Decision details

In the waste services budget for 2012-13 the service proposes to make savings of £300,000.  This will help the Council to spend more on priority services, such as those for vulnerable adults and children, and roads.  The service is proposing to do this by following the recent major improvements to kerbside recycling services with some reduction in the number of mini recycling sites, primarily those used by schools and not accessible to the general public, and the removal of summer evening opening hours at Wiltshire’s Household Recycling Centres (HRCs).  Proposals are made for alternative services to local authority schools.

This report summarises the results of public consultation on the proposals held from

29 February to 28 May 2012 and the technical analysis of mini recycling sites and explains how these have been used to identify the proposals. 

It is recommended that:

(i)               The 139 paper only mini recycling sites at schools be closed from 31 August 2012.

(ii)              The waste service include with the Action and Communications Plan provision of information and advice to Local Authority schools about options for dealing with their recyclates.

(iii)             Plastic bottle and cardboard collections be withdrawn from all relevant mini recycling sites, from 1 October 2012.

(iv)            Promotion of the kerbside collection of these materials should form part of the preparations for this change.

(v)              The current plastic bottle and cardboard recycling sites should instead accommodate the paper, glass, cans and textile bins currently deployed at 23 least well performing traditional sites, which will be closed from 1 October 2012.

(vi)            In response to owner requests, sites at Ogbourne St George and Shaw Primary School be closed from 1 October 2012.  These should be replaced by two sites on the southern fringes of Salisbury, which would otherwise be closed, to retain a good network in this area.  However, negotiations should be undertaken with Ludgershall Town Council, to retain a site in the town.

(vii)           The cessation of summer evening opening (Wednesday and Thursday evenings 5.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m., from April to October) at Household Recycling Centres be confirmed.

(viii)          The scope for changing Household Recycling Centre opening hours to provide access in the early evenings and the same hours at all sites should be reviewed, and secured as part of the procurement of a replacement service in July 2016, or earlier if possible.

(ix)            These changes are implemented according to the Action and Communications Plan in Appendix 6.

A list of the resulting changes to local recycling sites is attached, at Appendix 5.

To achieve planned and budgeted for savings to waste expenditure, by reducing potential duplication following the expansion of kerbside recycling services, whilst retaining an effective public back-up service at mini recycling sites and daily access to household recycling centres.

The proposed budget savings are largely specific.  In the case of closure of part of the mini recycling sites network, the main alternative would be to close some school sites and some public sites.  This would retain more low performing sites and leave an even smaller proportion of schools receiving a service not available to others.  Therefore, this option has not been recommended.

Public consultation (web-site and postal questionnaire) 29 February to 28 May 2012.  Consultation methods, publicity and responses are set out in the attached report.