An upgrade to Brighton and Hove City Council’s recycling centre is expected to cost £2.3 million, according to a report going before senior councillors next week.
The council’s cabinet is being asked to approve a new optical sorter, chutes, conveyors and bays for the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), in Hollingdean, next Thursday (19 March).
The project £2.3 million project is expected to be funded by borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB).
The MRF, in Upper Hollingdean Road, was designed to process paper, card, steel and aluminium cans and plastic bottles, with glass collected separately to be sold on.
The premises and equipment were built as a private finance initiative (PFI) project in 2008 and recycling requirements have since changed. The outdated equipment there relies on manual picking to maintain quality.
The report to the council’s cabinet said: “The site was specifically designed to accommodate the operational needs of a modern MRF, including the capacity to adapt to evolving waste streams.
“Its configuration allows for efficient vehicle movements, appropriate separation and processing areas.
“Since construction, the complexity of packaging has increased, a wider variety of plastic polymers has entered the waste stream and participation in recycling services has grown.
“The council has been expanding the range of materials collected for recycling and further materials are to be added imminently.
“Consequently, the MRF is now processing both higher quantities and a more diverse range of materials than it was originally designed to handle.”
After the council started collecting pots, tubs and trays for recycling last June, more picking staff have been recruited to ensure these items go into the plastic stream without contaminating other recyclables.
The report said: “This dependence on manual work may increase health and safety risks, limit throughput, reduce overall efficiency and constrain the capacity to accommodate new materials that will be required under national reforms.
“MRFs typically use a mixture of manual sorting along with advanced automation, including optical sorting, ballistic separation and eddy current systems, to try to minimise manual handling and improve both safety and material quality.”
The council expects to repay the loan over 25 years at an interest rate of 4.5 per cent, with the upgrade expected to cost £130,000 a year, although these rates are not confirmed at this stage.
Some of the costs would be met from a dedicated savings fund known as the waste PFI reserve – including the borrowing costs for the first two years.
A sum of £180,000 a year would be required to pay six manual pickers and this would also be paid for from the waste PFI reserve until the 2032-33 financial year.
The report to the council’s cabinet said that there was “robust evidence” that the site in Hollingdean remained the most suitable location for the recycling centre.
Concerns have been raised about the site from neighbours in Round Hill after a series of fires.
The site currently processes 17,500 tonnes of recyclable material each year. The council is expanding the range of materials.
The cabinet is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm next Thursday (19 March). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
Council being strong armed by Veolia because the council is run by idiots. This lot are the idiots with the red flags.
Veolia must according to the contract sort materials as specified. Pots and trays were never not allowed only excluded by the ciubcy
Communal recycling is the issue as the MRF was designed for presorted materials but the communal part wasn’t throught through in regards it giving Veolia the right to reject it.
The council are idiots and should have supported Magpie and others in their effective services.
One more time….. idiots