Stirling Consultants UK Ltd has over the last 20 months identified an opportunity to introduce or enhance the recycling facilities within Ports, Harbours and Marinas within the UK. Both inland and coastal locations are valid.
The concept is to recycle as much waste as possible from resident and visiting vessels thereby achieving a significant environmental benefit, reducing disposals to landfill, meeting corporate social responsibilities and reducing costs.
The project aims to make it easy for yachtsmen and powerboat owners and water users to recycle their on board waste in a nationally recognisable way, whether they are in their home port or moving around other ports or locations around the country.
Using the same styles of on board recycling bags the scheme allows users to separate their waste on board prior to making landfall, where they will place the waste into recycling bins provided ashore. The bins will be marked with logos and imagery which is familiar to us all (WRAP scheme logos)
Recycling is becoming more important to us as a nation for many reasons, including the future availability of landfill sites for general waste and the increasing cost of disposal.
The result of this is that household domestic routines are changing and recycling has become part of our culture. This scheme will allow this culture to continue whilst afloat or berthed in any port, harbour or marina – in essence recycling need not end when you leave home.
Some of the more environmentally aware and pro-active organisations have already started to introduce recycling schemes within their locations. In some cases these appear to be more “add ons’’ to their low hazardous waste obligations rather than fully engineered solutions.
The introduction of the on water waste recycling pilot scheme into Salcombe Harbour in 2006 was financially supported by the Harbour Authority, with additional funding coming from the Devon AONB unit, the Environment Agency and the RYA Green Blue initiative.
The feedback coming from this pilot scheme has assisted greatly and we are now in a position to roll out the scheme on a national basis.
This nationally recognised coherent scheme is attracting the attention from many Ports, Harbours and Marinas and we are either at the implementation stage with some or at the advanced contract stage with others. Most are based in the South West or along the South coast, but we are talking to operators who have facilities in other parts of England and Wales who can see the merits of the scheme.
Overview of the scheme in practice
The scheme is simple but effective. A pack of “re-usable bags’’ has been developed that are distributed to mooring holders and visitors to the location, with full instructions of how and what to recycle locally. (There may be regional or local differences according to specific circumstances in areas)
The bags are re-usable and washable and are designed to be kept in a locker or in the galley on board a vessel.
The system works using re usable recycling bags collecting the following:
Paper and cardboard
Plastic, cans and bottles
General waste
Glass
Aluminium and steel cans
Adding Glass where it is possible to collect locally.
The bags and associated literature about the scheme are presented in a clear bag. We encourage operators to outline the scheme verbally if required, to users, to support the effect of the literature. The bags themselves have the potential to be sponsored/branded and whilst the information included could also be sponsored/branded, this will be specific to the location.
Experience shows that users of the scheme are delighted to participate in recycling during their leisure time and see it as an important extension of their existing household routine. We envisage a stage when having left home, port users can recycle during their journey, safe in the knowledge that their port of destination has the reception facilities available to them and not to have to necessarily return to their home port for disposal.
To implement the scheme at a given facility, an audit of the site is completed that includes their waste strategy to fully understand the scope of the requirement and to identify their needs.
One of the major parts of the audit is the knowledge of the local logistics suppliers and the re classification of this resident and visitors waste away from its Trade designation and achieving a Domestic classification.
We also consider in many locations the true Trade element of the waste and how this can be recycled where possible.
An understanding of the physical geography of the location to consider the collection logistics is vital. The corresponding bins need to be correctly placed and clearly marked with their desired contents in locations where it is most practical.
Users will empty the contents of their reusable bags into the correct bin with a number of general waste bins for those ‘items that cannot be recycled’ or for those who have not yet heard of the scheme.
Further the collection frequencies will change once the waste is segregated into the recyclate streams – generally reducing from some daily collections to a weekly or for some streams fortnightly.
There is a significant benefit to using “compactors’’ in certain locations as these also reduce the amount of vehicle movements required.
The project aims to make it easy for yachtsmen and powerboat owners and water users to recycle their on board waste in a nationally recognisable way, whether they are in their home port or moving around other ports or locations around the country.
Using the same styles of on board recycling bags the scheme allows users to separate their waste on board prior to making landfall, where they will place the waste into recycling bins provided ashore. The bins will be marked with logos and imagery which is familiar to us all (WRAP scheme logos)
Recycling is becoming more important to us as a nation for many reasons, including the future availability of landfill sites for general waste and the increasing cost of disposal.
The result of this is that household domestic routines are changing and recycling has become part of our culture. This scheme will allow this culture to continue whilst afloat or berthed in any port, harbour or marina – in essence recycling need not end when you leave home.
Some of the more environmentally aware and pro-active organisations have already started to introduce recycling schemes within their locations. In some cases these appear to be more “add ons’’ to their low hazardous waste obligations rather than fully engineered solutions.
The introduction of the on water waste recycling pilot scheme into Salcombe Harbour in 2006 was financially supported by the Harbour Authority, with additional funding coming from the Devon AONB unit, the Environment Agency and the RYA Green Blue initiative.
