency in waste management, particularly regarding the recycling of public litter. Matthew clarified that in Dorset, most public litter is not recycled due to contamination issues. mervyn shared his experiences from Lincolnshire, where they separated paper and card from general recycling bins and started collecting food waste, questioning the feasibility of such practices in rural areas.
Recycling's Economic and Environmental Viability
mervyn expressed concerns about the economic and environmental viability of recycling, suggesting that the general public is being misled. He argued that the cost of recycling is often borne by the council taxpayer and that the process is not always environmentally friendly. mervyn also questioned the feasibility of extended producer responsibility, particularly in relation to packaging from China. Amanda emphasized the need for a circular economy approach, reducing consumption and waste, and making recycling a positive challenge. frank agreed with Amanda's points and highlighted the importance of repair and reuse in reducing waste. The group concluded that while recycling is important, it should not be the sole focus, and other solutions should be explored.
Discussing New Approaches and Climate Initiatives
Matthew made his presentation
Chat:
00:05:25 Matthew Boulter: Sorry I was having sound issues. I think I am working now
00:11:53 Wendy Thomson: I'm in a bit of a noisy café so will see if I can hear you all ok
00:16:14 Jacky Lawrence, Napton, Warwickshire: I hope this will include blister packs
00:20:22 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Ive experience with reverse vending commercially
00:20:34 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Reacted to "I hope this will inc..." with ❤️
00:20:54 Claudine Pearson: Reacted to "Ive experience with ..." with ❤️
00:22:01 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Our parish council in a significantly touristed cotswolds villages is withdrawing all public waste bins in its village centre by 2030
00:23:15 Claudine Pearson: Replying to "Our parish council i..."
that is very interesting news and one I would like to take to an equally touristed Shakespeare's England
00:30:09 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Replying to "Our parish council i..."
Reduce, reuse, recycle..... food waste service wouldn't be needed here as ALL is composted or not created in first place
00:30:51 Jacky Lawrence, Napton, Warwickshire: Replying to "Our parish council i..."
we have no food waste - veg peelings are composted
00:31:37 Wendy Thomson: Is that 10 fulltime located in one place? Or employed as a whole within a larger business?
00:35:30 Wendy Thomson: Does this include sports clubs etc?
00:38:18 Wendy Thomson: I need to leave now! Good to have caught the main presentation.
00:42:16 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: My 'Zoom Hand' is not working, Could I come ina fter Claudine please
01:02:56 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: People have got used to it, Mervyn said, just after saying it would be a pain to have so many different bins. My observation is that we get used to it quickly. The big issue as Matt says he's found in Dorset is storage space
01:04:02 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: REDUCE REDUCE REDUCE
01:04:25 Claudine Pearson: Reacted to "REDUCE REDUCE REDUCE" with 👍🏼
AI Summary of Speech-to-text:
WEBVTT
1 00:00:06.840 --> 00:00:07.440 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Okay.
2 00:00:33.260 --> 00:00:33.950 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Hmm.
3 00:01:19.930 --> 00:01:22.830 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Good afternoon. Still. Good morning.
4 00:01:23.130 --> 00:01:26.740 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: At the moment. It's good morning, but it won't be for long.
5 00:01:27.510 --> 00:01:29.130 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Good morning to you.
6 00:01:29.130 --> 00:01:30.170 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Good morning.
7 00:01:31.520 --> 00:01:33.799 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Looking forward to the session today.
8 00:01:34.600 --> 00:01:37.060 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Is it a particular interest of yours, Robin?
9 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:37.640 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: But
10 00:01:37.830 --> 00:01:45.930 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: when I was on the executive at the District Council, where I am waste and recycling was part of my remit.
11 00:01:46.533 --> 00:01:50.870 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: So I'm I'm very interested in in that aspect, and at the moment
12 00:01:51.020 --> 00:01:52.053 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: I have
13 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:57.750 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: a job with the Council to go out and talk to parish councils about
14 00:01:58.160 --> 00:02:04.159 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: countering the effects of climate change and helping residents to weather the problems that we have at the moment.
15 00:02:04.590 --> 00:02:05.310 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Bye.
16 00:02:05.310 --> 00:02:23.050 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: So and and I find these these banter sessions. I find them very, very helpful, because it's it's good to listen to what other people are up to, and how they've help their local community. So I thank you for organizing. These are really really useful sessions.
17 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:29.600 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Very glad that the hair comes out that way. Excellent! And that is the job of trying to get more and more people to work together.
18 00:02:30.260 --> 00:02:39.350 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: see? And and you know it's the sharing of the ideas, isn't it? And just everybody else's confidence is glad to good to know you're not the only one having these issues.
19 00:02:39.350 --> 00:02:41.484 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: And and what one of the
20 00:02:41.920 --> 00:02:45.959 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: comments yesterday from a meeting we had at council.
21 00:02:46.030 --> 00:02:59.039 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: They've had comments from parish councils about me going out to see them, and one of the comments back, oh, we've had 1 1 deny climate denier. And I said, I love climate deniers. They're they're really good people to talk to.
22 00:02:59.640 --> 00:03:10.710 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: That's very interesting, you know. I need to put you in touch with Belinda Borden down in Lyme Regis. She has a lot of trouble there with people on the Council who are climate deniers.
23 00:03:10.710 --> 00:03:20.620 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: The the whole thing was, you don't have to accept client change, to actually benefit from the things that we all want to do to combat it.
24 00:03:20.870 --> 00:03:42.070 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: That's the thing. So nobody wants to say. Well, I don't need to save money. I don't need to make my life any better than it is now. None of us live a perfect life. So that's always a good starting point when people say, Oh, well, what's the point of switching off things on standby. It doesn't save save very much money. And I said, Well, okay, then, you give me 25 pounds. Now, please.
25 00:03:43.270 --> 00:03:47.140 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: That's a great line. I like that one moving.
26 00:03:47.140 --> 00:03:48.970 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: And but yeah, so.
27 00:03:48.970 --> 00:03:49.450 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Kristen.
28 00:03:49.450 --> 00:03:59.179 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: As I say, I I sometimes I miss out on these because of other things that are going on. But I I have found these very, very useful, and I do thank you for organizing really really good.
29 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:06.760 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Well, it's my pleasure, and I'm looking for people for next week. So if you have any idea who would be talking, let me know. Please.
30 00:04:07.860 --> 00:04:09.670 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Matthew, good day to you.
31 00:04:09.770 --> 00:04:13.299 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Oh, no, you're not connected yet. Now you are.
32 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:23.909 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Challenge keeping this going every week. I do take my hat off to you. I'm sorry I've been a bit vacant because of holidays for a while, but but to to keep the the momentum going is amazing. Thank you.
33 00:04:23.910 --> 00:04:26.320 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: It was not acceptable to have holidays.
34 00:04:26.320 --> 00:04:27.390 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Oh, sorry whoops!
35 00:04:29.580 --> 00:04:33.470 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Can I call it a refresh or a recharge instead? Does that make it count?
36 00:04:34.583 --> 00:04:36.810 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: It's well.
37 00:04:43.440 --> 00:04:44.370 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: alright!
38 00:04:44.960 --> 00:04:50.829 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: I've just been told it's time to upgrade all my windows as my contribution to climate change. Isn't that nice?
39 00:04:54.590 --> 00:05:02.639 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: They never seem to remember that there are things called listed houses, and they can't just go ahead and do this, this and this and this, like everybody, is saying.
40 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:04.390 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: but never mind.
41 00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:06.680 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Well, I I.
42 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:09.970 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: Houses listed, but I did manage to get double glazing.
43 00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:11.160 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: It's you.
44 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:11.680 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: Yes.
45 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:15.640 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: How did you get that? Past the grade? 2 listed people.
46 00:05:16.144 --> 00:05:19.170 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: The one who deals with Ulsford
47 00:05:19.340 --> 00:05:24.319 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: was off sick for a while, so it's handed over to the guy in Chelmsford.
48 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:32.650 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: and he said, living in drafty old farmhouses. You need all the help you can get, therefore you must have double glazing.
49 00:05:32.650 --> 00:05:36.320 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: How very up up to date he is thinking, yes.
50 00:05:36.850 --> 00:05:41.110 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: In retribution when the lady for Applesford came back.
51 00:05:42.078 --> 00:05:44.472 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I'd already had some
52 00:05:46.570 --> 00:05:55.030 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: what do you call them, anyway? So some sort of listed building, compliant roof lights put in.
53 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:57.789 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: and she said, Take them out.
54 00:05:58.030 --> 00:06:05.569 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I I think it was just meanness, because we got the double glazing.
55 00:06:05.960 --> 00:06:12.509 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: but we we went to appeal with the Secretary of State, and they said, They're fine. So
56 00:06:13.340 --> 00:06:15.059 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: conservation grade. Yeah.
57 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:15.690 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Right.
58 00:06:16.990 --> 00:06:23.940 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: I think, conservation conservation offices and conservation offices. It's it's an eternal problem.
59 00:06:24.432 --> 00:06:27.027 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: And I find it locally that
60 00:06:27.690 --> 00:06:37.609 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: some of the decisions they make are completely irrational. You look at, they pass something. And you think, my goodness, how could you pass that when you've rejected that which is totally in character of the building.
61 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:56.529 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Government needs to actually do something about listed buildings. Because if we do go down this route, they have to take a much more pragmatic approach otherwise it it. They buildings become unlivable. And who's got a hundred 1,000 pounds to put traditional windows in a Georgian farmhouse. Very few people.
62 00:06:56.840 --> 00:06:59.889 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: There doesn't seem any consistency either.
63 00:07:00.070 --> 00:07:01.300 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: There isn't.
64 00:07:01.440 --> 00:07:03.019 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: It's it's all
65 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:12.029 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: personal petty preferences. And I have to say that that is what it comes down to. Some of these people are very, very petty in their approach.
66 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:13.050 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Yes.
