Waste Management and Treatment

This request relates to county-level waste treatment, contractor arrangements, associated costs and revenues, alongside preparations for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Please note the following response is based on Devon County Council in its function as the Waste Disposal Authority and relates to Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) operations only.

1) Contractor Information
Please can you provide a list of all contractors or facilities used for collection, sorting, processing, and/or disposal of plastic waste, dry mixed recycling, aluminium cans and whether the fee structure includes charges based on lorry size or number of journeys.
For each can you include:

– Services provided;
– Contract start and end dates;
– Annual or total contract value;
– Fee structures – whether they are fixed or variable rates, contamination charges/revenue sharing arrangements etc;
– Performance indicators or incentives used including recycling targets, contamination thresholds and associated bonuses/penalties.

Contract: Contract for the operation of 18 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and 2 Waste Transfer Facilities.

Contract Start: 01/04/2017

Contract End: 31/03/2026

Contractor: SUEZ Recycling and Recovery Ltd

Annual Contract Value: £9.2 million (approx.)

Fee Structures:  Fixed fees and variable tonnage rates

Performance indicators or incentives: Residual Waste Diversion Target, Re-Sale Target.

Contractors/Facilities used: records are available from WasteDataFlow.

Contract: Contract for a Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) service provision in Torrington

Contract Start: 01/04/2020

Contract End: 31/03/2026 (further extension of up to maximum of 3 years available)

Contractor: Coastal UK Group Ltd

Annual Contract Value: £200,000 (approx.)

Fee Structures: Fixed fees and variable tonnage rates

Performance indicators or incentives: Residual Waste Diversion Target, Re-Sale Target

Contractors/Facilities used: records are available from WasteDataFlow.

2) Waste treatment costs

Please can you provide the annual costs and revenues (2021/2022-2023/2024) related to recycling, recovery, treatment or disposal of:
– Plastic bottles ‘ including an estimate of the percentage or volume of PET plastic, where available;
– Other plastics and plastic packaging;
– Dry mixed recycling;
– Aluminium cans.

This information is not held by Devon County Council.

Can you provide the Gate fees per tonne or load paid during the same time period.

This information is not held by Devon County Council.

3) Contamination and Waste Treatment Outcomes

Please can you provide annual contamination rates (gross tonnage and percentage) for plastic bottles, other plastics, dry mixed recycling, and aluminium cans between 2021/22 and 2023/2024 by contractor/facility. If tonnages are estimated rather than measured, please indicate the method of estimation.
Please could you also provide the total annual amount (gross and %) of:
– Plastic waste recycled vs. incinerated;
– Aluminium waste recycled vs. incinerated;
– All council-collected waste recycled vs. incinerated.

This information is not held by Devon County Council.

4) Kerbside and Non Kerbside collections

Please describe your role in kerbside and non-kerbside waste and recycling collections.

For kerbside collections, please include:
– Whether materials (e.g. plastics, aluminium) are collected separately or co-mingled
– Frequency and method of collection;
– Any recent or planned changes in response to DRS or EPR;
– If on-the-go (public space) bins are part of the system, please include them and identify them separately.

This information is not held by Devon County Council. Devon County Council does not operate kerbside collections. Kerbside collections are the responsibility of District and Unitary councils in Devon; you may wish to contact them directly using the information on the links provided.

For non-kerbside collections (e.g. street bins or bins in public buildings), include:
– Whether separate contracts exist;
– Materials collected, including plastic and aluminium;
– Volumes (2021/2022 – 2023/2024), with percentages and volumes for plastics and aluminium;
– Contract terms and fees structures with contractors.
If tonnages are estimated, please state the method used.

This information is not held by Devon County Council. Devon County Council is not responsible for street bins. Street bin collections are the responsibility of District and Unitary councils in Devon; you may wish to contact them directly using the information on the links provided.

Devon County Council, as the Waste Disposal Authority, provides 19 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) for residents to reuse, recycle and dispose of bulky household waste.

Devon County Council HWRCs Tonnages:

5) Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Preparations

Please can you provide details of any work undertaken in preparation for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). This may include infrastructure investments, installation of reverse vending machines, operational changes, pilot projects, modelling, or public engagement activities.

Devon County Council is working with its District Council partners to meet the requirements of EPR and DRS, some of which are still unclear. There is no specific investment to provide additional infrastructure.