Agenda and draft minutes

To receive the notes of the meeting held on 18 November

The notes of the meeting held on 18^th November 2019 were received.

To receive an update from the Head of Waste, Recycling, Street Scene and Fleet Services

Bids for the bulky waste contract had been invited.  No bids had been received although there had been some enquiries. 

The collection of bulky waste was a statutory function so would have to be done in house.  The Council might go out to tender again in the future.

Work had been completed to improve the online booking system for the collection of bulky waste.

There was a possibility of working with other groups and individuals on the re-use aspect of bulky waste.

The costs of an in house service were broadly the same as if the service were contracted out.

The re-use of items was promoted on the Council’s website.  West Sussex County Council was opening its first re-use shop and this would also be a way of encouraging the re-use of bulky items.

To receive an update from the Head of Waste, Recycling, Street Scene and Fleet Services.

The group received a presentation on recycling contamination:

·         The amount of contamination of a load was assessed by experts by eye.

·         Our contamination rates were much lower than some other areas but had increased and any contamination undermined recycling efforts

·         The main items which contaminated recycling were wet paper, food and general waste

·         6 samples a month were taken randomly and assessed to work out contamination rates.

·         In 2019 contamination rates were worst in September and December

·         Causes of contamination included:

i)        Lids blowing open

ii)       Water in vehicles

iii)     Air vent holes

iv)        Water in the hopper

v)      Hiding contamination

vi)        Food

·         In 2018 China banned plastic and paper being imported for recycling

·         Viridor had found new markets but the price per tonne of recycling received was lower and there were tighter restrictions on paper quality

·         Low grade paper costed more to process than the income received from recycling it

·         Hampshire had stopped collecting paper

·         It was not so much of a problem paper getting wet at amenity sites as it went straight from there to a mill

·         Recycling was now more heavily scrutinised when tipped at transfer stations which meant more loads were rejected

·         An action plan had been produced:

i)          The Council would work with WSCC and Viridor. 

ii)         There had been operational improvements such as the plugging of air vent holes. 

iii)        Contaminated bins were rejected.

iv)        See through bins had been introduced at some communal facilities and steps would be taken to implement this further

v)         Residents would be educated through communications and door stepping

vi)        An improved contamination policy would be implemented.  There would be fixed penalties.  There would be three stages to the issuing of fixed penalties.  Education was still the first option tried.  Perpetrators would be dealt with on a case by case basis and the issuing of fixed penalty notices would be a last resort.

·         The Action Plan had produced results:

i)              There had been increased working with WSCC and Viridor.

ii)             There was reduced water in vehicles

iii)           There was better cleaning of vehicles

iv)           Crews could identify contamination in perpex bins

·         There was a target to reduce contamination below 8% from May 2020

·         With the introduction of the new clear perpex bins, areas of high contamination were being targeted first

·         Compostable bags could not be accepted at present as they affected the quality of the composted material

·         The reasons some authorities could collect certain items and some couldn’t was because there were different facilities for processing in different places.  Standardisation across the country could actually lead to a reduction in materials being recycled if it had to be materials which could be processed anywhere 

To receive an update from the Head of Waste, Recycling, Street Scene and Fleet Services

·         The Council was launching a Recycling Champions Initiative. 

·         Families were being recruited from across the District.  

·         There would be an emphasis on food waste. 

·         Waste audits would be carried out in March and December.

·         The participants would make social media posts sharing their ideas for increased recycling

·         It was felt that having residents giving recycling messages would have a greater impact than if the messages came from the Council

·         16 families had applied so far

·         All participants would be offered a home composter or a green cone

·         The food waste audit would compare how much a family was recycling at the start and the end of the scheme

To note the Forward Plan extract for the Environment, Recycling and Waste Portfolio

The extract from the Forward Plan was noted.

There was also an update from the Director of Community Services.

It was noted that food waste counted as recycling as it could be used for energy.  WSCC didn’t currently have the facilities to process it. 

Some of the Group had visited other authorities with very high rates of recycling to learn from them.  They had seen that in successful authorities there was a close working relationship between the District and the County.