Disability Breakthrough in Waste Management
posted in Articles |Consultation with the RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) has helped Plastic Omnium develop a special bin to aid visually impaired householders to segregate and recycle their waste.
The waste and recycle scheme was first introduced in June last year. Although using Braille to identify different bins was considered by Plastic Omnium, the RNIB was consulted to advise on other options. Peter McCann from Plastic Omnium explained:
“The RNIB told us that only a few of those registered disabled are actually blind and even fewer read Braille. Besides, who wants to have to run their hands all over a bin every time they empty out their rubbish?
“So we choose different coloured and shaped lids as well as Braille to ensure we responded to every type of visual impairment.
“The real beauty of these new bins is that they help everyone segregate and recycle more. Everyone can associate the colours with different types of waste – black for residual, green for garden and blue for cans and plastics.
“Blackpool Council is the only local authority we know of to recognise the very specific needs of some its residents – it’s a real breakthrough for a local authority to take this responsibility on and we’re confident these new bins will help them as they continue improving their recycling rates,” he added.
Sibonne Brewster from the RNIB said: “We feel the system is a simple and positive way of improving access for blind and partially sighted people and it is very encouraging that these steps have been taken.”
With support from Onyx, approximately 8,000 bins are collected and emptied on a daily basis for Blackpool Council’s residents.
Paul Taylor, Head of Streetscene at Blackpool Council, said: “The speed at which the new system has been implemented has been fantastic. More than 40,000 households are now on the new scheme, so you can imagine the complexity of the implementation programme for Plastic Omnium and Onyx.
“It’s gone relatively smoothly, however, and our recycling rates are continuing to rise as a result of this programme of segregation.”
~ 342 words ~
Editors’ notes:
NowRecycle.co.uk is a trading style of Plastic Omnium Systems Ltd - a European market leader in waste containment solutions that provides a wide range of waste containers and services including wheeled bins, litter bins, banks, composters and sacks. It is part of the International Plastic Omnium Group, a world leader in contract waste container solutions with worldwide sales of more than £1.8 billion. It employs over 9,000 people in 25 countries, across four continents, in manufacturing and service solutions for the automotive, environment and performance plastic products.
Press Contact: Simon Dutta, N European Marketing Director, Plastic Omnium Urban Systems Ltd
Telephone: 01952 582 583