67 00:07:13.050 --> 00:07:14.740 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Strange, isn't it? Yeah.
68 00:07:15.880 --> 00:07:28.659 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: So whilst we're just waiting for everyone else to join, could I ask if people could add to their names where they are or who they represent, just so that it's easier for people who are talking to get a view of.
69 00:07:28.710 --> 00:07:33.099 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Well, he's up in Scotland. Fancy that or wherever it happens to be.
70 00:07:35.530 --> 00:07:41.860 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: So. If people need to know where to do that, there are 3 dots in the top right of your picture, and you can just click on the rename one.
71 00:07:55.030 --> 00:08:02.239 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: So, Kirsten, if you're in Cambridge, do you speak about the other place, as in all the other graduates from Cambridge? Do.
72 00:08:03.390 --> 00:08:05.250 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: You you meaning in Oxford.
73 00:08:05.250 --> 00:08:07.730 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Where? Where else is there? Yes.
74 00:08:07.730 --> 00:08:12.240 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: I don't know. Durham might get feisty if you say that I think
75 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:22.490 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: the interesting is I I have recently delivered a daughter to university. And so I've had all of that sort of swirl of debate in my world, and.
76 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:23.170 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: It's been.
77 00:08:23.400 --> 00:08:31.090 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Teenagers that have grown up and been educated in Cambridge are desperate to go to other places, just to experience something different.
78 00:08:31.090 --> 00:08:31.700 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: City.
79 00:08:31.900 --> 00:08:32.230 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Awesome.
80 00:08:32.230 --> 00:08:33.640 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Pretty sad, right.
81 00:08:34.063 --> 00:08:41.676 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Just. But I think that that's probably the same for anybody anywhere in the country. I think because they just want to get away from their parents, don't they?
82 00:08:44.999 --> 00:08:53.119 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Well, my son, when he was trying desperately to make up his mind which university to go to, we went and visited a local family.
83 00:08:53.149 --> 00:08:53.789 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: who,
84 00:08:54.439 --> 00:09:00.539 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Every one of their members had gone to St. John's or Trinity, one of the ones in Cambridge, anyway.
85 00:09:00.719 --> 00:09:02.389 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: I think Trinity.
86 00:09:02.469 --> 00:09:10.299 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: And then we were invited over, and the family was out in the garden paying family hide and seek, which is extremely tough.
87 00:09:10.449 --> 00:09:22.859 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: and they invited my son to join them. So I went in and talked to the parents, and they said, oh, he said, you have to have him speak to our daughter Amelia because she's the black sheep. She she didn't go to
88 00:09:22.929 --> 00:09:26.339 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: to Trinity. She went to Newton, Newton, Newham.
89 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:27.200 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Unum? Yeah.
90 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:28.540 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: I was calling it, you see.
91 00:09:28.760 --> 00:09:52.350 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: So I said, Okay, and they all came trooping in from the garden. And here came this absolutely, stunningly gorgeous young lady, 22 or wherever she was, and she was open. She was friendly, she was cheerful, she was lovely, and her parents said, Would you go and chat to Ben about university, and she said, Sure! So off they disappeared. I never saw them again for hours.
92 00:09:52.420 --> 00:10:02.589 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: and then the time came to go home, and I was saying to Ben, well, was that helpful? And he answered, from somewhere up on Cloud 9, 0, yes, I know where I'm going now.
93 00:10:02.880 --> 00:10:03.500 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: A decision.
94 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:04.829 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: We've made
95 00:10:06.400 --> 00:10:07.150 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: contact.
96 00:10:07.150 --> 00:10:07.540 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Pick.
97 00:10:07.540 --> 00:10:08.085 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Yes.
98 00:10:08.830 --> 00:10:11.781 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Oh, obviously, peer, recommendation is the highest thing.
99 00:10:12.150 --> 00:10:14.889 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Absolutely, particularly if she happens to be gorgeous.
100 00:10:14.890 --> 00:10:17.879 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: That helps, I'm sure. Absolutely.
101 00:10:18.570 --> 00:10:31.739 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Oh, well, well, my daughter's just gone to Newcastle, and it was definitely peer recommendation. Apparently the partying's good. So obviously. I you know, all of that intellectual stuff that I talked to her about went straight out the side door. But to be fair, the department is excellent up there as well. So it's it's fine.
102 00:10:31.990 --> 00:10:34.340 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: I used to teach at the Med School in Newcastle.
103 00:10:34.340 --> 00:10:35.470 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Oh! Did you.
104 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:36.120 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Oh!
105 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:38.270 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: Oh, she's gone up to to be an engineer.
106 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.340 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: and they've they've got a good reputation for engineering, too.
107 00:10:42.520 --> 00:10:46.020 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Whole of the northeast is just a wonderful, hidden secret.
108 00:10:46.290 --> 00:10:50.500 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: I'm looking forward to exploring it more. She doesn't realise this. I've now got a base up north.
109 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.640 Kirsten Newble in Cambridge: There's got to be an upside to all of those delivery trips.
110 00:10:55.900 --> 00:10:56.590 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Yeah.
111 00:10:57.810 --> 00:11:20.920 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: So we're getting on past the witching hour of 5 min, which is when we generally expect everyone who is going to show up to have managed to get free of their previous calls. So let me start the ball rolling, and say, Welcome to you all. Thank you very much for showing up. The Gdpr person overlooking my shoulder is saying, don't forget to mention that you're recording this. So we are recording this. But
112 00:11:21.250 --> 00:11:29.189 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: I hope nobody is worried. We will be publishing the results on the wiki. So if you don't want to have your house seen.
113 00:11:29.280 --> 00:11:32.359 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: now is the time to turn the camera off. And
114 00:11:32.900 --> 00:11:47.019 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: today, when I came into the session, 1st of all, the 1st person on was Merlin, who actually, she's still he's still there. Okay, who said this was the topic of all that he was most interested in. So I thought that was fascinating.
115 00:11:47.260 --> 00:11:52.360 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: So, Matthew, you're off to a great start. You've got at least one fan already.
116 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:53.390 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: It's not.
117 00:11:53.390 --> 00:12:00.640 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: You would tell us who you are, and tell us why you're talking to us about what you're talking to us. That'd be marvelous.
118 00:12:00.640 --> 00:12:15.930 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Yeah, no problem. Yeah. Good afternoon. Everyone. Hopefully. You can all hear me. Usually use zoom for work purposes and had some challenges getting in, but hopefully you can hear and see me. Yeah. So good afternoon, Sir Matthew Boulter. I'm the Commercial Service manager here at Dorset Council
119 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:32.100 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and essentially manage anything that's income generating and waste related. So garden waste is one of my services, business waste, and a few other subsidiary services as well. And today's topic is a presentation I've started delivering to to communities
120 00:12:32.150 --> 00:12:38.479 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: particularly aimed at businesses. But it's about setting the scene of some some waste legislation changes.
121 00:12:39.005 --> 00:12:52.770 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: That will be taking effect and having some impact, particularly on businesses, but also on on households across the country as well. Not so much in Dorset, but I'll elaborate, elaborate on that a little bit in a minute.
122 00:12:53.082 --> 00:12:59.729 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: I'm hoping I have got a presentation. I'm hoping I can work out how to get this to to work for you.
123 00:13:00.260 --> 00:13:03.619 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: If you move your mouse. Oh, there you go! It's looking good.
124 00:13:04.170 --> 00:13:05.000 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Yeah.
125 00:13:05.340 --> 00:13:06.670 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Yeah.
126 00:13:06.670 --> 00:13:13.989 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Mode, but I lost you all when I did that. So if you can see that I might leave it, just as that at the moment. Is that sufficient?
127 00:13:13.990 --> 00:13:18.310 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: It's fine, except you may wish to go into slideshow mode, Matthew, you're.
128 00:13:18.310 --> 00:13:26.800 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Yeah, I I did try that, but it it knocked you all off my screen so I couldn't see your mother one, because it put it in presentation made on my laptop, but I will try it one more time.
129 00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:27.450 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: See if I.
130 00:13:27.450 --> 00:13:30.800 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: I can get it to work never does quite what you want. Technology.
131 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:31.800 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: There you go! That's good.
132 00:13:31.800 --> 00:13:35.518 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Oh, that's better. No, that's it. I've cracked it. Good.
133 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:42.330 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so yeah. So let's go straight into it. So if I just cover what's changing. So
134 00:13:42.630 --> 00:13:49.195 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: in 2021 the New Environment Act was introduced. And you you may or may not know that
135 00:13:49.730 --> 00:14:06.319 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But obviously it's been brought in to enhance the Uk's protection of the environment. Waste obviously forms part of that particularly section 57, and 3 new reforms have been proposed to help deliver parts of the Environment Act 2021.
136 00:14:06.742 --> 00:14:15.449 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: There are simpler recycling, which is the main one. I'll be talking to to you all about which will have some significant changes about
137 00:14:15.942 --> 00:14:31.620 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: what material has to be separated and and recovered and recycled from businesses and households across the country. We've also got extended producer responsibility, which is all about driving a circular economy and actually polluter pays principle
138 00:14:33.230 --> 00:14:49.550 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and the 3rd one has completely disappeared out of my head at the moment. Unfortunately, I've got a slide on it. Our deposit return scheme. Sorry? Yeah. So, hopping back to the deposit return scheme. And I'll talk a little bit about the 3 reforms in a minute.
139 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:56.357 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And as was on the screen there that the primary drivers of that which is mostly Environment act is to
140 00:14:57.150 --> 00:15:06.959 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: improve the environment. So for this purpose, it's about increasing recycling rates across the country, reducing the amount of waste, we throw away conserving energy and natural resources, etc.
