Food waste and recycling disruption increases

Many local authorities are reopening waste and recycling centres, but different councils have different restrictions in place to maintain social distancing.

9, a:1:{i:0;s:8:”defaults”;}, waste management rotary screening, Food waste and recycling disruption increases, Many local authorities are reopening waste and recycling centres, but different councils have different restrictions in place to maintain social distancing., Disruptions to recycling and food waste collection services have increased, according to the latest survey on the impact of COVID-19, as local authorities report much higher than normal volumes of waste.

The survey, conducted by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), covers the week starting 4 May and is the sixth COVID-19 impacts survey. Many local authorities are beginning to reopen waste and recycling centres, but different councils have different restrictions in place to maintain social distancing.

In terms of collection services, there has been increasing disruption to food waste collections. Just over two thirds (68 per cent) of local authorities (LAs) report services to be operating as normal, a decrease from 77 per cent last week, and food waste collections operate in only half of the councils surveyed.

The survey revealed that the UK’s recycling collections are only operating at 74 per cent of the pre-COVID level, and fell by four per cent from the previous week’s survey. There has been a six per cent rise, to 25 per cent, of collections that are experiencing minor disruptions.

Meanwhile, garden ad bulky waste collections seem to be recovering, with now over half of the services operating normally, and 80 per cent reporting higher than normal volumes of waste.

Councils have reported higher than normal volumes of waste in other areas: 94 per cent have reported increases in residual waste placed out for collection, and 93 per cent have seen increases in recycling.

Even though there are reports of higher waste volumes, a Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) survey reported last week that the public has adopted more ‘food smart’ behaviours, and reducing their food waste during the lockdown.

The largest reasons for waste collection service disruption remains the social distancing measures put into place, reported by 33 per cent of responding LAs.

Whilst for collection services the effects of social distancing are the second biggest reason reported 43 per cent of LAs, the greatest cause continues to be staff absence due to self-isolation, identified by almost two-thirds of LAs.

The sixth survey from ADEPT gathered responses from over 250 local authorities and is supported by the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), the Local Government Association (LGA) and the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO).

Ian Fielding, Chair of ADEPT’s Waste Group said: “This week has seen HWRCs reopen across the country. We continue to monitor the situation closely as councils respond to Government guidance and work out how to operate sites in line with social distancing requirements.

“The safety of our operatives and the public remains paramount so inevitably, some HWRCs will need to remain closed if appropriate safety measures cannot be implemented.

“It is encouraging to see our household waste and recycling services return to normal across so many local authorities and demonstrates the hard work and commitment of our essential workers across the country.”

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MATT BEVERLEY

A time served Mechanical engineer Matt’s background includes many high-profile projects within the Automotive Industry: The Rolls Royce Phantom, Rolls Royce Cullinan, Spyker Le-Mans racing teams, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Airbus A380. This history and knowledge of complex manufacturing and engineering projects have been transferred and further developed into the bulk material handling sector. Matt has work in Europe, North America, Indonesia, and China

He joined the bulk solids and bulk handling industry in 2019 as Managing Director of Hoverdale UK Ltd and subsequently completed a Management buyout in July 2020. The business has grown yearly, increased employment, its customer base, and worldwide reputation, and disrupted the market with groundbreaking innovative technology. Since Matt took over Hoverdale, the company has filed four patents for innovation; one was granted in 2023 for a design to improve bulk handling. The success had been driven by delivering tailored solutions to the waste recycling sectors that keep material flowing out and money flowing in.

Awards Include

  • 2024 – Shapa company of the Year
  • 2024- Shapa Innovation in Technology
  • 2024- MHEA Engineer of the year
  • 2021 – MHEA Innovation of the year
  • 2021- IMechE Innovation award

Current Positions Include.

  • Group Chairman Hoverdale UK Ltd
  • President (MHEA) Material Handling Engineers Association
  • Vice Chairman: IMechE Bulk Material Handling Committee
  • Council Member: (SHAPA) Solids Handling & Particle Association
  • Member: Chartered Management Institute

Matt has been happily married to Julie for 22 years and has 4 children, 3 of which are involved within the Hoverdale group of companies. He is an RFU level 2 qualified coach and referee having been in several head coaching roles at various age groups from under 6’s to adults for his local team Nuneaton RFC. He believes in the core values that rugby teaches of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline, Sportsmanship and try’s to carry this through in his day to day business activities. He is passionate at brining the next generation of young, diverse engineers into the sector through promotion of apprenticeship scheme and further education routes.

DAVID BARTER

David is an experienced leader, with a background covering Operations, eCommerce, Finance, Compliance, HR and IT. His career spans Banking, Retail and Engineering, spending the majority of his career working for ALDI as they grew to become 4th largest supermarket in the UK, including seven years on their UK board as Managing Director of IT and eCommerce.

David joined Hoverdale’s Senior Management Team in 2023 to seek a fresh challenge in a completely different industry sector. He has applied his approach to Process Improvement, Efficiency, Customer Service and Teamwork to great effect during Hoverdale’s sustained growth.

Married to Jane, with three adult sons between them, David volunteers on the board of the Nottingham Playhouse theatre as well as his local rugby and football clubs. Any spare time he spends enjoying walks with their Golden Retriever, Buzz, who is also regularly seen in the Hoverdale office.

BEN DUCHESNE

Ben is a time serviced field service engineer in the busy waste and recycling sector, who’s career moved into to managing service teams and beyond. Originally beginning his career with a HGV repair and maintenance apprenticeship with IVECO, from there travelling and working in multiple countries moving towards waste processing shredders.

Ben joined the Hoverdale team in September 2024 seeking to apply his extensive knowledge to a new area. His values and ethics fit perfectly within the Hoverdale ethos.

He is happily married to Kristina, with 4 wonderful young children; 14, 11, 8 and 5. We the children he doesn’t get much spare time. He is a family man, who enjoys spending as much time with them as possible.