VOICE apartment owners survey shows Apartment waste segregation has a long way to go!
Our survey ran through July and received 68 responses from across the country.
The clear take away from our survey is that only 15% of respondents had an organic bin at their sites, this is despite it being a legal requirement for all waste collectors to provide a three bin/bag option*
Residents are aware of the need to further segregate waste with most giving feedback seeking additional services such as glass or organics waste collection. These results mirror our research conducted in 2020 through focus groups of residents, which reported that residents typically feel ‘underserved’ by the bin quantity and waste streams collected at apartment sites.
Sites are not prepared for the increased ambition for waste collection at apartments.
Waste segregation bye-laws in all council areas require apartment blocks to provide at minimum a three bin service to residents[1] and the government Waste Action Plan 2020-2025 specifically targets waste segregation in apartment blocks as an action area.
Our results show that the majority of sites have some way to go to come into compliance with the byelaws and are not prepared for the increased ambition for waste collection at apartments.
We are running a free workshop for apartment/shared living residents
VOICE are working with REPAK to help management agents, waste service companies, owners and residents to improve waste segregation in apartment blocks across the country to improve waste segregation and engage with residents on how to effectively use the bins provided at the sites, through workshops, signage and engagement tools.
The USE2 pilot programme will be working with 6 sites across the country from October to January.
[1] *Within agglomerations of greater than 500 people as per the food waste regulations
Photo by Patricia Valério on Unsplash
Photo by Lenka Dzurendova on Unsplash