Waste Management Planning Guide (Former Aylesbury Vale area)

This guidance should be referred to from the earliest stages of building design. The provision of an effective and efficient recycling and waste service is a key council operation, and it is essential that the needs of this service are considered at the earliest design stage for new residential, commercial, leisure, and householder developments. All new developments shall be designed so that recycling and waste issues are fully taken into account as part of the pre-planning application process. Adequate storage areas for waste management facilities and good access for collection crews and vehicles can be difficult to retrofit at later stages in the design process.

It is recommended that applications for new developments are accompanied by a concise waste management report that addresses relevant aspects of this guidance. A report of this nature will enable this element of the development to be dealt with in a comprehensive and efficient way, and it need not be particularly lengthy or expensive to prepare. The report should clearly set out the measures proposed to ensure for recycling and waste reduction provisions within the new development. Relevant officers will be happy to discuss the contents and format of the report at the pre-application stage.

There are a number of factors which need to be taken into consideration when designing recycling and waste storage facilities for flats/apartments, commercial and housing developments to enable efficient collection by the collection vehicles and operatives, and as a means of encouraging effective use by residents.

Adhering to methods of good practice and following guidelines laid out in this document will help to achieve both of these aims.

Forward planning with regards to both recycling and waste storage and collection will provide benefits to developers, residents and the council. Developers are able to disguise and screen bin areas making developments more attractive to potential buyers. Providing residents with secure bin areas, for communal/individual use, decreases the risk of contamination and vandalism and allows for a more effective collection operation. In all situations recycling and waste collection facilities should be protected from the weather and be designed as an integral part of the built form of development proposals.

To encourage residents to recycle, internal storage areas enabling residents to easily segregate recycling from general waste, should be incorporated into the design of each new development property. This would ideally be in the form of inbuilt storage within a kitchen or utility room and will allow temporary storage of recycling and waste until it can be transferred to external bins.

AVDC is keen for developers to explore innovative ways of waste collection infrastructure and, where appropriate, develop alternative methods of collection that allow for higher recycling rates and encourage residents to reduce general waste.