Agenda item

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact Kieran Elliott, 01225 718504, kieran.elliott@wiltshire.gov.uk for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to Kieran Elliott, 01225 718504, kieran.elliott@wiltshire.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday 9 January 2018 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 11 January 2018. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

The Chairman drew attention to the public questions which were available in the agenda supplement and advised he would allow 15 minutes for questions.

It was noted that some questions required a verbal response due to them not being submitted in time for a written response, the following answers were provided by the Director of Waste and Environment:

·         The council manages waste in accordance with the waste hierarchy where it is technically, economically and environmentally practicable to do so. The range of materials which the council collects at the kerbside for recycling will extend from 30 July 2018 to include plastic pots, tubs and trays and food and drink cartons. However, manufacturers and producers of goods and packaging continue to use materials which cannot be recycled. Residents continue to purchase such goods and packaging and put them out for collection as residual waste which the council has a duty to collect and dispose of. To avoid disposing of such waste to landfill the council will continue to deliver these materials to the Lakeside energy from waste plant or to the mechanical biological treatment plant at Westbury where it is used to produce solid recovered fuel. In accordance with the waste hierarchy it is better to recover value in the form of energy than to landfill this non-recycled waste. In response to a question on energy from waste, 75% of respondents strongly agreed or tended to agree with the council building an energy from waste plant in Wiltshire if it would be financially beneficial.

·         To obtain more information on how residents would like the council to communicate with them about recycling, the following question was included in the Waste and Recycling Survey.

Q5. Which form of communication would most encourage you to recycle more at home? (Up to two options could be chosen).

The most popular options were firstly 'stickers on the bin specifying what can and can't go into them' and secondly 'an information leaflet posted to all households'. These are the two most expensive options of those listed. The council will take these responses into consideration but has to do so in the context of the budget available for communication.

·         Another question which is of relevance to this subject is set out below.

Q23. Would you be interested in becoming a local recycling or composting champion?

Over 10% of respondents said yes, which means there may be 398 residents who would be prepared to communicate with residents in their locality. The council should contact these potential volunteers to identify how they could best distribute information to the public.

·         The full response to Q5 is set out below.

More information available on the council’s website- 555

Regular emails from the council’s waste and recycling team with recycling information and updates- 693

Social media updates from Wiltshire Council regarding recycling information and facts- 451

Stickers on the bin specifying what can and can’t go into them- 1883

An information leaflet posted to all households- 1265

None of these I recycle all I can anyway- 1168

Supplementary questions were invited in response to which the Director for Waste and Environment explained the impact of incineration of waste was compared against landfill in the waste hierarchy as landfill was a lower option and created more greenhouse gases. It was confirmed CO2 emissions of transporting waste were factored into environmental assessments and incineration was primarily a method of waste treatment rather than energy generation. The Director also advised the Council promoted more expensive compost bins for treatment of food waste because they allowed all food waste to be treated. Anaerobic Digestion plants were considered by the Council to be more efficient when used for commercial waste as this generally had lower contamination than food waste collected from households.

Mr Chris Walford made a statement urging engagement between local councils and central government on waste management issues.

The Chairman thanked members of the public for attending to speak and ask questions.