Title of Report / Waste Composition Analysis
Report for / Project Integra Strategic Board
Date / 27 October 2017
Approval Required / Yes
1 / Purpose of report
1.1 / To present to the Board a proposal to carry out a new Waste Composition Analysis (WCA) for Project Integra (PI) partners.
2. / Background
2.1 / Understanding the material make-up of household waste is fundamental to delivering efficient waste collection and disposal services. It indicates the types, amounts and proportions of materials found in different waste streams which in turn demonstrate how waste services are utilised and their performance. It is also used for research purposes such as waste forecasting and informing decision-making around future provision of waste services.
2.2 / In Hampshire, the last comprehensive household waste composition data set was generated in 1999. This data is now significantly out-of-date as a result of numerous changes to waste services in Hampshire as well as external influences on materials and where they are placed in the waste stream.
2.3 / At present, use of the 1999 data on household waste composition is supplemented by various sources of information by partners to support day-to-day service delivery. This includes high-level composition data from the Materials Analysis Facility (MAF) and existing composition data from other Councils. Whilst the MAF datasetis valuable in its own right, the MAF was not designed to carry out waste composition analyses, and it does not create a statistically robust composition dataset, because the sampling:
  • Does not allow for differentiation between varying socio-demographic groupings within Hampshire.
  • Only samples into a fixed number of categories, with the rest (comprising up to 45% of residual waste samples) being classed as “other”
  • Selection of the actual samples from the collected load can be subjective
  • Does not currently sample material from HWRCs

2.4 / New waste composition data, representative of the socio-demographic groups within each of the district areas in Hampshire, would have the following applications:
  • Informing waste forecasts for future years
  • Providing supporting data for the Hampshire Waste Partnership project and discussions about future MRF provision
  • Identifying fractions for targeting as part of the PI Waste Prevention Plan (PIWPP)
  • Aid planning of future collection services and collection rounds
  • Assist with targeted communications and behaviour change activity for increasing capture and reducing contamination.
  • Informing the refresh of the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS)
  • Identifying trends in packaging and behaviours

2.5 / The PIWPP, which was approved by the PISB in June 2017, included within it an action to explore the ways in which a WCA could be carried out.
3. / Options for delivery of a new WCA
3.1 / A new household waste composition analysis will need to:
  • Target kerbside residual and recyclable streams, as well as HWRC waste.
  • Take into account seasonal changes in waste composition
  • Provide a statistically significant waste composition which is representative at Hampshire and district level, but which can also be broken down to socio-demographic groupings (e.g. MOSAIC or ACORN).
  • Sample waste which can be identified back to its source.

3.2 / It has been considered whether the MAF could be “repurposed” for a 1 year period to carry out a new WCA. The advantage of this approach would be in helping to keep the cost of the analysis down. However, this would mean a temporary suspension of the current MAF contamination programme, and it is not felt that the MAF would have the capacity or resources required for this detailed analysis.
3.3 / There are several waste consultancies who have knowledge and expertise in providing a waste composition analysis service. They have the capabilities to design a sampling strategy, conduct sorting of waste streams and analysing the results. It is anticipated that input would be required from PI partners, in particular providing collection round information.
Via a procurement exercise, it will be possible to explore the cost effectiveness (and other benefits) of carrying out some of the required work in-house, for example by asking for separate prices for:
a)Identification of socio-demographic groups and planning the sampling
b)Collection of samples from kerbside (this could be done by district councils, for example)
c)Sorting of samples
d)Post-sample analysis and interpretation
3.4 / Economies of scale have been explored with neighbouring counties in the South-East who may be carrying out a similar WCA over the coming years. Whilst the timing of this work does not fit with other counties, there is interest from Kent, Surrey and East and West Sussex in standardising the categories that waste is sorted into, with the aim of being able to compare waste composition more easily across county borders and thus add value to the dataset.
4 / Budget & timescales
4.1 / An analysis such as this is subject to many variables which make it difficult to identify the cost. For example, cost will be impacted by how much of the work required is carried out in-house or contracted, how many samples are taken, whether samples are taken across different seasons, and how many categories are used for waste separation.
4.2 / The proposal is to allocate £105k to this project. This is broadly in line with budgets seen in neighbouring authorities who have recently carried out similar work.
It is proposed that this budget is formed of contributions from the following:
- £50k contribution by HCC from the waste prevention budget (cost of change)
- £30k from the District and City councils (£2.3k from each)
- £15k from Project Integra
- £10k from Veolia
4.3 / The data collection would take place during 2018. The exact timings will depend on whether a 1-season or 2-season sampling approach is taken.
5 / Next Steps
5.1 / Assuming that the recommendation is approved, a project plan will be developed to set out detailed timelines. Immediate next steps are likely to include:
  • Formation of a PI Officer Working Group to steer the project – nominations from two districts, one unitary authority plus HCC, have already been received.
  • Development of procurement strategy (November)
  • Procurement exercise to appoint service provider (Dec to Feb) – the Head of PI will work with HCC colleagues in the Waste Prevention team to deliver this

6 / Conclusions
6.1 / For the reasons outlined, a waste composition analysis is seen as an important tool to equip all Hampshire councils and the PI partnership with data which can influence decision making and planning in the coming years. This will repeat an exercise not conducted for almost 20 years, a period over which much has changed in terms of waste flow, packaging trends and socio-demographics.
6.2 / Appointing an external provider is recommended, as it will allow for continued use of the MAF for business-as-usual work, whilst importing the necessary expertise to ensure the project results in statistically sound data. There may also be scope to carry out some of the work in-house, which will be explored as part of a flexible procurement strategy.
7 / Recommendation
7.1 / That the Board:
  • Approve the project budget as detailed in 4.2
  • Agree to commence the next steps as detailed in section 5, in order to carry out the WCA during 2018
  • Request the Head of PI to report back on progress to the next meeting of PISB in February 2018

Officer contact details

Name / Chris Noble
Position / Head of Project Integra
Tel / 01962 832302
E-mail /

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