Elected Member Briefing - City Centre Waste

About this briefing note

Report by: Niamh Anderson, Waste Awareness Coordinator

Date: 20 October 2022

Subject: City Centre Household Recycling Roll Out

Responsible Officer: Ruairidh Hanna, Project Lead, Collection Service Development

Publication

This Briefing Note has been published on the Council's website following circulation to Councillors. Its contents may be disclosed or shared outwith the Council.

Details

Purpose

This briefing note serves to inform Elected Members of the Recycling Service update (inclusion of Dry Mixed Recycling and Food Waste Recycling) that will be put in place in Perth City Centre in late November 2022. 

Briefing information

From late November 2022 (predicted November 19^th) Householders in Perth City Centre will have access to two new bins. A Dry Mixed Recycling bin and a Food Waste Recycling bin, these will be installed into the previously placed 'bin hubs' that currently house residents General Waste bins. There will be no change to General Waste collections.

Communications

Householders will receive the following communications to inform them of their new Recycling Service:

Letter

Householders will be receiving a letter in the mail (expected around the 26^th of October 2022) outlining the change to their Recycling Service.

Poster

Posters with maps showing where householders can find their nearest 'Bin Hub' will be placed in communal stairwells around the 26^th of October 2022 informing residents of the coming change.

Flyer and Leaflet

From the 7^th of November after the delivery of the initial letters, newly appointed 'Recycling Intervention Assistants' (appointed through the 'No One Left Behind' scheme) will be hand delivering an informative leaflet and flyer to householders. This will give householders a chance to discuss any questions they may have.

Our Communal bin hubs page will be updated on the 21^st October 2022 with relevant information relating to the Recycling Service update that can be shared with householders.

Residents can find their nearest 'Bin Hub' on our Find my nearest bin hub page.

Stalls and Information stands

There will be multiple stalls and event tie ins with information and materials relating to the Recycling Service update which will begin w/c 24 October within Perth City Centre. These will be advertised on the our Waste Services Facebook page and listed on the  page of this website.

 A community drop-in session will be held on 15 November from 6-8pm in the Café at AK Bell library to give residents a chance to ask any questions they may have before the bins are installed on 19 November.

 From 24 October complementary social media posts will also be released to help householders better understand how to use their updated Recycling Service and act as reminders for upcoming stalls.

Please visit our website to find the complete list of stalls that will be taking place in Perth City Centre.

Schools surrounding the City Centre will receive posters to be placed on noticeboards informing them of the upcoming change (w/c 24 October).

Food waste Caddies

For ease of use, a free food waste caddy and one roll of compostable liners can be collected by every City Centre resident from one of our convenient 'Caddy pick up points' which can be found by the Kitchen Caddy page of our website.

What can go into the new Recycling Bins?

Dry Mixed Recycling 

Blue lidded Dry Mixed Recycling bins can be used to recycle: 

• Paper 
• Plastic Bottles 
• Plastic Pots, Tubs, Trays and Punnets 
• Cardboard 
• Cans and Tins 
• Food and Beverage Cartons 

 Dry Mixed Recycling must be placed in the blue lidded bins loose, flat and dry, preferably with lids attached to cartons.

Food Waste Recycling

We advise compostable and biodegradable liners be used in the food waste caddies to help easily transport waste to the new food waste bins.

Food Waste bins can be used to recycle: 

• Dairy and Eggs 
• Meat and Bones 
• Tea Bags and Coffee Grounds 
• Plate Scrapings 
• Fruit and Vegetables ✔Bread, Cake and Pastries 
• Rice and Pasta 
• Cooked Food 

No plastic bags should be placed in the Food Waste Recycling bins, newspaper can be used to line caddies as an alternative to compostable liners.

Collection of Recycling Bins

Food waste bins will be emptied weekly by current collection crews on a Thursday. The food waste wheelie bin will be in a metal housing unit and will be cleaned by a specialist contractor inside and out on a regular basis to prevent unpleasant odours and mitigate any risk that the residents may not want to use them.

DMR bins will be emptied fortnightly on Wednesdays with the potential to increase to once a week in line with demand.

Monitoring

After installation of the Dry Mixed Recycling and Food Waste Recycling bins, Recycling Intervention Assistants will begin weekly monitoring of the bins. This monitoring will be the same as previous monitoring that has taken place in Perth City Centre and is an attempt to identify potential areas for improvement.

For any questions regarding the contents of this briefing note or to request a translation of the householder letter for Perth City Centre residents please email our recycling team or call the Customer Service Centre on 01738 476476