Joy Blizzard, Chair of LARAC

LOCAL AUTHORITIES RECYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Joy Blizzard, Chair of LARAC, explains recycling and waste- management’s role in the key aims of the government, namely localism, developing the big society and tackling the deficit?

The Local Authorities Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) represents local authority waste and recycling professionals.  Now in its 26th year, LARAC has become a key organisation that government and industry talk to.  We have used the model of the big society since the start, with much of LARAC’s work being done on a voluntary basis.  We are the people at the coal face where government policy and the public meet, or even collide. This interaction and the way in which it is managed and developed will be key in delivering the government’s aims of being the greenest government ever.

Clearly, this interaction of central government policy and recycling schemes delivered on the ground has had some significant success. Domestic recycling rates having risen from 7 per cent to 34 per cent in only a few years.  Local authorities have managed that most tricky role of delivering a service to meet the needs and expectations of residents but also radically change the way that those same residents have behaved. 

Who would have predicted that so many people would have taken to separate food-waste collections so quickly? With councils delivering alternate weekly collections, with recycling rates over 50 per cent and satisfaction ratings of over 85 per cent progress has been made — but clearly more needs to be done.

But where does recycling and waste management  — the main activities of our members — play a role in those other key aims of the government, namely localism, developing the big society and tackling the deficit?

Localism
Localism brings its own tensions.  Life might possibly be easier if there was one standard recycling scheme across the UK.  It would certainly make communications easier, and it is something that retailers and other packaging producers regularly call for.  But, as we all know, there are variations across the UK — usually for good practical reasons. 

Schemes have to fit in with the housing stock and demographics of the local area, and already there are some fantastic examples of how councils are working closely with their local communities to improve the service and ultimately the amount of waste that is kept out of landfill.

Manchester’s waste and recycling team have recently carried out a huge consultation process with over 67,000 residents.  By canvassing, even at weekends and evenings, the recycling schemes on offer have become more tailored to make recycling easier.  In the first six months of this year recycling has increased by 73 per cent.

Northern Ireland local authorities have worked together to produce the ‘Waste Storage Guide’ for architects and developers.  This ensures that the waste and recycling needs of new developments are considered at the planning stage and not as an after-thought, so that residents are not frustrated with bins that do not fit and refuse trucks that cannot turnaround in their street.
 
If the outcome of localism is to see more variety of schemes, how do people know what constitutes a good service?  Having worked closely with WRAP and the Local Government Association (LGA), the Waste Collection Commitment with over 100 local authority signatories in the first year is one way that the public can feel confident that through all the local variations there is a standard theme of good service.

Big Society
Councils have a tradition of delivering recycling and reuse projects in partnership with their local community groups.  These projects demonstrate the Big Society in action, often covering not only waste issues but also social issues by offering training, support and jobs for people often on the margins of our society. 

Councils such as Shropshire have formalised this approach by ensuring that their local furniture recycling scheme was contracted to deal with bulky waste and furniture collections as a part of its PFI contract with Veolia, ensuring that these community-led projects are sustainable and protected from the vagaries of short-term funding.

Deficit reduction
How can councils continue to deliver in a time of massive budget cuts and how can we play a role in deficit reduction? Some are already leading the way in radically changing the way in which services are delivered.

Anglo Saxon boundaries — fascinating though they are — are not really the most efficient basis of a refuse collection round.  Councils literally pushing the boundaries and delivering cross-border joint services can see significant savings: Lichfield and Tamworth are a great example, with savings of £700,000 per year.  Somerset councils have joined together to procure a single collection contract saving £1.7mn a year whilst significantly improving the service. 

We have come a long way — but there are big challenges ahead.  Even in a time of austerity, we as a nation still manage to waste £12bn worth of food each year, valuable recyclables are still ending up in landfill, and there are still those that cling to the idea that throwing out unlimited amounts of rubbish each week is one of their basic human rights.  The financial burden of recycling packaging falls mostly on the local authorities and behavioural change campaigns that are known to save money in the short, medium and long term are under threat.

Refuse and recycling collections are one of the very few council services that directly affect every person in this county, every week.  Indeed, we are regularly told that it is the only thing people pay their council tax for.

Bin men and recycling officers are about as frontline as it is possible to be.  LARAC is well established and has considerable experience among the officers serving as volunteers on the executive.  LARAC can, therefore, play a large and direct role in helping to deliver the government’s aim of being the greenest ever, but as a non-political organisation we are happy to work with other organisations that want to see our resources put to better use.  We can be contacted on larac@btinternet.com.

Biography of Joy Blizzard
A childhood spent making mud pies and playing with Tonka trucks in the sandpit made a career in waste almost inevitable.  After graduating from Leicester University with a degree in Biological Sciences, Joy started work in recycling as a volunteer at Stroud District Council and then worked in London, East Devon, completed her MBA and became a member of the Chartered Institute of Wastes Managers.  Joy now works at Shropshire Council as Waste Initiatives Officer.  Joy has been involved in LARAC for several years as communications officer, clocking up appearances on TV and Radio.  She was elected Chair of LARAC in January 2009.