With support from Mike Ritchie Loss of recyclables Colin Clissold With support from Mike Ritchie

Loss of recyclables: Bin capacity constraints? Australia 24% by weight of rubbish is recyclables That is = 33% of all recyclables are lost to garbage They are sitting in the garbage bin rather than the recycling bin Why? Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Loss of recyclables: Only 3 possible reasons I don’t care I don’t know My recycling bin is too small and I cant fit it in (so it leaks to the garbage bin) Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Proposition is that capacity constraint of the recycling bin causes leakage ~33% by weight of recyclables Problematic streams such as nappies.

Loss of recyclables: Options Do nothing – lose 33% of recyclables, higher cost of disposal to landfill Weekly 240 – doubles the costs of the recycling service Fortnightly 240 x 2 bins – doubles the cost of the recycling service Fortnightly 360 – adds a one off $50 premium to the service costs Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Loss of recyclables: The study: 1. Model the four option costs 2. Test the benefits of the larger bin Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Loss of recyclables: Testing the 360 litre bin: BCC 16% growth but not just because of bin. Melville 30% - but volume based Study partners: OEH Rockdale City Council Sutherland Shire Council SULO Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Loss of recyclables: Experimental design 2 shires – Rockdale and Sutherland 2 suburbs in each shire Offered the 360 bins Voluntarily 120 “test 360” bins in each suburb; 120 control bins Weighed and volume estimated 4 times Jan 2012 Feb March May Weight and volume of BOTH the recycling and garbage bins Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Loss of recyclables: Experimental design We wrote to 200 people in each shire Lower socio-economic area; many more retirees So voluntary preferable (and it saves money) Uptake was dramatically different: Engadine – 90% uptake Caringbah – 90% Bexley – 80% Monterey – 1% Bins delivered in Jan 2012 Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables. JW- Where did the % uptake come from??

Data sheets SSC -Engadine Test/Control/Twins Audit Team - A Audit Date   LGA - Suburb SSC - Engadine Residual Waste Audit Y/N Y - 240Ltre Bin type 120 red bin 240 yellow bin 360 Yellow bin Dry Recycling Audit Y/N? Y - 240Ltre + Y 360 litre Bin weight 9.3 13 17 Collection Date Collection time range 5-9am Data recording codes Normal collection date by truck Non Presenter NP weather Conditions on audit date No house/under construction NH Audit team/ Initials ****All NP houses must be entered into data sheet**** House Number Street Suburb 360L bin hhld Y/N Twin/single (1 or 2) Bin 1 Weight (kg) recycling Bin 1 Volume (%) recycling Bin 2 Weight (kg) recycling Bin 2 Volume (%) recycling Bin 1 weight (kg) garbage Bin 1 Volume (%) Garbage Bin 2 weight (kg) garbage Bin 2 Volume (%) Garbage 4 TARCOOLA PLACE Engadine N 2 6 7 8 11 15 18 101 RIDGE ROAD 103 Y 1 105 JW - Mike – I’ll send you a better/updated version of this for inclusion

Auditing Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Auditing Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Results after Baseline (audit 1) and Audit 2 Research is needed to determine the reason why recyclables end up in garbage bin. E.g.: Bin constrains Don’t care to recycle Etc During audits, need to record whether recycling bin was full and cross check to see if the corresponding garbage bin contained recyclables.

Bexley recycling (kg)

Bexley garbage (kg)

Bexley - % recycled (vol)

Caringbah recycling

Caringbah – Density of recycling

Engadine recycling

Engadine – recycling volume

Overall recycling (kg)

Overall - Recycling volume

Overall – recycling % full

Summary of larger bins Larger bin increases recycling volume – as expected Density of recycling drops - as expected Data on weights still unclear some up, some down compared to controls Different suburbs perform differently – as expected Increased recycling weights not necessarily coming from garbage bins Link of leakage to bin size still to be clarified – 2 more audits 240 L 360 L

Historic leakage data – 1881 houses (APC) 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% % of Recyclables in garbage bin 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100-109 110+ Avera ge % recycling bin full

So we don’t leak more when bin is full?? We leak all the time. 100% 80 60 40 20 0% % of recyclables in the garbage bin 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 % recycling bin fullness

OK. So if the bin is full do we compact it then ? 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Average bin weight 0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 100-109 110+ 120+ % fullness (litres)

Yes. We compact a bit when bin is full. 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 .05 0.0 Density kg/l Bin fullness (litres)

Fuller bins get compacted a bit more 60 50 40 30 20 10 Weight (kg) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Volume (litres)

Conclusions so far When bins fill - we compact (pretty obvious) Data on leakage still inconclusive Suburbs behave differently Trends still to emerge We leak at all levels of fullness i.e. poor recyclers leak the same as good ones Larger bin reduces density of recycling i.e. no need to compact Not clear if it reduces garbage weights yet Next steps 2 more audits Survey participants Comparisons with other jurisdictions 240 L 360 L

MRA Consulting 0408 663 942 mike@mraconsulting.com.au