Plymouth Community Homes, Abbey Court, Plymouth

TitleResolving Side Waste and Fly Tipping issues for Plymouth Community Homes

Plymouth Community Homes manage 16,000 properties and provide homes for over 31,000 people in Devon. Abbey Court is a block of 40 flats managed by the organisation and located in the heart of Plymouth.

What issues were metroSTOR tasked to help with at Abbey Court?

Working closely with Sarah French, Area Tenancy Manager for Plymouth Community Homes, the metroSTOR team worked through an on-site consultation process to establish the root cause of fly-tipping and side waste around the bin areas. In addition to the fire safety risk and undesirable impact on the local neighbourhood, costly caretaking inputs were required to clear the fly-tipping several times a week.

From the consultation a clear pattern emerged with residents unable or unwilling to lift the heavy lids of the 1100L bin containers when disposing of their waste and recycling. As a consequence, side waste would begin to accumulate around the bin containers with a dramatic escalation between bin collections.

What metroSTOR solution was proposed?

Having established that the bin capacity for the number of residents at Abbey Court was in accordance with BS5906 and the local council requirements, metroSTOR PBM bin housings were proposed as the solution to side waste issues. The metroSTOR PBM product is designed to secure the bin container within an enclosed housing in the option position, thus removing the need for residents to lift the bin lids when depositing waste and recycling material. Waste material is placed through the door aperture and the enclosure ensures there are no issues with wind blown litter from the open container.

In addition to resolving side waste issues, metroSTOR PBM bin housings encourage household recycling with clear signage and waste stream specific door apertures that prevent refuse bags being used incorrectly as well as potential cross-contamination of recycling. The enclosure ensures that paper and board recycling streams are kept dry and suitable for the re-use process.

There are 12no. metroSTOR PBM bin housings at Abbey Court, with the project specific layout requiring a bank of 5 units and a bank of 4 units. The ForestPanel timber slat cladding provides an attractive visual aesthetic and long service life along over the galvanised steel frame. metroSTOR units can be specified with fire resistant cladding where the proximity of bin store location to the dwellings requires this.

What has been the result for Plymouth Community Homes at Abbey Court?

The metroSTOR units have made the task of depositing waste and recycling correctly significantly easier for residents at Abbey Court. Side waste issues have dramatically reduced and residents are taking pride in keeping their community clean and tidy.

Plymouth Community Homes, Sarah French, commented: “I’m really pleased with how effective the installation has been with the areas remaining tidy all week. The metroSTOR units look fantastic and have significantly reduced issues that the flats were having with fly-tipping and side waste.”

The metroSTOR team is proud to have been able to help another Community Housing Provider achieve safer homes, better neighbourhoods, and progress towards a cleaner world!