International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

ignore, however, is that whilst costs are affected by the fate of materials in terms of
their management (recycling, biowaste treatment, residual waste treatment /
disposal), the system costs are also influenced by the costs of collection. In this
regard, a key feature of collection systems which target the most putrescible element
- food waste – is that it allows for a reduction in the frequency with which households
set out refuse for collection. This leads to reduced set out rates, with high quantities
per set out, allowing for re-optimisation of logistics. Hence, frequency based charging
systems which allow households to choose when to set out waste (as opposed to
those which imply a subscription for a specified frequency – these have limited effect
on behaviour at the margin) have an important role to play in optimising the costs of
collection logistics. It should be noted that whilst many municipalities charge only on
the basis of frequency, some charge on the basis of frequency and weight, which
combined an incentive to reduce set out (improving collection logistics) with an
incentive to generate less residual (and other charge-for fractions of) waste.
In Table 64-10, we show how the costs of the modelled service (as described above)
would change when a dedicated weekly collection of food waste is added to the
existing service. It can be seen that the increase in cost per household is relatively
small, with higher collection costs offset by reduced costs for treatment and disposal.
Table 64-10: Current Approach to Collection in Ireland compared to a Single
Collection Operator (Hermes Collection Modelling)
Competition ompetition for for the
the Competition Competition for
for
market
market
the the market market plus
weekly weekly food food food waste
waste
collection
collection
Vehicle crewing level Driver plus 2 Driver plus 2
Percentage incidence of single bin emptyings 30% 30%
Percentage incidence of two bin emptyings 70% 70%
Households served / vehicle / day
862 (recycling)
748 (residual – more
restricted by weight
capacity)
824 (recycling)
742 (residual)
1046 (food waste
– only unloading
once per day)
Calculated collection cost per household per
annum (staff, vehicles, fuel, etc.)
Calculated collection cost per household per
€52 €64
annum (staff, vehicles, fuel, etc.) plus
recycling gate fees
€75 €87
Total net collection treatment and disposal
cost per household per annum*
€199 €204
*Assumes MRF gate fee €40/tonne, organic treatment €80/tonne, residual waste €120/tonne
It should be noted that:
1049
1. The above analysis assumes no change in the frequency of refuse collection. If
such changes occurred, costs ought to fall as round logistics are re-optimised;
and
2. The above analysis assumes no change in the costs as the costs of residual
waste treatment / disposal increase, so the collection costs will remain
unchanged, but the costs of dealing with the collected residual waste increase.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes