Southern Amenity Site Report 2009

Another eventful year has flown by hopefully the report will give a flavour of the years events.

Early on in the year the Site was inspected by SLR, a consulting company, on behalf of the Government Environmental Protection Unit and deemed to be complying with its Licence. The Inspector arrived unexpectedly so it was good to know all was as it should be.

Staffing

A new Member of staff was appointed in February and the Board had great hopes there would be a settled period, unfortunately the job turned out not to be what the employee had expected and he terminated his employment in August. This coupled with long term sickness of another member of staff caused various issues fortunately the Board recruited a couple of students looking for temporary work and the Contractor, who screened the compost, also agreed to work on the yard for the Board.

In September a new Operative started, he’d previously worked at the Site as part of the Compost Contract Team was able to drive the digger, and just needed to renew his certificates. He has proved to be a willing and able member of staff and is appreciative of the opportunities offered to him.

Martyn the Site Supervisor continues to run the Site efficiently and does a good job maintaining the digger without his skill with the machine the repair costs would be much higher. He is developing his supervisory skills and has made great strides since he first started.

Don and Anne still work weekends and cover for holidays or sickness as and when needed.

Training needed for 2010

The following training needs have been identified by the Board-

First Aid

Fire Warden

Working Safely

Rodent poison course

Site Maintenance

The digger needed two new tyres at the beginning of the year; out of necessity they are foam filled to avoid punctures.

New rims were purchased, the tyres fitted on the Island and then sent to the UK for filling, it is more cost effective to buy new rims and have a spare set ready for next time otherwise the Site would have to hire a machine in whilst the wheels were sent to the UK.

PSM Commissioners  replaced the large inner gates to the Site at the beginning of the year as the old ones were past their best and not worth repairing, this has made life much easier for us all when entering or exiting the Site particularly in high wind when there was a risk of being crushed by them.

Later in the year the outer gate was replaced by a barrier, this was to allow easier access to the Allotments.

The Site received a clean bill of health when it had its portable and fixed electrical items checked over.

Unfortunately the large waste bucket used for filling the skips is coming to the end of its useful life and will need replacing, advice was sort from Metalco who could keep repairing it but felt it would need doing more and more regularly.

The signage at the Site also needs replacing as much of it is cracked, faded or both –all Sites have agreed to get similar signs using the artwork of WRAP

Composting

The composting side of the Site runs well and we have received over £3500 in donations for the screened soil conditioner. A Contractor takes the majority of the conditioner to local farms for ploughing back into the land. Although it may seem costly to run if the Board had sent the green waste to the EFWF based on 3000 tonnes (It is probably is more) it would have cost at least £30000 in waste charges and £70000 in transportation costs. There would of course be labour/vehicle costs on top of this.

Several local schools have taken soil conditioner for various projects.

The Allotment next to the Site is up and running the car park has been set up alongside the Site access is through the first gate-and then right through a locked gate. There have been one or two teething problems but by keeping lines of communication open we should be able to sort any issues. The Board is hopeful some of the Allotment holders will take soil conditioner to fortify the land.

During the Year, several members of the Public have been careless when disposing of their green waste. Metal poles, litter, stone plastic etc. have all found their way into the green bay depositing area. Unfortunately, these contaminants either damage the chipper or taint the compost or both and this year there was a major problem when the hire machine suffered damage due to a large metal object dropping into the hopper and jamming the blades. It took several days to repair, and lost worker hours for ourselves and Douglas Corporation plus repair cost for the Corporation. At the suggestion of a staff member leaflets were handed out explaining the need to be vigilant additionally all green waste is now deposited in the bays instead of allowing the large loads to go directly onto the pad it can then be checked visually.

