metroSTOR Webinar: Flats Recycling - why we should close refuse chutes

metroSTOR Webinar: Flats Recycling – why we should close refuse chutes

⚠️ This webinar is in the past. Watch the live recording below ⚠️

Flats Recycling – Why we should close refuse chutes

This webinar explored the fire safety, hygiene, and waste management challenges associated with refuse chutes in high-rise buildings, highlighting successful closure programmes by Sheffield City Council, London Borough of Hackney, and Citizen Housing. Panellists discussed the benefits of chute closures, including increased recycling rates, reduced fire risks, and cleaner communal areas. The session also covered practical steps for implementation, resident engagement strategies, and lessons learned from ongoing projects.

Summary and Transcript

Chute Closure Handbook

Looking at decommissioning refuse chutes in high-rise or multi-occupancy residential buildings? This practical handbook explores the key challenges associated with traditional chute systems, including fire safety risks, maintenance costs, blockages, hygiene issues and barriers to recycling. It also demonstrates how chute closure programmes can improve building safety, reduce estate management burdens and increase recycling rates.

Featuring real-world case studies from Hounslow, Sheffield, Hackney and Citizen Housing, the guide shares lessons learned, resident engagement strategies and a step-by-step roadmap for planning and delivering a successful chute closure project. Whether you’re involved in housing management, fire safety, asset management or waste services, this resource provides valuable insight to support informed decision-making.

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About the event

There is an increasing need for Councils and landlords to find better ways to get more recycling from flats, especially with the deadline for implementing recycling and food waste collections for all residential buildings just over a year away.

Over the summer we had the pleasure of running several on-site workshops, with the kind assistance of the teams at Hounslow and Sheffield. Now we’re looking forward to sharing what we’ve learned from these in our upcoming webinar – Flat’s Recycling: Why we should close refuse chutes.

Join metroSTOR’s Nigel Deacon at 11am on Thursday 23rd January for an expert panel session with guest speakers: Dean Butterworth – Head of Housing Investment and Maintenance at Sheffield Council, Helen Scott – Estates & Environmental Service Manager at Sheffield Council, Harriet Turpin – Recycling Project Manager at LB of Hackney, and Adam Briggs of Citizen Housing, as they dive into the fire safety and recycling justifications for closing refuse chutes, how this approach has worked operationally, and – perhaps most importantly – how residents have responded.