141 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:26.760 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So if I just move on so, the 1st of the the waste reforms that is coming into effect, and we don't have an exact timescale on this yet. So this is coming in subject to any changes from the the new government. But because this is a conservative initiative. So
142 00:15:27.172 --> 00:15:33.677 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: there's still some uncertainty. But as an industry we're still expecting this to be pushing, pushing forward
143 00:15:34.180 --> 00:15:38.109 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So on the screen. Here is just a, I suppose, a a
144 00:15:38.520 --> 00:15:45.960 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: a visualization of what extended producer responsibility is essentially trying to do. And it's creating a circular economy, where
145 00:15:46.280 --> 00:15:53.729 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: waste, that is, materials that are produced for packaging in particular is designed in a way that it can be recovered and recycled.
146 00:15:53.950 --> 00:15:56.102 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: whereas at the moment.
147 00:15:56.710 --> 00:15:58.750 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: If I start with the the
148 00:15:59.030 --> 00:16:00.336 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: 1st blue
149 00:16:01.732 --> 00:16:13.799 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: circle there, which is the producer brand owner. They're producing their products. They're packaging it up goes to the retailer. Consumers we buy that we can reuse and refill, but
150 00:16:13.850 --> 00:16:18.780 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: generally most packaging material is is not in a format to be widely reused.
151 00:16:19.417 --> 00:16:22.520 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Or refilled consumer discards of it
152 00:16:22.770 --> 00:16:42.519 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: as a local authority or a private waste company. We collect it generally it's it's it's most packaging at the moment. Films and flexibles in particular are sent for rubbish and and treated as energy from waste predominantly is the main main way of disposing of black bag waste.
153 00:16:42.730 --> 00:16:45.710 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But ideally, you want that material to be sorted.
154 00:16:46.060 --> 00:16:52.360 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: recycled, recovered, reprocessed, and then turned back into a material that can go back onto the market.
155 00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:57.910 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So the idea of extended producer responsibility is the polluter pays principle.
156 00:16:58.130 --> 00:17:06.460 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So what it is doing is basically making the manufacturers and the producers of this this material that's entering waste and ending up in
157 00:17:06.863 --> 00:17:09.406 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: in the black bin, if you will.
158 00:17:10.030 --> 00:17:16.530 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: they're going to be taxed as part of this. So there's a financial incentive levied on them to actually innovate
159 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:34.910 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: or invest in recycling. So to give an example within the waste industry, one of the challenges we've always had over the years is new innovations in packaging, so light, weighting, prolonging the life of perishable products, food and drink in particular.
160 00:17:35.621 --> 00:17:50.570 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: It's great at serving purpose for the protecting, the per, the product, or even light weighting the the packaging to reduce transportation costs. But there's very little consideration for the end game. And what happens with that product at the very end?
161 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:54.659 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so what this is stimulating is actually
162 00:17:54.670 --> 00:18:14.980 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: the producers of the packaging actually need to think about what they're going to do at the end, because they produce a material that isn't recyclable. They're going to be heavily taxed as part of this new reform. So what they're hoping is this will see greater investment in recycling facilities within the Uk. Greater innovation in packaging
163 00:18:15.449 --> 00:18:20.170 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and transformation of packaging that actually, materials that are non recyclable.
164 00:18:21.730 --> 00:18:34.420 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: actually, packaging becomes made more, you know, recyclable therefore, as a as a local authority, and the private waste companies. We can, we can collect and recycle more of that material.
165 00:18:34.872 --> 00:18:46.190 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So that's in a rough nutshell extended producer responsibility. So that's that's the sort of engine that's going to drive this behind the scene and create the demand for the recyclable material as well.
166 00:18:48.020 --> 00:19:06.260 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: the second reform. And I've said this to to numerous business groups and and residents groups so far. And there seems to be a sort of a general eye roll and think, okay, yeah, this is this, all looks very familiar, sort of regurgitating something we've we've done before and and worked. But deposit returns. Scheme is essentially
167 00:19:06.654 --> 00:19:20.081 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: for those of a certain generation will remember. This is this is something that you there used to be. So what this is proposing is to to add a a tax or a charge on to any disposable
168 00:19:20.840 --> 00:19:25.820 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: drink containers so particularly glass and aluminium and steel cans.
169 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:32.563 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: with a view that you can then recover that that deposit.
170 00:19:33.090 --> 00:19:35.250 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: if you recycle it. So
171 00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:47.800 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: it's a little bit uncertain as to how this logistically is going to work around the country. Scotland was the 1st nation to actually look to take this forward. They were hoping to go live this year, but that's been postponed, I believe, till next year now.
172 00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:56.180 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But what they were looking to do is have a number of infrastructure or a lot of infrastructure around reverse vending machines.
173 00:19:56.290 --> 00:20:10.830 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So taking your glass and your your tinter cans back to a vending machine. It would then give you money back, or or credit to, to cash in at a local supermarket, or something like that, and the deposit they were proposing was 20 p. Per
174 00:20:10.870 --> 00:20:18.870 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: container was what they were going to implement in Scotland. So I suspect that is what we will probably see in England at some point as well.
175 00:20:19.600 --> 00:20:23.560 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Still some uncertainty within the industry as to how
176 00:20:24.106 --> 00:20:26.130 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: this will be implemented.
177 00:20:26.594 --> 00:20:31.550 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: The the logistics that need to go into place in terms of, you know.
178 00:20:31.974 --> 00:20:36.710 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: acquiring and implementing and finding places to put the reverse vending machines
179 00:20:36.790 --> 00:20:47.660 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: communicating that to the communities, but also the the logistics of emptying those containers, you know, from the vending reverse. Vending machines, taking that to reprocessors.
180 00:20:48.215 --> 00:20:51.485 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: It's quite complex. And no
181 00:20:52.560 --> 00:21:00.250 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: no small exercise. So again, there's still no time scales for us in the in England, for when this will come in.
182 00:21:00.470 --> 00:21:05.610 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: but the reforms do set out. This is the direction of travel that we are way aiming to go
183 00:21:05.630 --> 00:21:16.779 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so there could be a part for us, as local authorities to play in in the recovery and emptying of these reverse vending machines, for example, within our existing recycling routes.
184 00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:19.985 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But the the main one that
185 00:21:20.500 --> 00:21:31.543 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: I wanted to talk about is the simpler recycling. So this, this is the the big one that that will affect most. Well, if not all businesses and residents across
186 00:21:31.950 --> 00:21:33.150 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: the Uk
187 00:21:34.820 --> 00:22:01.330 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And essentially, what this is trying to do is simplify, recycling and make it clearer for everyone. Now, I noticed, you know, of the attendees today, there's a representation from different parts of the country which is great, and I'm sure each of us have in our respective areas something very different. What we can recycle, what containers we put them in and from area to area it can be quite confusing for residents
188 00:22:01.430 --> 00:22:03.750 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: as to what's recyclable and what's not.
189 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:11.319 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: What this reform aims to do is is make that much easier for everyone. So what this will do is it will mandate
190 00:22:11.360 --> 00:22:16.360 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: on local authorities what materials we have to collect from a household.
191 00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:18.299 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And I'll talk about that in a minute.
192 00:22:19.432 --> 00:22:30.143 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: It also advises it doesn't mandate anymore. What container it has to be in, or what color that container has to be in, but in terms of what is collected and the minimum collection frequency
193 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:32.180 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: is stipulated in that.
194 00:22:32.450 --> 00:22:33.350 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So
195 00:22:33.860 --> 00:22:46.470 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: in essence, every household in the Uk should have a weekly food waste service. Every household in the Uk should have access to a minimum. Fortnightly garden waste service that can or can be chargeable.
196 00:22:47.479 --> 00:22:51.340 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Every household should be able to recycle glass, metal.
197 00:22:51.370 --> 00:22:55.030 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, paper and cardboard
198 00:22:56.762 --> 00:23:03.210 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and at the moment it advises that rubbish should be collected as a minimum of fortnightly.
199 00:23:04.170 --> 00:23:13.339 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So for us in Dorset, for Dorset Council that mirrors essentially the service we provide our households at the moment, so that the level of change for us is is quite minimal.
200 00:23:13.620 --> 00:23:21.340 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But for some local authorities out there. This is quite transformational. And the Timescales, which are in the gray box down the bottom there
201 00:23:21.470 --> 00:23:22.410 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: is that
202 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:33.969 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: this needs to be in place by next year for most local authorities. I'm sorry in the blue box, I should say, is by 2026.
203 00:23:34.030 --> 00:23:40.820 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So in terms of contract life, vehicle procurement, container procurement implementation of this. This is quite
204 00:23:41.170 --> 00:23:42.245 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: ambitious.
205 00:23:43.730 --> 00:23:49.641 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: there are a few local authorities around the country which are tied into long contracts, and they've got
206 00:23:50.210 --> 00:24:01.009 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: delayed. Go live dates for themselves, so mitigating factors there for them which has delayed their go live. But the vast majority of local authorities, somewhere in the region, about 95%
207 00:24:01.080 --> 00:24:07.109 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: will have to have all of these additional services in place by 31st of March 2026.
208 00:24:08.070 --> 00:24:09.390 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So that is
209 00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:15.729 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: real positive thing from a householders. Perspective. You know whether in Cambridge, Essex, Dorset.
210 00:24:15.810 --> 00:24:23.050 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Wales, Scotland, everyone will have the same materials that they can recycle at the curbside
211 00:24:23.580 --> 00:24:24.859 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: in addition.
212 00:24:25.401 --> 00:24:34.258 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: In 2027. So a slightly delayed launch for this is that plastic films and flexibles
213 00:24:35.050 --> 00:24:44.159 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: which seems to be a lot of packaging these days will also need to be recyclable and and collected as part of the recycling mix.
214 00:24:44.784 --> 00:24:56.820 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So, thinking about my bin at home. The vast majority of mine isn't heavy material that goes in my black bag. It's the bulky sort of films and flexibles, so that will also be recover recyclable
215 00:24:57.140 --> 00:24:59.099 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: in 2027.
216 00:24:59.510 --> 00:25:05.689 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: The reason for the delay at the moment is because there isn't the infrastructure within the Uk. To widely recycle that
217 00:25:05.940 --> 00:25:10.509 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: there's some small facilities, but nothing on a scale that would need to be in place.
