Business feasibility study for the national 'Out and About' Recycling and Litter Initiative

1. Executive summary

2. Introduction

3. Background to the Initiative

4. Market and competitive environment

5. Financial drivers

6. Business case options

7. Financial assessment

8. Facility needs analysis

9. Management and governance

10. Environmental analysis

11. Risk analysis

12. Bin design requirements

Appendix I: Cranleigh's terms of reference

Appendix II: New Zealand and international advertising bins

3. Background to the Initiative

3.1 Genesis

The initial aim of the project was to generate local and, in the long term, national environmental benefits such as:

• the reduction of litter in public places
• increasing levels of recycling by the public
• reducing the reliance on non-renewable resources, such as petroleum based plastics by reuse/recycling of packaging materials
• reducing waste going to landfills.

3.2 Stakeholders

There are a large number of stakeholders who are either actively involved in this Initiative or are likely to become involved if the Initiative becomes a commercial reality. A large representative sample of stakeholders has been consulted during the process of determining the business case.

3.3 Pilot trial

A pilot trial of the scheme has been operating at the Botany Downs Shopping Centre for almost 12 months, using a prototype model of the bins (shown below) designed through collaboration between Coca-Cola Amatil ("CCA") and Glomedia Limited. Ten bins were placed throughout the Centre, featuring A1 advertising posters on their four sides. Botany Town Centre was paid a rent of $175 per bin per month for the space occupied, via a casual leasing arrangement.

The capital cost of the 10 recycling bins, including artwork, totalled $47,819. The bin design featured clearly marked receptacles for glass, plastics and aluminium, as well as A4 stickers encouraging consumers to recycle. The waste from the bins was collected weekly and on-sold by Streetsmart, a local recycling operator. Streetsmart charged an at-cost service fee to cover costs of transport and labour and collected data on types, contamination levels and volumes of waste recovered.

Results from the trial over a 35-week period from July 2005 were as follows:

• After an initial period of high contamination (greater than 30% per week at peak), bin contamination declined to an acceptable level, averaging around 17.5%.
• Total quantity of waste recovered increased significantly over time, rising from a start point of 27 kg/week to over 70 kg/week from the 20th week of the trial onward.
• Levels of contamination appeared to decline as quantities recovered increased, resulting in a larger recyclables stream of increased purity over time.
• Glass bottles were the main type of recyclable recovered by weight; however, this was largely due to the high mass of glass products. By unit measure, plastic bottles were by far the most numerous whilst aluminium cans made up a negligible amount of the waste recovered, as described in the table below. These figures are largely representative of the types of packaged consumables on sale at Botany Town Centre - recyclable ratios in other areas would vary according to the types of products on sale nearby.

Breakdown of bin contents from first nine months of Botany trial

Recyclables	Quantity collected (kg)	%
Plastic	506.93	27.8
Green bottles	809.63	44.4
Brown bottles	202.41	11.1
Clear bottles	304.52	16.7
Aluminium cans	0.00	0.0
Total	1823.50	100.0

These results form the basis for the forecasts used in the business feasibility case. The trial was not conducted for long enough to assess accurately seasonal trends, however, anecdotal evidence from retailers suggests the Centre is busier in warmer months. This may account for some of the increase in recyclables recovered, as the trial period began in midwinter and spanned spring and summer months.

CCA invested over $150,000 in supporting the Botany Town Centre pilot trial. CCA is of a view that the trial has demonstrated that the concept can work and has produced some useful data.

Overall, the trends in the trial data suggest that, after an initial adjustment period, customers at the Botany Town Centre became accustomed to using the bins in the correct manner and increased their recycling levels over time.

3.4 Project promotion

The project will need to be promoted at the local, regional and, in time, national level if the Initiative is to have a truly significant impact on the promotion of recycling. A national strategic message needs to be developed which complements and supports other national recycling messages.

One of the major benefits of the Initiative, particularly if people are given an opportunity to recycle in most centres, would be to promote a recycling ethos to the public as well as helping the litter strategy.

Set out below are a few general observations made by some of the stakeholders and potential stakeholders about the Initiative to date:

1. AMP, owner of the Botany Shopping Centre, regards the concept as great but in need of refining. The perceived benefit for AMP is in demonstrating good corporate social responsibility.
2. The Retailers Association is aware of the Botany trial but not particularly familiar with it. The Association considers it a great idea in principle and is supportive of anything that reduces litter or encourages recycling.
3. Envirowaste see the Out and About Initiative as a chance for everyone to work together. They suggest that the scheme will not have any measurable impact on the amount of recyclables that are collected but that the scheme is important because it promotes the recycling message.
4. The Packaging Council sees the initiative as another important step in promoting recycling. The Council sees its role as a supporter and promoter rather than operator.
5. A number of stakeholders suggest that councils need to be involved because it is their responsibility (particularly in public spaces) and they stand to benefit from the cost saving of reduced waste going into landfills.