We are of the view that there is a relationship between recycling and greenhouse gases, in other words the less that is sorted for recycling the greater the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. But we need more answers in order for us to be able to articulate this view properly.RecyclingIs it correct to say that the Council claimed there would be a saving of £1.2 million from introducing the charges for brown bins? What savings have actually been achieved?What was the total tonnage collected before the introduction and what is it now? Please give a breakdown in terms of black, blue and brown bins.What are the charges per tonne for disposing of black bin waste via landfill?

What are the charges per tonne for disposing of blue bin waste?

What are the charges per tonne for disposing of brown bin waste? Where is this now going?

How much did it cost to dispose of brown bin via Vital Earth?

Derby City Council used to be one of the leading councils in recycling and was rightly proud of this. Unfortunately this seems to be slipping badly. What is the national average for Councils?  What have the percentages for Derby been for the last 8 years? What is the current target?

Green House Gas Emissions

How many standard bin lorries was the Council using before the introduction of the brown bin scheme and how many is it employing now?

Much of the discussion has been around the generation of methane from compostable materials in the waste stream breaking down anaerobically.  The Vital Earth in-vessel composting aimed for fully aerobic composting, resulting in no production of methane.

How have the proportions of compostable waste going to landfill changed since brown bins were changed, and kitchen waste had to go in the black bin?

Have you any indication (maybe from the landfill operator) of how much methane is generated from black bin waste sent to landfill?  What proportion of these methane emissions is captured?

If the brown bin waste is no longer going to Vital Earth and their in-vessel composting, how much methane is likely to be produced from the new process?

What measures are there in place to encourage home composting, including composting of cooked food?  What advice is provided to encourage practices which will minimise methane production?

Hoping to hear from you soon. We are aware that some of our questions should be easy to answer and others not so easy, and would prefer it is if you could supply us with those answers that you can give us readily, and supplying the others at a later date.

Your sincerely

Reg Hand

Secretary  Derby Climate Coalition