Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Reading Borough Council and Wokingham District Council have formed the Central Berkshire Waste Partnership “re3″ and are working together on the development and provision of shared, long term waste management facilities.

In 2001/02 the Councils managed approximately 207,500 tonnes of household waste. Of this, 32,900 tonnes (16%) was recycled or composted and a further 7,200 tonnes (3%) was otherwise recovered, but still, 167,400 tonnes (81%) was disposed of to landfill. In addition, the Councils managed approximately 25,000 tonnes of other wastes comprised of Council waste, directly collected commercial waste and commercial/industrial waste delivered directly to civic amenity sites and waste transfer facilities by third parties. The majority of this 25,000 tonnes was landfilled.

Based on current filling rates, the region predicts that it will run out of landfill space in the next five years. There are no other landfill sites in Central Berkshire and none of the preferred areas identified in the Waste Local Plan, will be suitable for landfilling for some time. Although the three Councils have experienced a slow down in waste growth over the last few years, it is predicted that population in the area will continue to increase.  This will necessitate significant investment in and development of new waste facilities and infrastructure in the area.

In Bracknell Forest alone around 56,000 tonnes of household waste is collected each year - that’s over 1 tonne per household!  Almost 7,000 tonnes of that waste is recycled and 3,000 tonnes is made into compost.  The remainder is disposed of in a landfill site.  Over 60% of rubbish sent to landfill could be recycled and the council aims to encourage more recycling, composting and waste minimization for residents. The Government has set a statutory recycling and composting target of 27% for Bracknell Forest for 2005/6. 

The Councils are therefore considering a number of  possible solutions for improving the way Central Berkshire’s waste is managed. Bracknell Forest maintains 36 public recycling sites located throughout the Borough. The total amount recycled in the Borough last year was 6,942 tonnes. Bring facilities, in particular Civic Amenity sites are being targeted where specific containers are being sited to increase levels of  recycling. Two civic amenity centres currently exist in both Reading and Bracknell Forest (Longshot Lane). These handle approximately 50,000 tonnes of landfilled waste per year and 20,000 tonnes of materials, which are segregated and recycled or composted.  Wokingham District Council currently has shared access to these two sites.  At present, recycling facilities are provided for glass, metals and green waste, batteries, oils and gas cylinders.  The Councils are working towards improving the recycling rates at the two CA sites in the area.

With this in mind, Bracknell Forest have particularly adopted a number of Cityspots with civil engineering for the Longshot Lane CA site. 

The system has a concrete shell as well as double hook and double trap mechanism.  Two different capacity containers have been opted for namely 4m3 and 5m3 with the following waste streams targeted for collection: clear, green and brown glass, cans/plastics and mixed paper/cardboard.

Cityspot is a large capacity underground container, available for the collection of various types of materials. Only the small size access post is above ground. 

Both historic and contemporary town centres are often extremely built up and in some cases are protected sites.  Contributing to programmes which aim to return streets to pedestrians, Cityspot takes only a small amount of ground space.  This system therefore means that more of the population can take part in selective collection programmes, located in areas which have not hitherto been equipped, with the objective of increasing collected tonnages.

It’s easy to put waste into the units which are accessible to both children and disabled people. The small size post, with its discreet, attractive appearance, is dissuasive to vandalism, thus reducing maintenance costs.

Posts comprise three parts: Main body and identification panels in 4mm, anti-corrosion treated sheet steel with a powder coated finish.
The panels are individually colour coordinated for the waste streams to be collected. Trap and aperture options are adapted to the various types of materials to be collected. The lifting mechanism is also in galvanised steel and retracts into the top of the unit when not lifted.

When Cityspot is being emptied a metal platform (anti-corrosion treated mechanical-welded construction) covers the well to ensure pedestrian safety. This platform can take a maximum load of 50 kg. The upper part of the platform is hinged, thereby allowing operators to make a visual inspection of the well. 
An inspection cover is in place  in the columns for use by cleaning and maintenance teams. The lift/lower platform mechanism uses cables, pulleys and counterweights.

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