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APPENDIX C
Weekend Freighter Monitoring – Results summary
The weekend freighter service was monitored over a six week period from Saturday 20th March 2010. Postcodes, items disposed off, method of travel to the site and origin of waste i.e. domestic or commercial, were recorded at each of the sites.
Graph 1 shows the total number of residents visiting the weekend freighter sites each weekend. This peaked at 322 visitors over a time period of 10.5 hours; averaging a visitor every 2 minutes.
Graph 1: Total number of visitors
Over the 6 weeks of monitoring, there was an average of one visitor every 2.5 minutes. However results from some sites indicated poor usage of the site, as marked in yellow in the table below:
|
Date |
Weekend Freighter Service Site |
Number of visitors |
Time at WF (mins) |
Minutes per visit |
|
20th-21st March 2010 |
Anglesey Avenue |
16 |
30 |
1.88 |
|
Chantry Road Marden |
24 |
75 |
3.13 |
|
|
Church Street Staplehurst |
15 |
45 |
3.00 |
|
|
Church Green Loose |
14 |
30 |
2.14 |
|
|
Corrance Green Loose |
11 |
30 |
2.73 |
|
|
Dean Street |
4 |
45 |
11.25 |
|
|
Gandys Lane |
12 |
30 |
2.50 |
|
|
Hubbards Lane |
7 |
30 |
4.29 |
|
|
North Down Staplehurst |
24 |
60 |
2.50 |
|
|
Old Loose Hill |
3 |
45 |
15.00 |
|
|
Poyntell Road Staplehurst |
15 |
60 |
4.00 |
|
|
Stanley Road Marden |
21 |
45 |
2.14 |
|
|
Total |
|
166 |
555 |
3.34 |
|
Date |
Weekend Freighter Service Site |
Number of visitors |
Time at WF (mins) |
Minutes per visit |
|
27th/28th March 2010 |
Bearsted Ashford Road |
31 |
45 |
1.45 |
|
Bearsted Village Green |
30 |
60 |
2.00 |
|
|
Bicknor Road |
13 |
30 |
2.31 |
|
|
Essex Road |
36 |
40 |
1.11 |
|
|
Harrietsham |
21 |
60 |
2.86 |
|
|
Highland Road |
7 |
45 |
6.43 |
|
|
Hollingbourne |
17 |
60 |
3.53 |
|
|
Lockham Farm |
20 |
60 |
3.00 |
|
|
Otham |
19 |
45 |
2.37 |
|
|
Morrisons Queen Elizabeth Sq |
13 |
45 |
3.46 |
|
|
Vinters Park Marston Drive |
33 |
60 |
1.82 |
|
|
Westmorland Rd by the Green |
12 |
30 |
2.50 |
|
|
Woolley Road |
24 |
60 |
2.50 |
|
|
Total |
|
276 |
635 |
2.30 |
|
3rd/4th April 2010 |
Amber Lane Chart Sutton |
3 |
30 |
10.00 |
|
Brogden Crescent Leeds |
10 |
45 |
4.50 |
|
|
Buckland Hill |
15 |
60 |
4.00 |
|
|
Court Broomes East Sutton |
7 |
30 |
4.29 |
|
|
Grasslands Langley |
19 |
30 |
1.58 |
|
|
Greenways Cherry Orchard Estate |
15 |
60 |
4.00 |
|
|
Kingswood Village Hall |
23 |
60 |
2.61 |
|
|
Queens Road |
17 |
45 |
2.65 |
|
|
Shepherds Way Langley |
18 |
45 |
2.50 |
|
|
Springwood Road Barming |
8 |
75 |
9.38 |
|
|
The Harbour Sutton Valence |
21 |
30 |
1.43 |
|
|
South Lane Sutton Valence |
11 |
30 |
2.73 |
|
|
Trevor Drive Allington |
22 |
60 |
2.73 |
|
|
Total |
|
189 |
600 |
3.17 |
|
10th/11th April 2010 |
Bishops Close Nettlestead |
25 |
60 |
2.40 |
|
Brenchley Road Tovil |
8 |
30 |
3.75 |
|
|
Camp Way Mangravet |
11 |
60 |
5.45 |
|
|
Cleveland Close Laddingford |
10 |
60 |
6.00 |
|
|
Collier Street - Church Farm |
11 |
75 |
6.82 |
|
|
Courtenay Road Tovil |
10 |
30 |
3.00 |
|
|
Livesey Street Teston |
15 |
60 |
4.00 |
|
|
Lower Road Mote Park |
17 |
45 |
2.65 |
|
|
Provender Way North |
14 |
45 |
3.21 |
|
|
Provender Way South |
31 |
60 |
1.94 |
|
|
Teston - by the green |
13 |
30 |
2.31 |
|
|
West Farleigh - by the green |
13 |
75 |
5.77 |
|
|
Woodside Road Mangravet |
22 |
45 |
2.05 |
|
|
Total |
|
200 |
675 |
3.38 |
|
Date |
Weekend Freighter Service Site |
Number of visitors |
Time at WF (mins) |
Minutes per visit |
|
17th-18th April 2010 |
Anglesey Ave Loose |
32 |
60 |
1.88 |
|
Betsham Road Senacre |
18 |
60 |
3.33 |
|
|
Broadoak Ave Loose |
33 |
45 |
1.36 |
|
|
Church Road Grafty Green |
