Agenda item

On 28 October 2014 the Environment Select Committee agreed that Communications to householders regarding waste and recycling was a work priority and resolved to reconvene the Waste Task Group to review this area.  The Waste Task Group met on four occasions and presented its final recommendations to the Committee in April 2015. The Committee endorsed the recommendations (available in the agenda pack) and referred the report to the Cabinet member for response.

A response to the recommendations will be provided at the meeting.  

The Committee received a response (attached to these minutes) from Cllr Toby Sturgis, Cabinet member for Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning (strategic and development management), Property, Waste and Strategic Housing, as a result of the recommendations endorsed by the Committee at its meeting on 14 April 2015 following a report from the Waste Task Group.

Cllr Toby Sturgis explained that there was a comprehensive communications strategy in place to explain the changes to Household Recycling Centre (HRC) opening hours and the changes to garden waste collection arrangements.

It was recognised that the durability of the decals (stickers) placed on some of the bins was faulty. It was advised that these decals would be replaced if affected households contacted Customer Services. The public should be reassured that drivers would have details of which properties had signed up for the garden waste collection service. Cllr Toby Sturgis advised that any members of the public who experienced difficulties should contact Customer Services.

It was reported that 61,000 people had signed up for the garden waste collection service at the time of the meeting. It was commended that a high number of people had signed up for this service.The Committee considered that it would be appropriate to provide more detailed information about what items could be recycled and the Cabinet member agreed and explained that this would be addressed once the new procurement contract was in place. It was also advised that the toolkit for recycling and composting was under development and being fully trialled in Westbury; it was expected to be circulated to all councillors in early 2016.

Cllr Jose Green, the Chairman of the Task Group, suggested that, although the final report had been submitted, there was a continued need for the Waste Task Group particularly in respect of monitoring the Household Recycling Centres (HRC) and the impact of the changing hours. The Cabinet member suggested that the upcoming meetings between the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee and the relevant Cabinet members would address this.

The Committee suggested that, owing to the £40 per year charge for the garden waste collection service, the savings of £800,000 envisaged in the budget might be exceeded. The Cabinet member, Cllr Toby Sturgis, advised that 131,000 households used the service prior to the introduction of a charge and it was anticipated that roughly half of those households would eventually sign up for the service. The Cabinet member suggested that the additional income would cover the cost of the garden waste collection service.

It was also advised that payment for the garden waste collection service by instalments and/ or direct debit was being considered. The Committee recommended that these methods of payment be introduced in time for renewal payments in 2016 and encouraged the Cabinet member to investigate this as a priority. The Committee suggested that it might be beneficial for the Budget Scrutiny Task Group to investigate the income, costs and total savings arising from the introduction of the charge for the garden waste collection service.

Resolved:

To note the Executive response to the final report of the Waste Task Group.