In our last blog, we discussed recycling difficulties in flats and estates and how different types of bin housing can encourage more people living in this type of housing to recycle more. In this blog, we will be focusing on people who live in flats above shops (FLASH), another ‘hard to reach’ housing group.
In contrast to purpose built flats where residents have dedicated communal bin areas and clear disposal instructions, recycling practices in FLASH are much more complex due to on street collections, restricted time-bands for collection, communication difficulties and potentially problematic relationships between tenants and owners. There is often a lack of clarity around recycling procedure and knowledge due to inadequate information channels that contribute to poor recycling performance. In addition, storage of recycling within FLASH can be a problem due to a shortage of space.
Similarly to flats and estates, research suggests that the three core components to enhancing recycling in FLASH is motivation, knowledge and ease. Residents need to be: sufficiently motivated to recycle; people need the knowledge of how to recycle i.e. understand why it is important, when to put recycling out etc, and; it needs to be easy.¹
Sufficiently motivating FLASH residents is much more difficult than in street level housing and purpose built complexes. Recycling behaviours of nearby residents are more visible in FLASH, therefore people tend to be driven by what other residents are doing. If the general consensus is to place all recycling in residual waste, then this activity will usually be followed by others, acting as a motivator for incorrect recycling practice.
Knowledge and information dissemination of recycling in FLASH is particularly difficult. Generally, FLASH have different waste collection systems compared to other types of residences. It is also more difficult to provide information to FLASH residents due to shared entrances and unreliable post-delivery. Due to these factors, often residents fail to receive council communication on recycling meaning that collection days are missed and or residents are unaware of recycling procedures. FLASH residents usually rent their properties and rely on receiving information from landlords which may or may not be provided. This, alongside a lack of on street information (as you may have, for example in a bin compound on estates or as stickers on a wheelie bin belonging to a householder in a street level property), can decrease motivation further as recycling activities become unclear.
Making recycling easier for residents in FLASH is inherently challenging due to the nature of the required waste management processes. On-street pickup, potentially restrictive time banding and recycling drop off methods, mean that recycling correctly is often much more difficult in this context than in other forms of residence. Unfortunately, there may be practical considerations hindering a redesign, therefore enhancing current systems to make the recycling procedure easier would be the most effective option. Examples of this might be providing collection bags for residents, increasing information dissemination practices or having fixed on street bin units all of which can beneficial for FLASH residents.
Having dedicated bin areas on street that can be accessed easily can increase recycling significantly as drop off points are visible and located conveniently. Trials for food waste have been particularly successful in areas such as Islington for example. Initially, these trials showed that contamination from pedestrians was a significant issue, however, once bins were located next to litter bins, contamination reduced substantially.² Advances in technology have meant that in order to avoid contamination to on street recycling/food waste bins from pedestrians, key fobs or mobile app access can be used to gain access to the bins. Apps can also provide another layer of protection against contamination, by providing guidance to ensure that the resident is depositing the correct type of waste in the bin, prior to gaining access. They can also be used to see which properties are participating.
With a focus on motivation, increasing knowledge and ease, the following aspects of recycling in FLASH should be considered for best practice;
- provision of recycling receptacles/bags,
- clear and detailed information on what can and cannot be recycled,
- guidance on recycling pickups,
- increase in information channels (digital and non-digital),
- clean and well maintained streets on collection days
- potential for new infrastructure (e.g. fixed bins / housings / smart technology),
- appropriate collection frequency
- increased resident communication to encourage the social norming of recycling.
Our best practice schematic to recycling from FLASH, for increasing recycling performance can be seen below.
For support in recycling from flats, estates and flats above shops, contact Frith Resource Management at emily@frithrm.com or call 01746 552423. For more details on all our activities see www.frithrm.com
2 - https://resource.co/article/islington-trial-collects-food-waste-flats-above-shops