Agenda and minutes

·              Cabinet Member for Waste and Emergency Planning held 2^nd and 23^rd April, 2012.

·              Cabinet Member for Waste and Emergency Planning held 28^th May, 2012.

·              Cabinet Member for Waste and Emergency Planning held 18^th June, 2012.

For signature by the Cabinet Member.

(See White Book – Minutes presented to Council on 25^th July, 2012)

The minutes of the previous meetings held on 2nd and 23rd April, 28th May and 18th June, 2012 were considered.  

Resolved: -  That the minutes of the previous meetings of the Cabinet Member for Waste and Emergency Planning be agreed as a correct record for signature by the Chairman. 

Consideration was given to the update provided by the Principal Health and Safety Officer, Emergency and Safety Team, Resources Directorate.  The update included: -

Business Continuity: - 

• The Authority’s Fuel Plan had been distributed to Responsible Officers on compact disc.  Hardcopies had only been produced where a specific request had been made.

• Updated Business Continuity software had been rolled-out across the Council.  Completed returns would be interrogated to provide a ranking of the Council’s Services to determine their critical level in the event of a Borough emergency. 

o       The e-learning module on Business Continuity was now available for all Officers to access as a personal training and development resource. 

o       Recovery guidance issued in July, 2012, would be incorporated into the Council’s Recovery Policy/Procedure.  

Emergency Planning: -

• Following the activation of the Emergency Planning Operations Room in Riverside House in response to heavy rain on 6th July, 2012, a number of minor issues had been identified and addressed. 

o       Positive feedback had been received from the agencies involved in the response specifically in relation to the Drainage Team, Streetpride, Environment and Development Services.  This had been noted by the Emergency and Safety Senior Management Team. 

o       One significant issue relating to the closure and re-opening of Aldwarke Lane needed to be further discussed with South Yorkshire Police.

Health and Safety: -

• Weekly Health and Safety Briefings were being produced and circulated. 

Resolved: -  That the update be noted and the Principal Health and Safety Officer be thanked for his contribution. 

The Waste Manager, Streetpride, Environment and Development Services, provided an update to the Cabinet Member in relation to the following areas: -

Interim Waste Treatment and Disposal Contracts: -

• Sterecycle – bond issue: -
  • An update was provided in relation to discussions with Sterecycle and the development of a business case taking account of the legal and financial considerations relating to Standing Order 51.  This would form the basis of any deed of variation with Sterecycle.

Household Waste Recycling Centres: -

The existing contract with DHL for the removal of Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) had been extended for a further year in accordance with the contract option that was available.  Ongoing promotion works would be undertaken to improve levels of WEEE recycling.  Opportunities for advertising the WEEE facilities would also be explored. 

Bring Sites: -

An update was received in relation to the change of recycling partner for the servicing of Paper Banks.  It was expected that the exchange of Banks would be completed by the end of the week. 

Palm Recycling were removing all Igloos and Veolia were installing a variety of Banks following discussion with RMBC Waste Officers. 

A press release would be issued following installation to say that they would now accept cardboard. 

Resolved: -  That the update be noted and the Waste Manager be thanked for their contribution. 

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Streetpride, Environment and Development Services, which provided an impact update on the budget savings to the street cleansing schedule within the Leisure and Community Services Team, Streetpride. 

It was noted that the budget savings that had been achieved had negatively impacted on the Service’s ability to achieve the standards identified in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse in some areas, and that this had led to an increased number of customer contacts.  The provisions of the Environmental Protection Act (1990) imposed duties under Section 89 (1) and (2) on local authorities and the Secretary of State to keep the public highways for which they were responsible clean.   

The functions of the Team included scheduled litter picking, emptying of litter and dog waste bins, mechanical sweeping, graffiti removal, fly tip removal, weed killing, leaf removal and providing a response to other cleaning issues, such as road traffic accidents.  Delivery of these functions across the Borough was structured into three teams: Eastern Area, Western Area and a dedicated team based in the Rotherham Town Centre. 

The report outlined the service delivery impacts that had followed the reduction of ten staff members and three vehicles, which had resulted in a reduced frequency of scheduled works.  From the contacts received, Ward Member reports and site inspections that had taken place, a number of ‘hot spots’ had been identified, as set out within the submitted report.  

Whilst a full Service review would take place to support decision making around the deployment of resources for the remainder of the financial year and into the 2013/14 financial year, it had become apparent that, in order to achieve the necessary standards within the identified ‘hot spot’ areas, additional resources would be required. 

The report provided a number of options for consideration to improve the service: -

·        Option one: Selective removal of bins;

·        Option two: Using the refuse collection service to support street cleansing;

·        Option three: Installation of compaction bins in selected locations;

·        Option four: Reinstatement of resources into emptying litter and dog waste bins;

·        Option five: Increased enforcement activities, particularly relating to the use of litter bins by businesses. 

The report noted the costs associated for each option.  It was noted that although certain ‘hot spots’ had been identified, the revised cleaning schedules had only recently been introduced and it was possible that the areas could change or additional areas come to the forefront. 

During discussion the following issues were raised: -

• Cover issues within a small service at times of annual leave, sickness absence and so on;
• The operation of Compaction bins;
• The impact of the revised cleaning schedules in the proximity of local shopping areas and the role of business owners in managing litter. 

Resolved: -  (1) That the report be noted and the options for improving the service of emptying litter and dog waste bins be fully explored. 

(2)  That the report be referred to the Senior Leadership Team and Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.