The Department of Local Government arranged a Master Composter course for small scale composters, in the summer, a group of Local People agreed to go on the course and then in return take their newfound skills into the community.As part of the course they had a trip the Site to see how a large scale scheme operated it was a beautiful Saturday and although informed the bus was dropping off outside the Site it came in much to the amusement of some of the Regulars who made quips about the Site being included on  “coach tours”

General Matters

Clean plasterboard (from small DIY jobs) is only taken at the Eastern Civic Amenity Site it is shipped off the Island sorted and then  mixed with other materials to become a low grade fertiliser.

The Western Site shut for refurbishment in the Autumn and has just reopened there were a number of problems as people adjusted to using a different site, however, things steadily improved. The Tonnages of waste going to the Energy from Waste plant in November and December increased significantly compared to the same period last year.

During the spring months, a student from the Gambia spent sometime on the island looking at how it dealt with its waste as part of her visit she spent time at the Site and was particularly interested in the Composting side of the operation.

Brian (employed by DLGE.) the regular recycling wagon driver for many years retired and the operation was put out to tender, Manx Waste Solutions were successful and are now in charge of removing the paper glass and cans.

SITA took over picking up TV’s and Monitors it was a little while before a system was in place with which both parties were happy, but we all persevered and succeeded in the end.

As can be seen from the recycling figures 3158 TV’s were recycled and 622 monitors in the past these would have gone to either landfill or the Incinerator. The Government continues to pay for their disposal had the Site paid it would have cost in the region of £53000 for the year.

As much of information for the Site is in electronic form the Board arranged a regular backup copy, in case the system failure, via the internet.

Unfortunately, the weighbridge control panel failed and needed replacing or repairing. This would not have been too costly if it had happened a week earlier but regrettably, the bridge had just been checked by Weight and Measures so the panel had to be changed, the Bridge rechecked and restamped at great expense. This was a legal requirement.

The test is time consuming as it means moving tonne weights on and off and then finding a vehicle either on its own or combined with the weights which weighs up to the bridges maximum capability. We try not to shut the Site but do have to restrict access for Safety reasons.

Yearly Tonnages (Approximation for Jan-December))

  23.82

Energy from Waste Facility                1997.94     (av. Number of skips per month 17)

Commercial waste to EFWF               82.03

Commercial wood waste to EFWF    64.29

There are no weights for the goods put into the Re Use Area as it would be difficult to quantify. Rumour is we have the best library on the Island!  We continue to have a good turnover of stuff car booters replenish their stocks, as do several second-hand booksellers. Members of the Public have managed to furnish their flats and various schools and organisations been supplied with items they have put to good use.           

Waste Charges are on the rise so it is important as much material is recycled as possible to try and keep costs down, the staff are tasked to encourage the Public to think about what they are dumping on the burnable pile. There are still misconceptions about recycling concerning its merit and the items which can be recycled. For instance, catalogues can go in the paper bins and all fabrics can go in the clothing banks-all cloth has a value.

Fridges may be left at the Site, the Board does not add an Administration fee and the cost is what Manx Waste Solutions charge e.g. for a domestic unit -£24.50 plus VAT.  Douglas do not require payment for fridge’s because it is included within their rates it would have cost the Board approximately £6443.5 if they’d followed suit

Authority Tonnages

   28.43

As other Authorities, we will be subject to a large increase in auditing costs next year the Board registered their concerns on the matter and had to accept the explanation given.

The Site was subject to a VAT inspection and the Inspector was happy with everything apart from the way fuel used by the Contractors was dealt with, this has since been rectified and the appropriate VAT charged.

The Site shut on a few occasions due to high winds and in the summer stayed open later on Friday afternoons to allow final drop off’s.

A number of Members of the Public were reported to the Police because of their inappropriate behaviour towards staff.

A letter of complaint and a letter of thanks were received during the year.

The Board has made a request to the Department of Transport for double yellow lines outside the Site, better Signage and a reduced speed limit they are waiting for a response.

In conclusion:

Mr Bennett (Port Erin) remained as Chairman Mr Hansen (Port St Mary) as Vice Chair

All Board Members are due for re-election May 2010.