Recycling rates amongst residents of the UK's first development with a
vacuum waste disposal system, are twice the average according to the local
authority.

WEMBLEY CITY DEVELOPMENT, WEMBLEY, LONDON, UK REUTERS -
A hi-tech waste disposal system that removes domestic rubbish
through underground pipes has doubled the amount of waste being recycled by
residents using the scheme in London, according to the local authority in the
area.
The system uses a network of pipes connected to cyclones - something
akin to a vacuum cleaner - to suck waste away at a speed of 70km an hour to a
single collection point which can be up to two kilometres away.
"Its like a huge Hoover," said Julian Gaylor, the UK Managing
Director of the system's manufacturer, Envac. (www.envac.net)
The new London development, next to the national stadium at Wembley, is
the first in the UK to fit the system which will eventually serve 4200 flats,
a hotel and commercial areas with around 8000 residents.
"All the waste from what is to all intents and purposes a small
town comes to one place," Gaylor said.
Residents separate their waste in the kitchen into three categories,
organic waste, dry recyclables and non-recyclables and then drop it into a
waste disposal shoot in the courtyard. From there it falls into an underground
holding area where it is kept until a set time, or until the store is full,
when it is sucked away to a central storage facility where it is compacted
into a container and removed by one truck per day.
The scheme is said to be cleaner and more environmentally friendly and
saves space. It also encourages recycling.
"We have achieved a 41.5 % recycling rate here already and to put
that into context that is double the recycling rate achieved elsewhere in the
Borough - and this is for flats. Its for a dense area where residents dont
have the benefits of recycling boxes and wheelie bins," he said.
Envac said the system also reduces journeys by waste trucks.
"We reduce waste truck movements by ninety percent. One of the
containers you can see behind me can hold 800 properties' waste in one single
container and collecting waste from here is a 2 minute job. That really does
take an awful lot of vehicle movements off the streets and reduces CO2 in the
process," he said.
The Head of Environmental Management at local authority in the area,
the London Borough of Brent, welcome the increased level of recycling amongst
residents at the development saying the scheme is 'the way ahead'.
"It encourages recycling because its built into the housing
infrastructure here so its part of the culture, its part of the building
design. So right from the start when people move in they are given the
information to get them started and it suddenly becomes second nature so its
convenient and its clean and I think that is what encourages people to make
use of it," said Chris White.
White said the Envac system will not only help the borough of Brent
meet higher recycling targets but will also allow them to run far fewer waste
removal trucks, saving money and benefiting the local area and the
environment.
The scheme will cost residents around 20USD a year but developers,
Quintain, say incorporating Envac in the building will help sell the
properties.
"We know we need to promote sustainability...We also know that
increasingly it is what people want from the developments that they live in
and it actually helps us, at the end of the day, attract people," said
James Saunders, Managing Director Commercial Ventures, Quintain Estates.
Envac say 60 feasibility studies are underway in the UK. More 50
systems are already operating in Spain and the company says it is now
retro-fitting the system into existing areas in both Barcelona and Madrid.
ends/SMc