Northern are focused on supporting environmental sustainability and have been trialling an innovative approach to waste collection from customers at one of its busiest stations over the past 6 months with some impressive results already being seen.
Bradford Interchange has seen its customers given a new way to dispose of waste and has done away with asking them to use colour-coded waste stations as the rubbish is now collected in one place and then sorted by hand using a ‘back of house' approach which creates less material which cant be recycled.
The trial has proved to be extremely effective and also supports the recycling of a broader range of waste including paper, card, plastic bottles, cans, glass and coffee cups. Since the trial began, the amount of waste being recycled has seen significant growth from 4% in 2021/22 to 37%
The trial is fully mobile as the waste is collected in a van first before being sorted inside the van.
Prior to the trial, a number of recycling bins had been placed at stations allowing customers to separate their own waste but this approach proved problematic as general waste was put into the paper-only bin which led to the entire bin becoming contaminated and therefore requiring disposal as general waste. Northern's new take on recycling has removed this issue completely.
Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern said: “This is a remarkable achievement for Bradford Interchange, and we hope to continue this trial at other stations. By doing so, we hope to make a significant contribution to reducing waste and promoting sustainability as well as make things easier for our customers.”