218 00:25:10.923 --> 00:25:13.399 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And the idea is is that the
219 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:21.490 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: 3 reforms will work in conjunction with with each other, so the extended producer responsibility will see
220 00:25:21.610 --> 00:25:40.249 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: the producers of the packaging material innovate and and align them material to that is, that needs to be recycled, but also the funding that will come from those producers, because not all of their material that they'll be putting onto the market will be recyclable. So the material that's taxed will help fund
221 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:50.039 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: things like the deposit return scheme will help fund the simpler recycling. So us as local authorities will be receive some funding to help collect more material
222 00:25:51.396 --> 00:25:52.890 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and also
223 00:25:53.540 --> 00:26:11.249 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: with plastic films and and flexibles. This the extended producer responsibility levy on those those producers will see them investing in recycling infrastructure. So hopefully, we'll stimulate that the market to have greater
224 00:26:11.957 --> 00:26:14.389 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: plastic film recycling capabilities.
225 00:26:16.690 --> 00:26:19.889 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Other thing to note on this as well is that
226 00:26:20.260 --> 00:26:23.809 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: is the business side of things. So the non household now
227 00:26:25.430 --> 00:26:31.439 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: At the moment there is a duty of care on businesses to separate their waste and recycle.
228 00:26:32.170 --> 00:26:33.800 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But it's not law.
229 00:26:34.503 --> 00:26:37.539 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: There's a requirement, but it's not enforced.
230 00:26:37.580 --> 00:26:45.550 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: What these changes mean is that businesses will fall into the same bracket as households, so businesses will be mandated
231 00:26:45.590 --> 00:26:50.020 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: under the legislation. To separate recyclable material.
232 00:26:50.330 --> 00:26:53.350 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so everything that is expected of a household.
233 00:26:53.570 --> 00:27:02.420 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So food, waste glass, metal, plastic paper, and card businesses will need to have separate recycling collections for those as well.
234 00:27:02.840 --> 00:27:07.140 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: which is massive. So for us in Dorset we've got
235 00:27:07.380 --> 00:27:14.750 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: somewhere in the region of about 5, 5.5,000 businesses. We we collect waste from
236 00:27:15.910 --> 00:27:21.070 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: latest figures. I had only 30% of those businesses actually recycle
237 00:27:21.750 --> 00:27:42.129 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: because it for them. It's generally the businesses that either want. You know, positive environmental credentials, or other other factors. That is driving those decisions because it does cost. It's an additional expense recycling any additional collections they have does cost businesses. So the vast majority of businesses will go for the bare minimum.
238 00:27:42.370 --> 00:27:44.710 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: This completely transforms that
239 00:27:45.285 --> 00:27:51.849 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so it for us in Dorset it creates a massive opportunity, but also a massive challenge in supporting businesses.
240 00:27:52.439 --> 00:27:53.579 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: With that
241 00:27:55.314 --> 00:28:05.659 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so, as I've just said, there, there's a little bit more detail on the types of materials that that household and businesses will be asked to to separate from this on the screen.
242 00:28:06.260 --> 00:28:13.469 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: The big thing I just wanted to point out on this this slide is, there are no exemptions.
243 00:28:14.650 --> 00:28:17.460 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: particularly from a business perspective. If you're
244 00:28:17.810 --> 00:28:23.120 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: a retail business, for example, you're not in the catering or hospitality sector.
245 00:28:23.250 --> 00:28:31.160 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: you will still need to have a food waste service. There is no exemptions, so it's not an excuse for a business. Say, we don't produce that.
246 00:28:31.250 --> 00:28:35.009 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: They have to have something they have to have separate something. So whether it be.
247 00:28:35.130 --> 00:28:41.680 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: you know your staff kitchen, and there's any tea bags, for example. They have to have a separate foodway service for that.
248 00:28:42.080 --> 00:28:49.619 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And the reason for mentioning that is because that's 1 of the big things that comes out from my conversation with businesses in Dorset to date
249 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:55.479 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: is well, we don't produce it. Why are we going to pay for an additional collection when we're not producing that waste?
250 00:28:56.118 --> 00:29:07.550 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So I do suspect that this aspect may be looked at by government, and and the reason, I believe that is because in Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland already
251 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:17.269 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: for food waste. They've introduced a minimum threshold, that is, if you produce less than 5 kg of food waste a day.
252 00:29:17.400 --> 00:29:20.719 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: You don't have to have a food waste, separate food waste service.
253 00:29:20.910 --> 00:29:24.028 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So England at the moment is the only of the
254 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:30.620 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: nations within the Uk to not have that exemption.
255 00:29:30.650 --> 00:29:32.040 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So I suspect
256 00:29:32.450 --> 00:29:44.000 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: that may come in in the near future, but as it stands, there is no exemption so irrespective of how much of a material you produce. There is an expectation it should be separated and recovered.
257 00:29:47.563 --> 00:29:58.196 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So the timings again are slightly different for the businesses. As to the household service, or household, should I say, and there's a 2 stage approach being taken to this.
258 00:29:58.840 --> 00:30:01.889 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so defra have said that if you're a
259 00:30:01.970 --> 00:30:05.919 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: large medium or small business which they've quantified as
260 00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:12.339 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: a business with more than 10 full time employees is, falls into those small medium and large brackets.
261 00:30:12.580 --> 00:30:17.100 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: They need to have separate recycling glass and food waste collections in place by March
262 00:30:17.320 --> 00:30:20.890 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: at 2025. So 6 months, essentially, is what we're saying.
263 00:30:22.850 --> 00:30:35.169 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: but those that they class as micro businesses. And again they they've categorized those with as businesses with fewer than 10 full time equivalent employees. There's a 2 year hiatus
264 00:30:36.130 --> 00:30:40.359 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: as in their go live will be the 31st of March 2027.
265 00:30:40.870 --> 00:30:52.590 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: The reason for the delay is the the financial impact, particularly on smaller micro businesses, will be much greater than the larger businesses, so they've got a bit more time to prepare
266 00:30:53.230 --> 00:30:54.409 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: as well.
267 00:30:57.510 --> 00:31:09.200 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And again the films and flexibles, as I mentioned with the household aligns with this as well, so all businesses will be expected to recycle films and flexibles by 2027, which is the same as the household day.
268 00:31:12.220 --> 00:31:19.079 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: I thought I saw a comment on the chat bar. So apologies. Let me just wake that up on my computer. Try to pick that up as I go.
269 00:31:22.750 --> 00:31:29.403 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Oh, see, there's a few in there. So if if everyone's happy, I'll pick those up at the end. If that's okay with everyone. Yeah, thank you?
270 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:34.533 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: right? So here we go that way.
271 00:31:35.560 --> 00:31:45.539 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so what I suppose what we're trying to do at the moment is get the the information out there to to businesses, because I think a large part of these these reforms and changes sort of gone under the radar.
272 00:31:45.958 --> 00:31:57.989 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Some of our bigger contracts that we have with big multi site businesses are aware and preparing, and we're facilitating that. But actually, the vast majority of our customers in Dorset
273 00:31:58.452 --> 00:32:06.520 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: are are unaware of this. So hence presentations like this that I'm doing to to business and community groups to try and to get the words out there to help them prepare.
274 00:32:06.900 --> 00:32:18.429 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So the advice we're giving is is they need to start engaging with their current waste provider and waste of supplier to work out what services they can be provided.
275 00:32:19.004 --> 00:32:25.515 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Because not every waste provider is able to provide glass and food waste in particular.
276 00:32:26.220 --> 00:32:35.419 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: understanding what types of volumes is is produced is is a as a massive factor. I think if you're if you've only had general waste or rubbish collections.
277 00:32:35.430 --> 00:32:38.690 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: everything goes into a bin. There's very little attention
278 00:32:38.800 --> 00:32:42.600 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: pay to actually what material is is forming that waste.
279 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:50.829 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So actually understanding what the majority of your waste type is, and to help inform what containers and bin sizes and collection frequencies you may need.
280 00:32:51.483 --> 00:32:56.580 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Is is really useful. And also to start thinking about.
281 00:32:56.660 --> 00:33:03.070 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Well, it's all well and good paying to have additional collections so recycling and and having different bins.
282 00:33:03.370 --> 00:33:07.820 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But I there is likely going to be some training or support
283 00:33:07.970 --> 00:33:14.394 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: within the workforce. Your your employees to help separate these materials?
284 00:33:15.650 --> 00:33:31.702 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: because you envision envisage a hospitality environment. You know, in the kitchen where the the food is being prepared, or or plate scrapings. You need the kitchen staff to be aware that you know what food goes in, where and what recycling needs to go into what the containers.
285 00:33:32.080 --> 00:33:33.529 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: because if it's not
286 00:33:34.470 --> 00:33:40.019 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: address there, the output you're gonna have is either going to be contaminated or or no good
287 00:33:41.830 --> 00:33:44.989 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and also identify any barriers to this. So the biggest barrier
288 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:50.170 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: we're more I'm seeing flagged. For for our Dorset customers is space.
289 00:33:50.520 --> 00:33:56.630 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: for now that the finance side of things is is a factor. But space is the big one.
290 00:33:57.110 --> 00:34:13.500 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: coastal resort, town market towns. Things like that aren't designed for multi bin setups. So trying to to work out what solutions they may need, whether it be communal, shared facilities between businesses is stimulating a conversation, to try and understand
291 00:34:13.600 --> 00:34:20.418 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: what challenges business foresee, and the likes of myself and my team and and other private waste.
292 00:34:20.889 --> 00:34:22.860 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: sorry waste providers
293 00:34:23.389 --> 00:34:30.510 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: to understand what we can offer. Is there something new we can put out on the market that will help address some of these these issues for businesses.
