Issue - meetings

To consider a recommendation from Cabinet to include the capital costs of vehicles and bins in the Capital Programme.

Further to Minute No. 133 of the meeting of the Cabinet/Commissioners’ Decision Making Meeting held on 16^th April, 2018, consideration was given to the report which proposed changes to introduce kerbside plastic collection as soon as practicable, and introduce an all year round green waste chargeable service from October 2018.   The lid colour of the new residual bin had also been open to public vote and this was now confirmed to be pink.

On this basis it was proposed that the capital costs of the purchase of vehicles and bins be added to the Capital Programme.

A number of Members expressed their views regarding the cost of the replacement green bins, the lack of any trial for the new collection service in multi-occupancy properties, seeking best practice advice and visits to other Local Authorities and the U-turn on the recycling of plastic which were answered by the Cabinet Member.  The decisions were based on learning from others and how the consultation process and the Service had listened to the views of local residents.

Resolved:-  Councillor Hoddinott                        Seconder:-  Councillor Alam

Report of the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment

Cabinet Member:     Councillor Hoddinott

Commissioner:         Kenny (in advisory role)

Recommendations:-

1.         That approval be given to the cessation of the free garden waste collection service with effect from 26 October 2018 and to replace with an optional, all year round, chargeable garden waste collection service from 29 October 2018.

2.         That the operating policies in paragraph 6.2 and 6.15 of this report be approved.

3.         That the fee for the garden waste collection service be set at £39 for an initial subscription period from 29 October 2018 until January 2020, with the price of future annual subscriptions subject to review each year.

4.         That approval be given to the introduction of a two-stream recycling service that includes the collection of plastic materials at the kerbside from early 2019 – Option 1(b) – with the specific date to be confirmed as part of the procurement exercise. New 180 litre residual bins will be provided to all households in time for the launch of the two-stream recycling service to enable the existing 240 litre residual bins to be used for recycling plastic, tin cans and glass thereby reducing capital expenditure.  

5.         That the Council be recommended to add the capital costs of the vehicles and bins at an estimated cost of £5.54m to the Council’s Capital Programme.

6.         That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director of Community Safety and Street Scene to make all necessary arrangements for the smooth introduction of the revised waste collection service including the purchase of bins and refuse vehicles.

7.         That officers develop a comprehensive communications and marketing plan, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety, to sit alongside the implementation plan for the revised waste collection service.

Further to Minute No. 70 of the meeting of the Cabinet and Commissioners held on 13^th November, 2017, consideration was given to a report which set out details of the outcome of the waste consultation exercise and proposed the introduction of changes to the Council’s waste collection service. The proposed changes were to introduce kerbside plastic collection as soon as practicable, and introduce an all year round green waste chargeable service from October, 2018.

Details of the different options assessed by the Council, along with the potential impact on recycling and the costs of each option were highlighted.  The recommended option was 1B which would result in a replacement 180ltr residual bin with two stream recycling, the introduction of an all year round green waste chargeable service from October, 2018 and a plastic collection from the household waste stream as “Phase 2” of the implementation process which would be subject to tender and would be introduced at a later stage.

Cabinet Members were in support of the proposals and believed the enhanced recycling opportunities would work in collaboration with a smaller general waste residual bin.

However, in accepting the proposals it was suggested that clear information be provided identifying what plastic could be recycled at the kerbside, what material could be placed in which bin, preferably in pictorial format, and the introduction timescales for each phase.

This report had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board as part of the pre-scrutiny process who were in support of the recommendations subject to a trial being initiated for different types of households and for this to be evaluated to ensure the proposed changes were feasible and households were not adversely affected by the proposals. 

In addition it was also suggested that there be some exploration as to the feasibility of communal facilities for waste disposals and recycling particularly for high density housing and new developments and that the details of the communications and engagement strategy be provided to Improving Places Select Commission for their input and monitoring.

Councillor Hoddinott, Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety, agreed with the principle, but confirmed a trial could not be supported. Any opportunity for volunteers to feed back any findings on performance was welcomed and this in turn would be reported back to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in due course.

However, any further exploration of waste and recycling options in high density community housing was welcomed.  The communications and engagement strategy would be submitted to the Improving Places Select Commission as part of the work programme.

Resolved:- (1)  That the cessation of the free garden waste collection service be approved with effect from 26th October, 2018 and be replaced with an optional, all year round, chargeable garden waste collection service from 29^th October, 2018.

(2)  That the operating policies in paragraph 6.2 and 6.15 of this report be approved.

(3)  That the fee for the garden waste collection service be set at £39 for an initial subscription period  ...  view the full minutes text for item 133

Consideration was given to a report which detailed the outcome of the waste consultation exercise that had taken place between 28 November 2017 and 26 January 2018 and proposed the introduction of changes to the Council’s waste collection service.

It was reported that views of residents had been sought on the proposed changes to the waste collection and recycling service and a range of activities had been undertaken to promote the consultation as widely as possible. Feedback had been elicited from the Council’s website in the main, as well as feedback received in writing and at drop-in sessions across the borough. Members noted that the majority of respondents to the consultation had indicated that the provision of regular waste collections, sufficient capacity in bins and a system that is easy to use were important factors to consider when making changes to the service.

Members sought clarification as to why consultants had been used to develop the proposals and why the work could not be undertaken by officers. In response, it was confirmed that capacity was an issue and that where a technical piece of work was required, additional expertise needed to be engaged.

Additional information was sought by Members in respect of trialling arrangements that had taken place prior to the preparation of the report. In response, it was explained that there had been a desire to get information in respect of demographics and backgrounds to work through issues and this could be supplied outside of the meeting. the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety indicated that it had not been trial, but an opportunity to get some assurance that the proposals would work. No formal evaluation had taken place, but the Cabinet Member was assured that the proposal worked.

Members queried what additional work was planned to examine the implication of the proposed changes for flats. It was acknowledged that further work was required to examine access issues with the Housing Service, which would form part of the broader implementation plan, but communal bins and the frequency of meetings were suspected to be part of the solution.

Further lines of enquiry were raised to establish how habits would be changed as concerns were expressed that the full picture of information had not been completed within the report. In response, it was advised that the report set out the policy and direction of the service for the future and was a long term project that would take over a year to implement. Members followed up with a query in respect of allocating additional resources to ensure that the project was implemented well.  It was confirmed that extra resources would be required, especially in respect of engagement and customer service. It was also confirmed that the implementation plan would take account of behavioural change, education and communication.

Referring to the colour of bins, Members queried whether the proposals were consistent with other South Yorkshire authorities. It was confirmed that there was no harmonisation across South Yorkshire and the proposals  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128