The feedback coming from this pilot scheme has assisted greatly and we are now in a position to roll out the scheme on a national basis.
This nationally recognised coherent scheme is attracting the attention from many Ports, Harbours and Marinas and we are either at the implementation stage with some or at the advanced contract stage with others. Most are based in the South West or along the South coast, but we are talking to operators who have facilities in other parts of England and Wales who can see the merits of the scheme.
Overview of the scheme in practice
The scheme is simple but effective. A pack of “re-usable bags’’ has been developed that are distributed to mooring holders and visitors to the location, with full instructions of how and what to recycle locally. (There may be regional or local differences according to specific circumstances in areas)
The bags are re-usable and washable and are designed to be kept in a locker or in the galley on board a vessel.
The system works using re usable recycling bags collecting the following:
Paper and cardboard
Plastic, cans and bottles
General waste
Glass
Aluminium and steel cans
Adding Glass where it is possible to collect locally.
The bags and associated literature about the scheme are presented in a clear bag. We encourage operators to outline the scheme verbally if required, to users, to support the effect of the literature. The bags themselves have the potential to be sponsored/branded and whilst the information included could also be sponsored/branded, this will be specific to the location.
Experience shows that users of the scheme are delighted to participate in recycling during their leisure time and see it as an important extension of their existing household routine. We envisage a stage when having left home, port users can recycle during their journey, safe in the knowledge that their port of destination has the reception facilities available to them and not to have to necessarily return to their home port for disposal.
To implement the scheme at a given facility, an audit of the site is completed that includes their waste strategy to fully understand the scope of the requirement and to identify their needs.
One of the major parts of the audit is the knowledge of the local logistics suppliers and the re classification of this resident and visitors waste away from its Trade designation and achieving a Domestic classification.
We also consider in many locations the true Trade element of the waste and how this can be recycled where possible.
An understanding of the physical geography of the location to consider the collection logistics is vital. The corresponding bins need to be correctly placed and clearly marked with their desired contents in locations where it is most practical.
Users will empty the contents of their reusable bags into the correct bin with a number of general waste bins for those ‘items that cannot be recycled’ or for those who have not yet heard of the scheme.
Further the collection frequencies will change once the waste is segregated into the recyclate streams – generally reducing from some daily collections to a weekly or for some streams fortnightly.
There is a significant benefit to using “compactors’’ in certain locations as these also reduce the amount of vehicle movements required.
Benefits of the scheme
There are significant benefits which accrue once the scheme is in place and these can be summarised as follows:
• Positive cash flow benefits – to operators and authorities
• Reduced disposal costs – to operators and authorities
• Less waste going to landfill
• Positive PR – to all parties
• Ease of handling - for customers
• Less mess and odours – general environmental benefit
• Appeals to customers – meets needs
• Helps to meet companies Corporate Social Responsibilities
• Environmental benefits – less mess and improved environment
• Reduces ‘fly tipping’
• Trade waste can possibly be handled differently
We should not underestimate the volumes which are to be processed under the scheme and the powerful effects this has had in certain areas. For instance in the South Hams area of Devon the local authority is now spinning out a full trade waste recycling scheme which will be implemented this year.
Commercial fishing waste considerations:
A number of Port Mangers with fishing fleets to manage have also identified that this scheme should be rolled out to the fishing community who produce vast quantities of waste for ports to dispose of – although we recognise that this will be a challenge it must not be overlooked. We are talking to a number of organisations that could readily assist and who could also provide a limited amount of support funding.
Although no two ports and harbours are the same and the final solution to each site will be specific in itself, all sites should be considered as eligible for the scheme including the boatyards. However, it must be appreciated that some of the smaller harbours will not be able to consider the scheme because even the smallest amount of start up cost will impact on budgets that they don’t have.
There are significant benefits which accrue once the scheme is in place and these can be summarised as follows:
• Positive cash flow benefits – to operators and authorities
• Reduced disposal costs – to operators and authorities
• Less waste going to landfill
• Positive PR – to all parties
• Ease of handling - for customers
• Less mess and odours – general environmental benefit
• Appeals to customers – meets needs
• Helps to meet companies Corporate Social Responsibilities
• Environmental benefits – less mess and improved environment
• Reduces ‘fly tipping’
• Trade waste can possibly be handled differently
We should not underestimate the volumes which are to be processed under the scheme and the powerful effects this has had in certain areas. For instance in the South Hams area of Devon the local authority is now spinning out a full trade waste recycling scheme which will be implemented this year.
Commercial fishing waste considerations:
A number of Port Mangers with fishing fleets to manage have also identified that this scheme should be rolled out to the fishing community who produce vast quantities of waste for ports to dispose of – although we recognise that this will be a challenge it must not be overlooked. We are talking to a number of organisations that could readily assist and who could also provide a limited amount of support funding.
Although no two ports and harbours are the same and the final solution to each site will be specific in itself, all sites should be considered as eligible for the scheme including the boatyards. However, it must be appreciated that some of the smaller harbours will not be able to consider the scheme because even the smallest amount of start up cost will impact on budgets that they don’t have.