294 00:34:33.130 --> 00:34:38.450 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and the final thing is, again, this is very sort of Dorset centric and very, very Dorset specific. But
295 00:34:39.989 --> 00:34:59.129 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: we offer support in my team. So you know, pointing customers to our services to get an idea on what we offer and the prices, just as a benchmark, as a sort of a market leveller, if you will, but also there is so wrap, which is then the national race resources action plan. Program. Sorry
296 00:34:59.600 --> 00:35:04.662 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: of a national body. And there's lots of support material on there for for businesses.
297 00:35:05.350 --> 00:35:13.290 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: to help, you know, provide advice and guidance because a lot of businesses this is completely new to them.
298 00:35:15.370 --> 00:35:17.360 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: and that's the presentation I've been
299 00:35:18.254 --> 00:35:20.429 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: been given, so I
300 00:35:20.600 --> 00:35:26.649 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: see there's some comments in the chat bar, but any1 0, I can see a hand there that's always good. Yep.
301 00:35:27.935 --> 00:35:28.840 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Stewart.
302 00:35:31.750 --> 00:35:35.188 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: Hi, thanks. So very interesting presentation. And
303 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:41.949 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I I didn't really know about the change in legislation which is obviously coming down the line.
304 00:35:43.310 --> 00:35:47.780 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I I've been quite interested in waste and recycling for some time now.
305 00:35:48.150 --> 00:35:55.650 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: and I've been trying to find out what exactly happens to our waste and what we are doing wrong
306 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:57.957 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: in terms of
307 00:35:59.682 --> 00:36:07.100 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: the recyclables you. You say the containers just just rinse them and put them in the recycling.
308 00:36:07.190 --> 00:36:11.720 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: Well, how how clean do they have to be? If if you got a
309 00:36:13.029 --> 00:36:23.960 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: aluminium curry container they don't wash out easily some people say you waste more water and energy trying to clean them, and it's not necessary.
310 00:36:24.080 --> 00:36:26.600 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I've heard tales of
311 00:36:26.910 --> 00:36:35.700 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: if they find one contaminated article. Then the whole lorry load just gets sent to landfill.
312 00:36:36.080 --> 00:36:37.870 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I've tried to find out
313 00:36:37.900 --> 00:36:45.479 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: what exactly happens. I mean, as far as I can see, you put stuff in the recycling bin. It gets taken away
314 00:36:45.710 --> 00:37:08.369 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: that that's all I know about it. I have tried to follow it. I was directed to a national database which I found utterly impenetrable. Yeah, I think it was written in d base, and you had to open the database. Then start putting in filter after filter after filter. Next to impossible to find out.
315 00:37:08.520 --> 00:37:19.049 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I traced the company which our District Council use. We're in Essex this recycling company is in Kent.
316 00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:27.830 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: and there's quite a lot of blurb about the amount. They recycle this, that, and the other. Their plastics are separated.
317 00:37:27.860 --> 00:37:36.369 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: pelotized, sent up to Skelmersdale in Lancashire, and then sold to companies for reuse.
318 00:37:37.025 --> 00:37:43.509 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: But then the last bit of their form is how much energy from waste they generate.
319 00:37:44.299 --> 00:37:48.069 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: So it seemed very difficult to actually find out
320 00:37:48.580 --> 00:37:52.600 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: exactly what is happening, what we're doing wrong and how we can improve it.
321 00:37:52.850 --> 00:38:12.486 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Yeah. So i i i mean that I can't talk for other local authorities. But I I could spot, use the experience of what, how we operate and what it. What happens here in Dorset? So obviously similar sort of thing. Recycling goes into one bin in Dorset. We keep glass separate, so there's no glass but paper, cardboard, tin cans, plastics, all go into one bin.
322 00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:36.910 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: We collect that in our Cv. And we take it to our recycling facility which is essentially a bulking facility. All of our recycling in Dorset goes up to Shoton in North Wales, believe it or not, but actually, from an environmental perspective. That's the the best facility for recovering as much of that recycled material as possible for us. And that's accounting for the the extended travel. If you will up up to North Wales.
323 00:38:36.970 --> 00:38:42.050 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So the recycling facility very sophisticated sites these days.
324 00:38:42.682 --> 00:38:52.110 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Has a initial sorting facility, a manual sort where they they hook out any obvious contamination from from the mix. And you'll be
325 00:38:52.517 --> 00:39:05.030 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: amay. Some of the weird and wonderful things that end up, and people perceive to be recyclable. So there's initial sort line mainly to recover things like black bags and and any other obvious contaminants.
326 00:39:05.090 --> 00:39:20.820 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: After that it's all mechanical machinery where the there's sensors that that recover everything. So the main thing to be hooked off is is the metal tins and cans. So a combination of magnets and electromagnets to separate the aluminium and steel.
327 00:39:21.352 --> 00:39:33.010 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Next thing is, then there's blasts of air is probably the best way of describing at various different points. I'm doing a massive injustice to the technology, but it helps separate paper and cardboard.
328 00:39:34.530 --> 00:39:45.020 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: then, in theory, what is left is your your plastics, and then that goes on a conveyor where there's lots of optical sensors, lasers essentially, that determine the the
329 00:39:45.080 --> 00:39:53.630 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: type of plastic and the grade and and quality of plastic, and then again shoots blasts of air off to separate them off into various components.
330 00:39:53.780 --> 00:40:06.260 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Each of those gets bulked up and then sent to a specific reprocessing facility. So, as you described there, the the plastics get sent off and pelletized and reprocessed. Inevitably
331 00:40:06.510 --> 00:40:22.549 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: there is an output from from the recycling process which is contaminated. So from that initial pick line, there's also anything that's of a really small size that can't be sorted comes out at the end as well, that is the bit that is will end up
332 00:40:22.710 --> 00:40:32.297 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: as energy from waste. So there is always a proportion of non specific, non targeted materials which will, which will be recovered. That that's our experience in Dorset.
333 00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:34.229 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: the question about
334 00:40:34.500 --> 00:41:01.380 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: what is the level of contamination and and cleaning, then preparation of the material, I mean, the advice that we always say is, Yeah, if you can clean it. Brilliant, I mean, the main purpose is, it's not from a recycling perspective. It needs to be spot spotless. It's, you know. If you had a an item in your container that had half a curry left in it, and you put that in a recycling bin, it will contaminate all the other material in there, so paper and cardboard in particular. So as long as it doesn't
335 00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:09.550 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: perish or contaminate other material in the load, then it's generally fine. It doesn't need to be spotless from a recycling perspective, because
336 00:41:09.620 --> 00:41:12.837 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: that gets sorted as part of the process.
337 00:41:13.420 --> 00:41:20.450 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so I don't know that that's helpful or not, Stuart, but that that's our experience in in Dorset, and that's what we do.
338 00:41:20.990 --> 00:41:27.540 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: Yeah, no, no, that that that is, I mean that that's pretty much what I think happens.
339 00:41:27.580 --> 00:41:30.980 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: But I would like to know what sort of percentages
340 00:41:31.080 --> 00:41:37.920 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: of plastic actually get recycled? How much is going to energy from waste, and
341 00:41:38.330 --> 00:41:42.450 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: how good are the scrubbers on the chimneys of these energy from waste plants
342 00:41:42.650 --> 00:41:47.789 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: are, are we just tipping loads of toxic substances into the atmosphere.
343 00:41:49.208 --> 00:42:17.799 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: I I I'm not a specialist in that. I'm the the stat. Admittedly. This is probably from the the industry themselves, but the the way they describe it to me is, the emissions from these and the scrubbers in them are are effective. But of course they're gonna say that they've always described it. I remember seeing a presentation. They described the emissions from a facility that over the course of a year is comparable to a large firework display.
344 00:42:18.785 --> 00:42:19.769 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And
345 00:42:19.820 --> 00:42:32.909 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: again, what? Whether that's accurate or not I don't know. In terms of the efficiency from the recycling reprocesses. We, as a local authority. There are sort of
346 00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:41.629 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: trail in in the journey ends once it goes there. I I haven't got any stats for you. Unfortunately, as as to what
347 00:42:41.680 --> 00:42:48.520 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: input they're they're putting in as to how efficient that is at the outputs and how much is wasted from that journey.
348 00:42:48.540 --> 00:42:57.549 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: A lot of the energy from waste figures that we put in is our black bag waste. That's where vast majority of our stuff in Dorset.
349 00:42:57.975 --> 00:43:03.600 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So our black bag waste in Dorset goes through a process called mechanical biological treatment.
350 00:43:03.680 --> 00:43:12.760 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So black bags go into a facility mechanical. Ripping open of the bags. We try to recover any recycles. We can, but it's usually poor quality.
351 00:43:13.267 --> 00:43:19.530 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: It then goes through an organic process which is the sort of a crude composting process of the
352 00:43:19.740 --> 00:43:23.539 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: organic compost, like material is is broken down.
353 00:43:23.995 --> 00:43:42.969 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: And we get a compost like output, which can be used for restores restoration projects so generally. Restoring old landfill sites generally restored to nature reserves things like that, so that output can be used in in that. But it can't be used for for any sort of commercial or public use.
354 00:43:43.577 --> 00:44:01.812 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Because of its source. And then the the final output at the end of that which is relatively small is turned into what we call Rdf. So refuse derived fuel, which is essentially bales of of dried waste that then go into an energy from waste plant.
355 00:44:03.100 --> 00:44:13.689 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so, yeah, so that there is lots of treatment and recovery as much as as much as we can as part of the process. But ultimately there is a there is a waste that needs to be produced, sorry disposed of at the end.
356 00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:17.920 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But for us in Dorset we don't send anything to landfill
357 00:44:20.850 --> 00:44:22.399 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: Perfect. Okay, thank you.
358 00:44:22.760 --> 00:44:28.889 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: No, you're welcome sorry I see hands. I didn't see which order hands went up so
359 00:44:30.290 --> 00:44:33.370 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: I'll start as in top left of my window, Graham, if I may.
360 00:44:33.800 --> 00:44:37.499 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: The system does actually put them into order for you. So you don't have.
