A VERY enthusiastic talk was given by a Cornwall Council waste and recycling community support officer during the Launceston Community Network Panel’s recent meeting.

Peter Blenard gave panel members a brief run through of the council’s residential waste and recycling provisions and the changes that would be seen when a new contract is implemented in 2020.

Peter said: “The contract with Biffa we have for collections at the kerbside is due to change in 2020.

“Recycling is very much a hot topic at the moment. Until April last, household waste went to landfill but when Connon Bridge closed — which had at the time been receiving 120 lorries a day — it was sent to the SUEZ ‘Energy Recovery Centre’ which, when fully working, can take 240,000 tonnes of waste and provide an output of 20mw to the grid. That can power 21,000 homes per year.”

Peter said kerbside recycling is currently up to 26% across Cornwall with the local breakdown showing: Altarnun, 26.66%; Stoke Climsland, 25.28%; Launceston Central, 20.03%; Launceston South, 18.91%; Launceston North, 18.76%.

Recycling and compost makes up 34.9% of waste in Cornwall with the UK average standing at 45%. Peter said: “The challenge is by 2020 to be recycling 50% of waste and by 2030 to be recycling 65%. Quite a challenge!”

Peter said the kerbside separation system currently in place has worked well, with 99.5% of recyclable material being made into other products: “It is so important people put these items in the correct bags as it means we can provide a really high quality product to be reprocessed.

“Currently black plastic, a low grade plastic, cannot be differentiated and separated by the lasers and can mix in with other plastics making it un-recyclable. We have put this challenge back to supermarkets and you may have noticed there is less black plastic packaging on the shelves.”

He added: “And did you know that 60% of household waste, that’s the rubbish that goes in a standard black bin bag, could be recycled! For example you can recycle textiles — not a lot of people know that — if they are clean and dry place then in a bag in your glass collection box and we will take it away to be processed.”

Locally 21.75% of material going into residential black bin bags could be recycled, with 35.15% being food waste.

To combat this the new contract will seek to increase recycling and reduce general waste collections, with the potential of a new food waste collection being added. Wheelie bins may also be introduced or a ‘seagull-proof sack’ where appropriate.

Peter said: “In 2020 a new contract will be rolled out and we will go to weekly recycling collections, including food waste which could be sent to a local anaerobic digester, and going down to fortnightly black bin collections.”

A garden waste collection service is also available — in which residence must purchase a bin and pay for the ongoing service — although Peter said they do ask people, if possible, to compost their garden waste at home. For those using the service the waste is collected and used by The Green Waste Company, which has sites in Bodmin, Fraddon, Hayle and Plymouth and is composted using industrial machinery and shredders.

Peter was thanked for his informative talk and members of the panel and those present were welcomed to ask any questions.

Dawn Rogers from South Petherwin Parish Council asked: “If your waste isn’t picked up what happens?”

Peter said if general waste or recycling isn’t collected people must report it, either by calling the council or through its website. Biffa will then be contacted and have until 5pm that day to come and collect it. Peter added that they don’t want collections to be missed but are only able to fix issues if they are informed.

Launceston town councillor Margaret Young said: “Can we fine people if they don’t recycle?”

Peter said not currently, many aspects of the service were being considered in the run up to the implementation of the new contract but he couldn’t comment further as he didn’t know the particulars.

Member of the public Ellie Mason said: “Three of us live down a quarter of a mile lane. You suggested you will be implementing wheelie bins, which is all well and good in theory but in practise that wouldn’t be feasible for us. It is currently no trouble to pop a few black bin bags in the boot and whiz them down to the end of the lane during the school run but a wheelie bin is a whole different situation.”

Peter said an assessment was being carried out on households across the region to look at who would benefit more from a seagull-proof sack instead of a wheelie bin as they had identified this may not always be the most suitable option.

Chairman of the panel and Cornwall Councillor for Stoke Climsland, Neil Burden (Independent), asked: “Is there any resale opportunities in the new contract? I once found a hand woven carpet for £3, this was back in the olden days when resale at tips was still a thing. It is criminal these days, especially around this part of the country where people come to retire, when a relative dies and the distant cousins come down and clear out the house, you’ll find all sorts of things like Tudor tables and antique furniture are just thrown out.”

Peter said he agreed with the sentiment as he had once seen a Fender Guitar disgarded at one of their sites, but that was not part of their contract with SUEZ who run the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) across Cornwall. However, he gave a glimmer of hope adding that it was ‘being looked at’.

Cllr Burden concluded by thanking Peter for his informative talk, adding: “You are obviously very enthusiastic about all this and I think you deserve a round of applause.”