Published Wednesday 17 July 2024 at 15:33
Today, 17 July, delegates from the Saudi Arabian government’s waste management centre visited Blackburn with Darwen council’s refuse and recycling team.
Seven members from the National Centre for Waste Management (MWAN) in Saudi Arabia are currently on a whistlestop tour of the UK and Europe; to find out what various industries are doing to get to grips with their waste management. Accompanied by staff from consultancy businesses Roland Berger, their aim is to develop and improve their existing waste management structure and infrastructure they have at home, with a specific focus on segregating waste.
Along with visiting hospitals, processing facilities and industrial units across the UK, they have also visited Blackburn with Darwen borough council this morning to see our practices in person. The tour started at the refuse depot, where the delegates were introduced to our recycling system. This includes a burgundy bin for non-recyclable waste, a blue bin for the recycling of paper and card, a grey bin for recycling glass, cans, and plastic bottles and a brown bin for garden waste. An interesting discussion was had around why separating the different materials is important when it comes to processing, to ensure that as much is recycled as possible. Currently in Saudi Arabia, they don’t separate any waste at all, however they are looking at rolling out a nationwide campaign to be able to do this, which will mean that all residents across the country will use the same system – unlike our system here in the UK.
The delegates were also introduced to the method used for collection, including the fact that each refuse collection vehicle we have has a GPS tracker on it which can always be seen on a map. This allows the team in the office to answer any queries that come in, including those from residents who ask when their bins are going to be collected. The vehicles have 360-degree cameras on board too, which are constantly filming in case of any incidents that need to be re-assessed.
To end their tour, the delegates were taken to see a refuse collection team in action – to understand how residents prepared their bins and what happened to the contents after it was picked up. The delegates found this very interesting as their infrastructure is quite different to what we have in the borough, as they have many high-rise buildings.
Steve Morris, Service Lead for Environmental Operations who co-ordinated the visit, said:
It was great to show the delegates how we do things here at Blackburn with Darwen borough council. They were incredibly keen to learn about our system and asked many questions about all elements of the process. I hope they have taken away as much as possible to ensure the upgrade of their waste collection system is a success.
Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen borough council said:
What a pleasure it was to welcome delegates from Saudi Arabia to the borough today to learn from our refuse and recycling team. Of course, we can always do more, but we were pleased to show off the borough’s waste management system which has much to offer. I wish them safe onward travel.
Over the next few days, the delegates are continuing their fact-finding mission in Zurich, before heading on to Frankfurt.
To find out more about your bins and what happens to your waste, visit our recycling website.