361 00:44:37.500 --> 00:44:38.440 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Oh, okay. Perfect.
362 00:44:38.440 --> 00:44:41.550 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: And you start in the right place. I've got
363 00:44:41.680 --> 00:44:50.030 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: 1st of all a big thank you, Matthew, for that. Who knew it would give me such an interesting topic. Thank you very much. You made it quite.
364 00:44:50.030 --> 00:44:50.350 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Welcome!
365 00:44:50.613 --> 00:44:56.680 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Fascinating. I do have a bunch of questions, so I'll ask a couple and give someone else the chance to then come back.
366 00:44:57.321 --> 00:45:04.489 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: But in your 1st slide there was a little window off the bottom left that said exports.
367 00:45:04.550 --> 00:45:13.339 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: and I wondered what gets exported and where to and what happens when it gets there, because we all see these horror shows of what happens in Malaysia and so forth.
368 00:45:13.340 --> 00:45:13.930 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Yeah.
369 00:45:14.130 --> 00:45:19.250 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: And they've all got plastic orange bags from Sainsbury's, which have obviously arrived from the Uk.
370 00:45:19.852 --> 00:45:25.059 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: And so what does get exported in that diagram of yours, and where to.
371 00:45:25.596 --> 00:45:37.959 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Yeah, it's a good question. And again, I don't necessarily have. All the answers I know there is an element of of waste and recycling which is exported. The
372 00:45:37.960 --> 00:46:03.499 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: materials. Recycling materials is a isn't global commodity. So there are. There are materials which are exported. I mean. The the prime example that's been given to me is in the past, because we don't export anything in Dorset. It's all reprocessed within the Uk. But from what has been described to me in the past is china and and Asia are a mass producer of
373 00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:07.549 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: packaging materials. Most you know, some of the consumables. We have.
374 00:46:07.570 --> 00:46:15.250 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Origins come from from Asia and China in particular. You've got container ships bringing that
375 00:46:15.420 --> 00:46:17.270 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: those materials across.
376 00:46:17.280 --> 00:46:34.980 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Actually, those ships will be going back relatively empty. So the the recycled materials is some like plastics. In particular card is another one that sometimes is exported. It's better exporting that back to the producers so they can actually recycle it and turn it back into the materials that's needed.
377 00:46:35.500 --> 00:46:43.079 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: How effective that is. I think. Yeah, I've seen the same sort of articles as yourself. 3rd World countries where you see almost literally just
378 00:46:43.220 --> 00:46:45.762 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: dumped loose.
379 00:46:46.720 --> 00:46:48.849 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: so so yeah, I I
380 00:46:48.860 --> 00:46:56.549 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: how effective, that is, I don't know, and I've got no direct experience other than just sharing that that
381 00:46:57.031 --> 00:47:07.229 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: example with you as how it's been described. For us in Dorset. Like, say, everything we we deal with is is Uk based. We did briefly export
382 00:47:07.633 --> 00:47:12.000 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Rdf refuse to buy fuel, but that was because of lack of
383 00:47:12.280 --> 00:47:21.619 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: incinerator energy from waste plant capacity within the Uk. And that was going on to the Continent in Holland, I believe because a lot of the continent.
384 00:47:23.543 --> 00:47:27.949 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: there, there's demand there. So it was. Yeah, most effective to ship it over there.
385 00:47:29.250 --> 00:47:38.679 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Thank you. And just one more question first.st so we we all have signs on the packaging which says, Recycle only at your large supermarket.
386 00:47:39.178 --> 00:47:44.589 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: What what happens to plastic bags and so forth from there, I mean, are they actually recyclable?
387 00:47:45.598 --> 00:47:52.511 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Good question. And again, I I'd love to have the answer for you. But I I don't know. Is it is my honest answer
388 00:47:52.910 --> 00:48:18.339 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: it. Someone asked me the same question last week. Actually, about, you know that they take back these schemes for films and flexibles and bags. Where do they go? And I don't know, is the honest answer. I I it was a question I post to our recycling team, which which are much closer to the, you know, reprocessing side of things. And we we yet to have an answer back. I'd like to think they're recycled.
389 00:48:18.737 --> 00:48:21.449 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: I'm not familiar with many recycling facilities.
390 00:48:22.870 --> 00:48:24.640 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: True, but I suspect
391 00:48:24.760 --> 00:48:27.218 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: supermarkets in particular will have
392 00:48:28.480 --> 00:48:31.480 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: contracts that probably a bit like.
393 00:48:31.480 --> 00:48:38.109 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: I think Tesco's just done a deal with a black bag manufacturer.
394 00:48:38.180 --> 00:48:45.139 Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Dunmow, Essex: so their plastic film waste they collect are going to make new black plastic bags.
395 00:48:45.840 --> 00:48:48.844 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: That would make sense, it would make sense.
396 00:48:49.310 --> 00:49:01.453 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But yeah, I mean what level of sorting it would need to be happen as part of it, because there's various different grades of the plastic films and everything. But yeah, I'd like to think that's what would happen widely.
397 00:49:02.200 --> 00:49:14.319 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: because, particularly with the supermarkets, is their reputation. If they're collecting stuff, and it's not recycled so. But this is where there isn't the infrastructure within the Uk. And this is where that extended producer responsibility. Part
398 00:49:14.500 --> 00:49:29.700 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: of the reforms is essential for actually developing the infrastructure within the Uk. To allow us to to collect that, and widely recycle it and recycle it with confidence that it's going to be turned back into something that's that's either reusable.
399 00:49:30.980 --> 00:49:33.217 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: What what is reusable in another
400 00:49:34.861 --> 00:49:37.620 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: step towards circular circular economy.
401 00:49:38.310 --> 00:49:45.200 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Okay, thanks, Matthew. Just a point that Mervyn's ability to raise a hand on Zoom has died. So he's.
402 00:49:45.200 --> 00:49:45.570 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Sorry.
403 00:49:45.570 --> 00:49:49.989 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: After Claudine. So if you can look to Amanda and Claudine, and then it'll be Mervyn.
404 00:49:50.130 --> 00:49:52.160 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Yep, we'll do so much. Thank you.
405 00:49:52.950 --> 00:49:53.880 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Amanda.
406 00:49:54.290 --> 00:49:55.500 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Hello there! Thanks for the.
407 00:49:55.500 --> 00:49:56.125 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Sorry.
408 00:49:56.750 --> 00:50:00.059 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: I'm in Bolton on the water in the middle of North Copswolds.
409 00:50:00.797 --> 00:50:02.680 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Very heavily touristed.
410 00:50:03.089 --> 00:50:23.950 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Not necessarily a negative thing, but it takes careful management. Let's put it that way. And a few, a few quick things are either answers or questions. One was you asked about the or somebody asked about the plastic films in major supermarkets. And I'm a director of Mid Counties Co-OP, where we do collect
411 00:50:23.980 --> 00:50:25.020 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: film.
412 00:50:25.080 --> 00:50:28.660 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: So I've just put it on my director's questions list.
413 00:50:28.670 --> 00:50:36.829 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and we'll be asking that question. At mid counties. This is not a plug for mid counties. This is just any Co-OP will be values based.
414 00:50:36.850 --> 00:51:02.579 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: And so particularly keen to know what questions the answers to questions like that ourselves, and then to share that with members, because nobody's going to be incentivized to do any good practice if they're not, you know, convinced and trusting of the outcome. So thanks for that question being raised. My question for our group here today. It's the great banter session. Sorry the banter sessions of the great collaboration
415 00:51:02.650 --> 00:51:11.590 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and primarily parish and town councils. So I guess my question and it's a rhetorical one, is, why don't parish and town councils know more about this?
416 00:51:11.680 --> 00:51:27.450 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Because I thought I thought I was pretty clued up on waste. But I you know I didn't know much of this, and I know the Environment Act 2,021. I've dealt through it. But again, the implications of this in bigger council land
417 00:51:27.690 --> 00:51:42.389 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: has passed me by. And I just wanted to say Cotsword, District Council on last count. I think we've got 8 different home based receptacles because we separate out our paper and card and cardboard.
418 00:51:42.470 --> 00:51:49.880 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and we have so that's 1 of the blue bins, blue bags. Then we have a white bag, full plastics and tin.
419 00:51:50.160 --> 00:51:53.690 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and then we have 2 black boxes, one for paper.
420 00:51:53.730 --> 00:51:56.459 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and the other one is for glass.
421 00:51:56.860 --> 00:51:59.690 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Then we've got food in a little black.
422 00:51:59.870 --> 00:52:04.840 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: you know, put out by the curbside with a little green one for inside the house.
423 00:52:04.980 --> 00:52:06.492 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and then we've got
424 00:52:07.290 --> 00:52:13.099 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Gosh! We've got a green bin service that costs about 70 80 pounds for a year
425 00:52:13.250 --> 00:52:16.140 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: for having your garden waste collected fortnightly.
426 00:52:17.027 --> 00:52:24.300 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Excuse me, and a black wheelie bin for everything else, and we've got access to composting.
427 00:52:24.940 --> 00:52:28.539 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: You both! You can get subsidized
428 00:52:28.670 --> 00:52:30.850 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: compostors for home use.
429 00:52:30.980 --> 00:52:46.869 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and we have a County Council service that does. Well, I volunteered to be a master composter, which basically means, as far as community development is concerned. I work with a number of my neighbours to encourage them to do away with their green bins and their food waste.
430 00:52:47.210 --> 00:52:49.460 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and only put out meat based
431 00:52:49.840 --> 00:52:53.279 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: food waste. If you see what I mean, anything that can't be composted.
432 00:52:53.898 --> 00:53:09.809 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: I also wanted to draw attention in the chat boxes to all the the chat to couple of us have said blister packs. Please please make it easier to recycle blister packs, because at the moment it costs a huge amount to businesses to recycle it.
