LAWR

WASTE COLLECTION Tower Hamlets goes underground The UK has made huge strides from a recycling per- spective over the last decade. This has been helped by the landfill tax escalator and improvements in recycling collections. But collecting from flats is still a tricky problem. Liz Gyekye explores a system that is helping to assuage this problem. nderground bin systems have been prevalent in Europe for a long time. But they have also been prevalent in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets since 1999. Tower Hamlets covers an area of just less than eight square miles, yet is home to 206,000 people making it one of London's smallest but most densely populated boroughs. It is bounded by the River Thames to the south, the River Lea to the east, the Borough of Hackney to the north and the City of London to the west. There are around 80,000 households in the borough. A significant amount of these households are socially rented and detached properties are hard to come by. Waste container specialist Plastic Omnium rolled out an underground bin system, also known as an underground refuse system (URS), in the borough around 2003/04 around a number of housing estates. Essentially, it is a "big box underground", project manager Alan Craddock explains. The underground units come in three standard sizes – 3, 4 or 5m3 containers, which translate to 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000 litres of storage space. Residents now separate their waste in specially designed bins which are based underground. There are bins for residual waste and recyclables. Traditionally, residents in flats would put rubbish down a shoot and it would end up in a 1,100L bin on street level. This new system tackles waste management limitations inherent within densely populated residential developments, by forming part of a development's infrastructure. Space-age in appearance, the above ground "columns" have a secure "night- safe" opening that enables residents to drop the waste down the underground containers. Craddock says: "The system addresses so many issues. The aesthetics of the product are a big advantage. It is proven to work in Tower Hamlets. It looks the part so residents tend to recycle more because they take more pride in the bin. With this system it is completely self-contained so you benefit from no unsightly over-flow and tackle the odour problem." So, how does it work? Essentially, the bin is lifted from the ground by a special refuse collection vehicle (RCV). The state-of-the-art vehicle includes a substantial crane-installation behind the cab and specially-adapted hydraulic equipment on the crane tube, which are used to lift the unit columns, together with the walk-on plates and underground containers, out of the ground. Lifted over the rear of the RCV by a hand-held remote-controlled device, the container bottom is then opened and the waste deposited before the units are placed back into the ground. There is also a safety platform with a carrying capacity of up to 150kg to ensure a safe emptying process. During emptying, the platform is lifted with counterweights, thereby closing the shaft. The safety platform springs up when the bin is emptied. "This helps to keep the residents and crew safe," Craddock says. Craddock says another advantage of the system is that the council does not have to use heavy waste transportation to reach the areas, causing fewer disturbances to residents. Logistically, the system can be placed into most sites, which range from a large development through to an entire city. It can be incorporated into new developments and improve waste management practices in existing buildings. There are challenges. To put the concrete container in the ground you need to dig a hole that is around 2.6m deep. Pipes and a Victorian underground might be encountered. "In London there are a lot of unknowns underground. You never know what you are going to find. But before anything is dug up a comprehensive survey is done and the construction team analyse what 'is below'," Craddock says. A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman says the project was part funded by the London Waste and Recycling Fund and was introduced in 2012 to a limited number of blocks. He says "the system provides residents with a convenient way of disposing of their waste and now includes the ability to recycle. Since the underground bins have been introduced 16 Local Authority Waste & Recycling May 2014 U May 2014 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 17 WASTE COLLECTION on a small scale in the borough, we are unable to say for certain that it has helped us to recycle more. Current recycling rates are 28% up to Q3". What's next? Craddock says that a few residents are not keen on physically touching the bin to put their waste into it. Hence, the firm has is devising a new system where it can fit a foot pedal onto to it so that residents can just press the pedal with their foot to open the unit. Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association is a housing association with 5000 properties in the south-east of Tower Hamlet. It has a number of underground bins for its Lincoln, Devons and Coventry Cross Estates, which has removed the need for bins at street level. Speaking about the system, estates service manager Peter Allum says: "The URS is an effective system for managing refuse and recycling, so long as it is cleared and emptied regularly. We prefer to use this than the traditional method of collection and disposal (shoots in flats) which is difficult to manage high levels of refuse. "In the beginning, we did have some resistance from residents to the new systems. As the system is outside and people were used to putting their rubbish in shoots, some did not want to walk a few paces to put their rubbish outside. However, people have got used to the URS and we do not get any complaints now." Allum says that the URS can also cut down on the risk of fires. Nevertheless, they have had some challenges. The association has had some issues with contamination when a few people put the wrong material down the recycling URS. However, a new recycling campaign is underway to help educate people to 'do the right thing'. The system is not cheap either – the collection vehicles are expensive to obtain, says Allum. They also do get the occasional waste overflow during holidays such as Easter or Christmas. However, all in all, it seems like the residents of Tower Hamlets have found the winning formula and it is underground. " It looks the part so residents recycle more " Underground refuse systems • Fast, efficient loading & unloading of trailers by fork truck • Rent or buy, on sale or return direct from the manufacturer • 6,000 kg to 15,000 kg capacities available • Solidly built to withstand rigours of tough working environments • Fully compliant with all EU quality & safety standards • Bespoke models also available www.thorworld.co.uk T: 01246 260981 F: 01246 260493 E: info@thorworld.co.uk LOADING RAMPS FOR RECYCLING & WASTE NO DEDICATED LOADING BAY? THORWORLD MOBILE YARDRAMPS OFFER THE IDEAL SOLUTION. FM 14696 ® SUPPORT BRITISH MANUFACTURING The market leading supplier of loading ramps to the recycling & waste management industry. Call now for our latest product range brochure. ® Percentage of people living in different types of housing Type of property Tower Hamlets percentage of house- holds living in this type of property Detached 1% Semi-detached 2.2% Terraced 13% Flat 83.6%

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