LAWR

STREET SCENE Keeping trade waste bins out of sight in Edinburgh The sight of bulky, brightly-coloured trade waste containers lining Edinburgh's streets are soon to be a thing of the past, due to councillors approving a new scheme to minimise the number of trade waste bins stored on the streets of Edinburgh by March 2016. What's the story behind this? Liz Gyekye finds out. dinburgh City Council published a report last year which found that trade waste containers were "visually spoiling the site of the city and bags left out on the streets were causing obstructions and litter". As a result of this report, earlier this year, the Council trialled a scheme which saw traders presenting their bins for collection at specific times of the day to help improve the appear- ance of the city. Businesses on Rose Street were asked to present their waste between 9am-10am and 5pm-6pm, Leith Walk firms had to put out waste from 10am- 11.30am and High Street firms from 8.30am-10.30am. Outside these times no waste was permitted on public land. Now, councillors have approved a plan to phase in the policy to all businesses in Edinburgh – beginning with the city centre and expanding outwards to incor- porate the Leith, Gorgie, Corstorphine, and Portobello areas. Absent bins Edinburgh City Council says that the initial trial was successful. As a result of the pilot scheme, there has been an average 81% drop in the number of bins on the streets in the pilot areas and an increase in access for pedestrians. The visible impact has been welcomed by local resident and equality groups which have noted positive changes to the streetscape and ease of movement, according to the Council. Businesses within the pilot areas are using a range of different meth- ods to manage their waste better, such as back-hauling, glass crushing, on-site paper shredding and sharing of bins. The Council also found that there was a reduction in litter. However, businesses in Edinburgh are divided over the scheme, with 38% believing it had made a positive differ- ence to the appearance of the area, com- pared to 40% who did not. Other concerns included inconven- ience to businesses with 49% requesting changes to the collection times, and insufficient storage space within their premises to retain the waste. The move has also prompted some businesses to increase the number of commercial waste collections they receive, equating to an increase in cost and the volume of heavy vehicles on the roads. The survey identified concerns that private contractors would not be able to meet the increase in collection frequency. The Council relaxed rules for food waste and glass recyclables following pressure from bars and restaurants on Rose Street, as well as guidance from SEPA and Environmental Heath indicat- ing the waste streams must be "contain- erised". These materials will be toler- ated assuming businesses fill them to the "the minimum capacity". The Council is also considering a 15 minute toleration period before and after each collection window. Speaking about Edinburgh City Council's decision to remove trade waste bins from public view, Envac UK sales manager Dave Buckley says: "The interesting thing is that the conversa- tion no longer needs to be about the attractiveness of a bin or how containers best integrate with their surroundings, but about underground waste collection. "Automated underground waste col- lection systems free up valuable above- ground space, allowing it to be used in a more productive way. It won't be long before there isn't physically enough space to contain the amount of bins, trade or residential, required to contend with the growing amount of waste pro- duced." However, UK Container Maintenance director Emma Elston says refurbishing containers to make them stand out is the best solution. She explains: "Nobody wants to see unsightly damaged containers.They con- tain rubbish but that does not mean they need to look it!" Elston says that containers can be repainted and made to look brand new. She adds: "I know I go on about this but these containers are a fantastic asset to your organisation. They are your static sales team. Make them stand out." " Containers are your static sales team. Make them stand out " 16 Local Authority Waste & Recycling December 2014 E Edinburgh City Council wants to improve the appearance of the city by removing trade waste bins from the street.

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