Disposal of used packaging away from home is a key strategic issue to tackle littering and promote positive disposal behaviour, including recycling.
Recoup carried out a survey of Local Authorities in the UK with the aim of gaining an insight into the service provision and collection ‘On the Go’, and nearly 100 Local Authorities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland responded to the call for information.
A consistent picture soon became apparent that ‘On the Go’ disposal in the UK was failing.
There is inadequate ‘On the Go’ collection infrastructure for both collection of recycling and residual waste material. There were key barriers reported, particularly around developing a recycling ‘On the Go’ infrastructure:
- High levels of contamination
- Inadequate budget for consumer communications and education
- Procurement, maintenance and collection costs
For many Local Authorities the cost vs benefit does not add up. There are significant costs in providing ‘On the Go’ collection services and high levels of contamination from the material collected, and many Local Authorities reported that the budget can be better spent on increasing quantities and reducing contamination in kerbside collections.
It was made clear investment is needed to prove the business case for ‘On the Go’ collection schemes. To do this effectively it was reported good data is needed to assess costs and potential benefits, with funding needed for procurement and installation of bins, scheme maintenance and collection of material, and also for consumer communication and education to promote effective use of the schemes.
The Local Authority Disposal ‘On the Go’ Survey report is now available to download from the Recoup website.
