BMBC 21: Barnsleys Local Area Agreement 2008-2011

policies and practices will make a positive contribution in Barnsley aswell as other areas, all local partners have a key role to play to deliverimprovement across the areas of transport, business and domesticcarbon emissions – whether by implementing national and regionalprogrammes, or through locally-focused projects. Improvement willnecessitate an innovative approach to tackle a multi-dimensional,international problem, using the context set by the requirements of thenational Climate Change Programme.The key focus of the Local Area Agreement, as embodied in NI 186 –per capita reduction in CO² emissions in the local authority area, will beto capture and co-ordinate the efforts of all relevant partner bodiestowards the reduction of carbon emissions, through the management ofenergy usage in the three key sectors identified above. This will involvea significant amount of “influencing and communicating” activity bypartners, to influence behaviour change in the community at large, aswell as partners implementing changes and putting initiatives in placethemselves to reduce their ‘carbon footprint’.A key aspect of the Borough’s approach to Carbon management is thecommitment to increase the level of recycling and composting acrossthe Borough. Waste is collected from all domestic premises, approx103,000 properties, across the borough, using the kerbside wheeled binmethod, primarily for reasons of public health but also for convenienceand the ‘liveability’ of the local environment.To drive up recycling levels, segregated waste collections are beingrolled out to increase recycling by encouraging residents to managetheir household waste and use the kerbside recycling services.Currently 78,000 properties have domestic waste collected from a greywheeledbin one week with garden wastes and cardboard beingcollected from a green-wheeled bin the following and every alternateweek for composting.98,000 properties also receive a fortnightly collection of recyclablematerial, glass/cans and paper. Aligned to the roll out of segregatedweekly collections, residents choose recycling box, recycling bag orslim wheeled bins to store their recyclable materials.BMBC also has 4 ‘Household Recycling Centres’ where residents cantake domestic wastes for recycling or disposal. An external contractormanages the sites through an incentivised contract to achievesignificant levels of recycling of waste throughput. There are also arange of small Bring Sites, serviced by a number of external recyclingcontractors where residents can bring glass, paper, cans and textilesfor recycling.Another key element is the reduction of the amount of municipal wastesent to landfill. This is aligned with the Landfill Allowance TradingScheme (LATS) to comply with the annually reducing tonnage ofbiodegradable waste sent to landfill.34Improving the Quality of Life in Our Communities: Local PhysicalEnvironment, Including the Quality of the Housing StockBarnsley’s Local Area Agreement 2008-11