433 00:53:09.810 --> 00:53:27.119 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: And when I turn up with my almost black bin bag full of all the cancer treatment I've had over the years, I'm still on so many residual drugs that you know I I go to super drug, and they, or wherever, and they almost shut the door on me. It's like we can't afford to take that amount of recycling from you.
434 00:53:27.671 --> 00:53:35.870 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: But where? Where will cause the recycle center went? And yeah, just to highlight also put in the
435 00:53:35.880 --> 00:53:43.279 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: chat that by 2,030 our little Parish Council has asked for the removing of all public waste bins.
436 00:53:43.690 --> 00:53:54.599 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and the idea there is polluters should pay, not the Parish council and its residents. So we've got signs up on our bins at the moment, saying, please return your packaging to your vendor.
437 00:53:55.140 --> 00:54:01.529 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: to the retailer who sold it to you, and sometimes we go round to litter, pick, and take it back to the vendor
438 00:54:01.600 --> 00:54:03.359 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: doesn't make us that popular.
439 00:54:05.380 --> 00:54:09.149 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: That's the end of my assortment of contributions for today.
440 00:54:09.160 --> 00:54:11.179 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and thank you for your presentation. Matthew.
441 00:54:11.180 --> 00:54:12.640 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: No, thank you.
442 00:54:16.340 --> 00:54:17.890 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Claudine.
443 00:54:20.250 --> 00:54:32.339 Claudine Pearson: Hurrah for the litter bins! I I'm here with a sort of slightly different hat. Town Parish Council. Yes, but also rubbish, friends, which is a litter, I'm not going to say litter picking charity any longer. Litter prevention.
444 00:54:32.941 --> 00:54:38.290 Claudine Pearson: So really interesting, Amanda, I'm absolutely agreed. The solution is not more bins
445 00:54:38.810 --> 00:54:40.050 Claudine Pearson: to litter
446 00:54:40.580 --> 00:54:47.579 Claudine Pearson: less bins. Thank you very much. Take your rubbish home with you, because my big question is working with Biffa.
447 00:54:48.204 --> 00:55:09.019 Claudine Pearson: Public bins. Now, yes, there's recycling bins out in our district, Stratford, and many other districts around. I understand from the people on the ground, from Bifford that actually the bins. Whether they're recycling or just. You know, the usual black bin that takes everything, including dog poo.
448 00:55:09.120 --> 00:55:11.709 Claudine Pearson: But actually it all goes to the same place.
449 00:55:12.320 --> 00:55:23.539 Claudine Pearson: is not recycled. I cannot find any confirmation one way or the other. As to what actually happens to public litter, it's really opaque, really difficult to get hold of
450 00:55:24.850 --> 00:55:27.850 Claudine Pearson: I'd love to know. Can you tell me what happens in Dorset?
451 00:55:28.010 --> 00:55:39.513 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Yeah, yeah, so we've we haven't really got many on street recycling bins. And and the reason is is contamination. If I'm I'm being honest. So Biff is
452 00:55:40.010 --> 00:56:01.260 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: information that it's all all collected as as rubbish, if you will. I can probably quite understand, because where we did have recycling on street recycling bins. They were so heavily contaminated that actually we we couldn't recover it. The you know, the time effort to do that. And obviously tipping contaminated load into a lorry load, will potentially
453 00:56:01.410 --> 00:56:11.029 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: see that that load of recycling rejected by the reprocessor, and the only other ways we can take it, is to a a treat, a rubbish treatment, facility. So
454 00:56:11.090 --> 00:56:30.842 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: prevention is better than cure. And prevention in this case is not collecting anything that's contaminated. So yeah, we we've not had massive success with with on street recycling, I think, for those that are are doing the right thing. It works, but it only takes one or 2 individuals
455 00:56:31.720 --> 00:56:48.179 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: to do the wrong thing, and it's it's undone all that good work. We're talking to local town councils, those, particularly in our resort towns, about what what they, how they want to do it dedicated recycling facilities which are away from the sort of main litter bins is is one option being considered.
456 00:56:48.240 --> 00:56:57.801 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: But then the challenge with that is, if you remove it too far away, no one will use them. So yeah, it's a real real difficult one to try and crack.
457 00:56:58.550 --> 00:57:11.650 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: So so yeah, in Dorset, we we don't really recycle any of our our curve. Sorry any of our litter. And we that there's been a sort of phasing back on litter bins and on street recycling bins.
458 00:57:13.480 --> 00:57:14.829 Claudine Pearson: Thank you that
459 00:57:14.980 --> 00:57:16.689 Claudine Pearson: that pretty much confirms
460 00:57:16.760 --> 00:57:19.160 Claudine Pearson: what I had thought.
461 00:57:19.560 --> 00:57:28.579 Claudine Pearson: And I think rubbish friends just really need to meet with the waste partnership. Because again, it's about communications. If you are reducing public bins.
462 00:57:29.040 --> 00:57:46.270 Claudine Pearson: You need to actually talk with your community, inform your community. Take your rubbish home with you. Behavior, change campaigns, all of these things that are currently not happening. And again, tourist area, there's such an opportunity to communicate. Thank you.
463 00:57:46.930 --> 00:57:47.720 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: You're welcome.
464 00:57:49.370 --> 00:57:50.140 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Mervyn.
465 00:57:51.620 --> 00:57:54.140 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Hi, Matthew, thank you very much for
466 00:57:54.520 --> 00:57:57.909 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: your presentation. Something that's fairly dear to my heart.
467 00:57:58.674 --> 00:58:00.745 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: I've got a number of
468 00:58:01.190 --> 00:58:19.550 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: things that that I want to put through. 1st of all, I'll tell you what we did here in Lincolnshire, back in 2,019, the Lincolnshire waste partnership, which is all 7 districts within Lincolnshire, under the umbrella of the the County Council. Obviously the disposal authority
469 00:58:19.660 --> 00:58:25.530 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: decided that we were going to separate paper and card from the general recycling bin.
470 00:58:25.720 --> 00:58:31.825 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: The reason for that is, you put your paper and card in the same bin as you got your cartons, and whatever it gets, damp
471 00:58:32.080 --> 00:58:39.419 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: recycling facilities don't want it, not because it's damp and contaminated, but because spontaneous combustion, when it will heat up a big pile
472 00:58:40.190 --> 00:58:45.939 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: that met with some initial resistance which you touched on about an extra bin.
473 00:58:45.960 --> 00:59:05.340 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: So you've got an extra 240 litre bin which you've got to accommodate somewhere. Very interesting response from lots of people. And each district our district was the second one to go. And I went out with the the collection teams, and had a variety of responses from people, some of them
474 00:59:05.370 --> 00:59:06.989 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: not quite so pleasant.
475 00:59:07.560 --> 00:59:17.260 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: That's a big issue with separating everything out into small boxes, and I think in Cotswold you've got all these little boxes that you've you've got to have. Personally, I would find that a real pain.
476 00:59:19.130 --> 00:59:20.090 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: the
477 00:59:20.390 --> 00:59:37.369 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: the economic benefits from cycling, taking paper and car down is the County Council now has an income stream. It goes 30 miles down the road to King's Lynn, to palm paper, where it's recycled. And it's about 98% good quality materials. People have got used to it. Now that's good
478 00:59:37.760 --> 00:59:55.490 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: coming to food waste. We did a trial here in Lincolnshire, 3 years ago, South Coast, even with the pilot for that one and whilst they were being subsidised by the County Council to do it. All was well and good. They ran it for year afterwards, and then dropped it because it was uneconomic for them to do so.
479 00:59:55.740 --> 01:00:07.769 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Having said that Lincolnshire County Council has just signed a deal with an anaerobic digester to take food waste, and my understanding is that next year they're going to start collecting food waste.
480 01:00:08.030 --> 01:00:10.500 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Now as councils.
481 01:00:10.600 --> 01:00:18.809 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: You will get a subsidy unless the Labour Government changes this from the Government for the pod vehicles to go out and collect the food waste.
482 01:00:19.080 --> 01:00:24.260 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: And I'm going to suggest that Dorset is very much like Lincolnshire. A large rural area.
483 01:00:24.390 --> 01:00:27.039 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Yeah, I don't have any food waste
484 01:00:27.220 --> 01:00:42.859 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: as such to throw out the odd banana skin, maybe, or a lemon peel, but the amount of food waste that I would generate. It would take me probably 6 months to generate 5 kg of of waste. Most of I go in the compost bin, or we have very little of the waste.
485 01:00:43.210 --> 01:00:49.650 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: That goes out, and any food waste at the moment goes in. The black bin goes off to the energy from waste plant.
486 01:00:49.760 --> 01:00:57.239 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: There's an issue from energy, from waste plants. If you take the food, waste out calorific value of the mix drops, that's an issue.
487 01:00:57.260 --> 01:01:03.199 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: What I hear nobody talk about with all of this charging around the countryside. To collect food waste
488 01:01:03.210 --> 01:01:06.480 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: is the actual carbon cost of doing so.
489 01:01:06.840 --> 01:01:30.850 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Nobody seems to be interested in that because you're traveling thousands of miles around the countryside to collect minimal amounts of food waste in an urban area. Yes, I understand it. So in the big metropolitan areas where you've got lots of restaurants makes perfect sense in rural areas like this. It doesn't. Now, I know there's difficulties in putting food waste in with the green waste because, you, you have to
490 01:01:31.310 --> 01:01:40.669 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: convert that into a usable compost, and from my understanding you do that in an autoclave green waste here goes to open row composting, which works very, very well.
491 01:01:40.800 --> 01:01:44.739 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: so I don't think Defra have really thought about this in the round.
492 01:01:44.850 --> 01:02:08.660 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: and the whole thing about the producer pays for it. No, it's the cons. It's the consumer that pays for it, because make no mistake about this. When we go for food weight collection. Yes, you get the initial grant for buying the vehicles. And what have you? But then, after that it's the council taxpayer will pay for this service, which I don't believe is actually that environmentally friendly. When you take the overall carbon cost of this.