29 |
45 |
1.55 |
|
|
Green Lane Platts Heath |
32 |
60 |
1.88 |
|
|
Honywood Road |
34 |
60 |
1.76 |
|
|
Lodge Gardens Ulcombe |
39 |
45 |
1.15 |
|
|
Northumberland Road |
10 |
30 |
3.00 |
|
|
Oak Lane Headcorn |
38 |
45 |
1.18 |
|
|
Orchard Glade Headcorn |
36 |
60 |
1.67 |
|
|
Parkwood Parade - behind shops |
4 |
30 |
7.50 |
|
|
Wallis Ave/Bicknor Road |
4 |
60 |
15.00 |
|
|
York Road/South Park Road |
13 |
30 |
2.31 |
|
|
Total |
|
322 |
630 |
1.96 |
|
24th-25th April 2010 |
Coxheath Village Hall |
12 |
60 |
5.00 |
|
Gallants Lane, East Farleigh |
13 |
60 |
4.62 |
|
|
Hampton Road |
53 |
75 |
1.42 |
|
|
Hatherall Road Penenden Heath |
30 |
60 |
2.00 |
|
|
Huntington Road Coxheath |
26 |
45 |
1.73 |
|
|
Hunton Village Hall |
7 |
45 |
6.43 |
|
|
Lyngs Close Yalding |
20 |
60 |
3.00 |
|
|
Merton Road Madginford |
63 |
45 |
0.71 |
|
|
Provender Way Grove Green |
40 |
60 |
1.50 |
|
|
Snowdon Avenue Vinters Park |
44 |
45 |
1.02 |
|
|
Yalding Village Hall |
13 |
45 |
3.46 |
|
|
Total |
|
321 |
570 |
570 |
|
Total |
|
1492 |
3665 |
2.5 |
Seventeen sites from those monitored demonstrated low visitor numbers and with the exception of Parkwood Parade, Wallis Avenue, Springwood Road (Barming) and Camp Way (Mangravet), the majority of these were in the rural areas.
The five urban sites which has poor attendance were surprising, however each of these sites are in close proximity of other sites which are more heavily used.
Graph 2: Total number of visitors disposing of each type of waste item
Graph 2 shows the different types of waste disposed of through the weekend freighter. Garden waste (716 visitors), wood (398 visitors) and metal (256 visitors) appear to be the main items disposed of, however all are recyclable.
Garden waste can already be recycled easily within the borough either by using the garden waste service, taking it to Tovil Household Waste Recycling Centre or by composting at home. Accepting garden waste at the weekend freighter conflicts with the waste reduction and recycling message that the Council promotes. It provides an easy route for residents to dispose of their garden waste rather than recycle it.
Graph 3: Method of travel
Graph 3 highlights visitors’ method of travel each weekend during the six week monitoring period. Overall 60% of visitors travelled on foot to the weekend freighter sites compared with 34% by car.
Over 98% of waste collected was confirmed domestic waste, therefore it does not appear that commercial premises are using the freighter service as a free method of disposal.
Conclusions
- Garden waste should not be accepted at the sites – every effort should be made to encourage residents to compost at home, to use the garden waste collection service or to take the waste to Tovil Household Waste Recycling Centre
- The weekend freighter should be sited at areas of need in order to improve the efficiency of the service
- Sites with low performance should be removed from the schedule and other sites consolidated to reduce the service to one day per week
- Metal and wood recycling should be pursued
- Further training is required for the operatives to ensure that better information is provided to residents using the service about unacceptable items and how these should be disposed of
- Over the 6 week monitoring period, only 1492 visitors attended the sites, which represents less than 2.5% of Maidstone households
- The weekend freighter is perceived as a popular service, however the usage fluctuates substantially. With the rejection of garden waste, the weekend freighter sites can be shortened slightly to maximise the amount of sites and visitors per day, increasing the efficiency of the service.