Waste in Barnet and the UK Where it goes and Best Practice from Barnet and across the UK
1. WHERE IT GOES
General Waste Collected weekly in Wheelie Bins Then goes to either: the Hendon Waste Transfer Station - where it is bulked into containers and taken by train to a landfill site at Calvert in Buckinghamshire (the majority of our waste goes this route) the Edmonton Waste Facility - where if it is bulky waste it is loaded on to large container lorries and taken by road to a landfill site in Cambridgeshire, or it is delivered to the energy from waste plant and burnt.
Barnet Collects a range of recyclables weekly in Blue and Black Boxes, left on the doorstep for collection, or at the Civic Amenity Site in Summers lane N12. Over 30% of domestic refuse in Barnet is now recycled. The following slides detail where each type of material ends up after collection Recyclables
Books The British heart Foundation (a heart disease charity) collects the books for sale in its shops
Cans, Tins, Foil and Aerosols Go to South Wales, sorted into Steel and Aluminium. Steel cans go into industry (eg. Car parts), Aluminium ones are made into cans again Key fact: Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely and saves 95% on energy and CO2 emissions compared to making cans from scratch!
Cardboard Ends up in Kent Made into packaging paper ( Kraft ) that lines the inside of cardboard boxes
Computer and TV Screens These go to SWEEEP Ltd. in kent (powered entirely by renewable energy). The Components are stripped out and separated. Glass goes to make new TVs, other components are recycled by SWEEEP.
Cooking Oil This is used to produce green fuel LF100 for UK electricity generation. Key fact: Just one litre (1/3 chip pan) makes enough energy to make 240 British cups of tea!
Electricals: Large Appliances (e.g. Washing Machines and Cookers). Goes to one of two plants in London. Shredded and broken down. Ferrous material sold to reprocessors (e.g. Corus). Non-ferrous goes to Newmarket and is recycled.
Electricals: Small Appliances (i.e. appliances smaller than a microwave) These go to SWEEEP Ltd. in Kent. Broken down into a range of materials (e.g. Cables, transformers etc.) that SWEEP recycles.
Engine Oil and Filters Containers are shredded Oil is reclaimed, cleaned and recycled. Filter material is recycled.
Fridges and Freezers Goes to site in Brent, London where ozonedepleting materials removed. Remainder of components sent for recycling.
Furniture Collected by Charity (Restore Community projects) Re-used by people on low incomes.
Glass Bottles and Jars Taken to manufacturing plant in Harlow Turned back into glass bottles and jars (e.g. for Gordon s Gin and Stella Artois!)
Gas Bottles Collected and re-used or recycled as scrap metal.
Green Garden Waste Waste collected at the Recycling Centre: Sent for outdoor composting in Hertfordshire and sold. Waste collected in the Green Bins: Sent for composting in Edmonton, London. Used in North London parks or agriculture.
Building Materials Screened and recycled. Goes to make road surfacing and foundations or sold to construction companies.
Batteries (Household and Car) Car batteries go to West Midlands, Household batteries to France. Batteries are shredded and separated into metal and plastic and recycled. The water and acid is treated and gypsum salt extracted to be re-used.
Lightbulbs Go to WISER in Cambridgeshire where components (Glass, metal, mercury) are separated and recycled. Key fact: Only Energy Efficient and Fluorescent Lightbulbs can be recycled!
Metal Goes to Hertfordshire Separated into ferrous (98%) and non-ferrous (2%) Ferrous goes to steelworks in UK (e.g. Corus) Non-ferrous (e.g. aluminium) goes to Europe of reprocessing.
Mobile Phones Collected by the Treehouse Charity and sent to developing countries. Money raised gives educational opportunities to children with severe Autism.
Newspaper, magazines, junk mail, paper, envelopes etc. Sent to paper mill in Kent then made into newsprint for companies such as News International. Key fact: This can happen several times a paper fibre can go over the loop 6-7 times in its life before breaking!
Paint Collected and used by community groups in and outside the Borough Trade paint collected by contractors
Plastic Bottles Taken to JayPlas in Leicestershire Sorted, granulated, and turned into pipes etc. Key fact: Only plastic bottles recycled as very limited processing for other types of plastic in UK.
Printer and Toner Cartridges Taken to plant in Surrey Remanufactured or repaired, and refilled and resold as toner cartridges again!
Shoes Collected by D. Robinson in Kettering. Sent to Africa for reuse.
Sports Equipment Re-used by Sport England Or recycled as scrap metal.
Textiles Good Condition (c. 50%): Sent to Africa or Pakistan and reused. Remainder recycled into stuffing for furniture.
Tools Collected by Work Aid charity that sends them for use in Africa.
Wood and Timber offcuts Goes to London Waste Ltd. Shredded into chips for animal bedding, wood-based products or fuel.
2. BEST PRACTICE IN WASTE MINIMISATION IN BARNET AND BEYOND
Waste Minimisation in Barnet Barnet has Waste Strategy. This aims to encourage the Prevention and Re-use of waste, followed by Recycling, followed by recovery, followed by disposal (see below). Principles are: value for Money, Sharing Responsibility, leading by Example and Enforcement. Recycling and energy efficiency in LBB offices and schools. Barnet was first Borough in UK to have Compulsory Recycling. Tripled recycling rate in 4 years. Extended kerbside collection in 2008 to include more materials (cardboard and plastic bottles) Rolled out flats recycling service. Civic Amenity and Recycling Centre recognised by the waste Industry as good.
Good Practice Elsewhere Bexley Council - in 2008/09 achieved over a 50% recycling rate. The first London local authority to do this. Has comprehensive refuse collections. Somerset Councils - for their partnership working, the low kilograms of household waste they collect per head and their separate food waste collections Preston Council - for their work with students and other transient populations. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) - Love Food Hate Waste. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com Working to promote how much food is needless bought and thrown away. This is a national campaign which Barnet is part of.