493 01:02:09.270 --> 01:02:16.660 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: this comes on to other recycling. I'm sorry to go on about this, but this is something I've dealt with for 4 years. When I was on the Exec here at Northcast, even
494 01:02:17.420 --> 01:02:30.629 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: the other problem you have with recycling. There's an economic context to all of this. You can collect all this stuff, and if it's not economically viable for the manufacturers to recycle it. It just sits somewhere.
495 01:02:30.880 --> 01:02:40.339 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: and then some recycling plants have a convenient fire, because there's a lithium. Ion battery that's gone into the mix that sets fire to all. Well, that solves the problem of what to do with it. It's an insurance claims.
496 01:02:40.590 --> 01:02:50.400 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: So there's an economic problem with it. Not all plastics melt at the same temperature. So you've got the problem with different kinds of films. And I I don't know.
497 01:02:50.470 --> 01:02:55.090 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: I can't remember now, because we don't buy that much plastic. Met it with stuff with plastic all over it
498 01:02:55.160 --> 01:03:09.989 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: in Canada a few years ago all plastics had a number on them, so you know what? What type of whether it's a medium density, polyethylene, or whatever. And so there's a huge problem with all of this, and you can only recycle certain materials
499 01:03:10.190 --> 01:03:14.759 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: 2 or 3 times. So it's not an infinite cycle you have to keep adding new materials.
500 01:03:15.100 --> 01:03:23.950 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: I could go on and on. There are so many problems with all of this, and I think the general public are being hoodwinked by this.
501 01:03:24.250 --> 01:03:25.290 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Oh, well.
502 01:03:25.860 --> 01:03:31.519 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: mad rush to recycle everything where it may not be economically and environmentally
503 01:03:32.070 --> 01:03:35.850 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: right to do so. You've got the cheap analysis. But
504 01:03:35.990 --> 01:03:40.680 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: that seems to have gone out the window with all this technically, economically, environmentally practical.
505 01:03:40.750 --> 01:03:56.490 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: I think the whole thing needs a complete rethink and allow local councils to do what's right for the local areas. Now, I know you'll never get this through Defra, because they've got this big top down thing. And I've had this argument with the link to waste partnership for the last 3 years about that. But
506 01:03:56.570 --> 01:04:09.619 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: it it is a problem, and I don't know how you get round it. It really is a huge problem. And as for extended producer responsibility. You might be able to tell me this. What happens with all this packaging that comes from China?
507 01:04:10.130 --> 01:04:11.649 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Who's going to pay for that.
508 01:04:12.460 --> 01:04:20.029 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: It's a very good question. I don't have the answer for that. It's a it's something we've picked up by our end and a fed back to defra
509 01:04:20.440 --> 01:04:29.199 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: It it is. I will just say that in Lincolnshire, and nothing goes to well, it's about 4% of our waste goes to landfill, and a lot of that comes from the energy, from waste plant
510 01:04:29.210 --> 01:04:37.489 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: and and from I'm assuming your plant will be the same. A lot of materials will end up as aggregates. They'll take steel bits and pieces out and recycle that.
511 01:04:37.520 --> 01:05:01.559 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: and I could see an interesting article where in Holland they recycle dirty napoles into road aggregates, so that there is there is a use for lots of plastic material into aggregates and stuff like that. I will shut up now, because I could go on forever and a day about this. But thanks very much. It's a really really useful talk that you've put on today, and one that I think a lot more people need to hear. Thank you very much.
512 01:05:01.770 --> 01:05:02.460 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Thank you.
513 01:05:03.890 --> 01:05:04.960 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Amanda.
514 01:05:06.130 --> 01:05:09.063 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: Yeah, I put it in the chat box as well, because,
515 01:05:09.470 --> 01:05:13.510 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: I don't want to sound like I'm having a a
516 01:05:13.610 --> 01:05:29.680 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: what's the word accursive with Marvin. But, you know, the answer to that is, reduce, reduce, reduce. We've just got to keep saying it to people we don't need to consume so much. Don't get it in the 1st place, and and make your wise choices at purchase.
517 01:05:29.850 --> 01:05:50.159 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: so that at the end of the day it becomes a commercially viable decision to do away with some of this stuff. In the 1st place, let's just I think we've got to keep going with all of it. It's not one thing is the right way, one, and therefore everything else is not. It's a bit of everything. But we have got to look at the full circular economy, the full circular cost.
518 01:05:50.993 --> 01:05:57.149 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: And and look at the shifting away from optimizing the recycle circle.
519 01:05:57.570 --> 01:06:00.510 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: I'm going to reduce it in the 1st place.
520 01:06:00.550 --> 01:06:17.930 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and make it fun. And and you know, let let's see it as a as a positive challenge, a game to play, you know one that is it. It can be a good thing. It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom and and stress and climate anxiety stuff.
521 01:06:18.246 --> 01:06:34.290 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: But at the end of the day is, I mean I'm a public sector economist. So looking at these things from the cost to the taxpayer versus cost to business, etc, and the cost of the planet. It is right that we've got to be realistic and look at that. But I think that's
522 01:06:34.530 --> 01:06:46.303 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: the the stuff that's here. And now the stuff that's medium term, the stuff that's long term, and the different costs. And sometimes you've got to incur costs to reap the rewards down the line.
523 01:06:46.810 --> 01:07:00.669 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and as far as international standards are concerned, I do think we should be lobbying for an agreed international standard. When we have a lot of international visitors, tourists to Borton on the water.
524 01:07:01.067 --> 01:07:20.869 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: They are looking for their different bins that they're used to, or they're looking for the markings on their plastic or other things that they're used to, and they're finding a whole higgledy piggledy mess. We've not got to the Betamax versus Vhs video recorded debate and come up with a internationally accepted way of being. Yet
525 01:07:21.000 --> 01:07:24.960 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: it would be good to know, Matthew, if you know whether we're heading that way.
526 01:07:25.590 --> 01:07:28.309 Amanda Davis, Cotswolds: and that's the end of my rant. Thank you.
527 01:07:29.260 --> 01:07:38.480 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Thank you. No, I'm I'm not aware there's anything on a sort of a an international scale. I think this is very much. Everything I'm aware of is more sort of a national
528 01:07:38.490 --> 01:07:41.289 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Uk based. Legislation changes.
529 01:07:43.490 --> 01:07:46.920 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Are there any other questions? I don't see anybody.
530 01:07:47.240 --> 01:07:49.623 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Oh, quick! One from Frank.
531 01:07:52.640 --> 01:07:55.330 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: Yes, just, but I totally agree with the reduce, reduce.
532 01:07:55.460 --> 01:07:58.620 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: and it's part of a whole cycle of things. You start off with refuse.
533 01:07:58.660 --> 01:08:14.819 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: so don't don't accept packaging when you're out of places, and supermarkets are getting better. So we're seeing more and more supermarkets having loose fruit, and you take along your own bag to put the fruit in, but that's now that's still an exception. It's going to become the commonplace. So refuse, reduce.
534 01:08:14.820 --> 01:08:30.599 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: reuse, repair, and then you get to recycled the challenge. I mean, I'm taking nothing away. It's a really interesting talk, man, and great to get that context and understanding. But too often when you're trying to help people understand about sustainability or about climate action, they see recycling as the solution
535 01:08:30.680 --> 01:08:35.890 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: and recycling is actually the last resort before landfill. We've got to do everything else first.st
536 01:08:36.188 --> 01:08:38.149 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: And it's 1 of the ones we're trying to work on
537 01:08:38.180 --> 01:08:46.480 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: in in repair in terms of repair cafes up here that, realistically, where I suspect from some of the conversations I've heard here.
538 01:08:46.800 --> 01:08:54.940 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: Barclairnes and Scottish villages all of the English villages will be similar. People aren't going to wait for 3 weeks for their cattle, for the next repair cafe to repair their cattle.
539 01:08:54.939 --> 01:09:20.440 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: But what we're trying to work with is a startup charity, so that we you can take along your broken kettle, even if you bought a new one from Amazon within 48 h. Take along your broken kettle. Get it repaired, get it, Pat tested, and then it goes to startup charity for someone who's being rehoused and otherwise wouldn't have access. So it's not repair in the sense that you're getting repaired, Kettle, but it's staying out of landfill, and it's helping someone get hands up.
540 01:09:20.569 --> 01:09:23.459 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: So it's trying to be more innovative about that, and look at.
541 01:09:23.510 --> 01:09:27.410 frank deas, Killearn - up in Scotland: recycle as the the bottom of the triangle rather than the starting point.
542 01:09:30.240 --> 01:09:44.700 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Yeah, the the interesting takeaway I have from all of these collaboration sessions is there's no end to human ingenuity, and we will come up with solutions in due course, provided the planet lasts that long. So on that cheerful note.
543 01:09:45.390 --> 01:09:52.190 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Thank you all very much for coming. I attempt frequently to let you know what's coming next week.
544 01:09:52.229 --> 01:09:56.629 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: and I can tell you with huge aplom that I hadn't the slightest idea.
545 01:09:57.088 --> 01:10:04.881 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: But if all else fails, I'll be talking to you all about underground housing, and why you're daft to be above ground. But
546 01:10:05.550 --> 01:10:17.260 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: That may or may not occur, depending on whom I talk to in the next few minutes, and so thank you all very much for coming. Thank you particularly to Matthew for producing what was a fascinating topic.
547 01:10:17.340 --> 01:10:24.889 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: and, Amanda, if you can hang on a second, I'd be very grateful. But to everyone else, thank you so much, and we'll see you next week. Take care.
548 01:10:24.890 --> 01:10:25.910 Matthew Boulter - Dorset Council: Nice to meet you. Bye, bye.
549 01:10:25.910 --> 01:10:27.040 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: Whoa
550 01:10:27.350 --> 01:10:28.190 Mervyn Head, Central Lincolnshire: bye.
551 01:10:28.430 --> 01:10:29.340 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration: Bye, bye.
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