Agenda and draft minutes

To receive the notes of the meeting held on 20 July 2022

The notes of the meeting held on 20 July were received by the Group.

The Recycling & Waste Strategy Manager provided the group with an update on the Podback Collection Service.

Members were reminded that major coffee pod manufacturers were providing funding for authorities to collect coffee pods for recycling and Horsham District Council (HDC) was combining Podback with the existing WEEE & Textiles collection service in the district.

Residents would order bags online to collect used coffee pods, bags would be filled and then a collection slot booked with HDC. These would be unloaded into a container at the Depot and pods would be collected by Podback for reprocessing in the UK where material would be recycled.

The Group were advised that the scheme provided a number of benefits for the Council and an estimated 5,500 households would sign up to the scheme. Podback had proved successful with other neighbouring Council’s where it had been trialled.

Within the next few weeks it was intended that details would be finalised with Podback with the intention of a potential launch early next year.

Prior to launching the service a communication campaign was planned where leaflets, bin hangers and social media would raise awareness to residents.

Members were positive about the new scheme and discussed the importance of raising awareness to residents. It was felt that any way to improve recycling within the district was positive and would further enhance the successful WEEE collection service.

Progress on the launch and uptake would be discussed at a future PDAG.

The Head of Waste updated the Group on the Business Waste Tender.

The Business Waste service has grown over the last five years, requirements had changed with the inclusion of bulky bags and due to procurement regulations the council is required to re-tender for the work. The Tender will have a 5 year contract term with the option to extend for two years.

Tendering will be divided into different ‘lots’ dependent on the type of waste and can be awarded independently to give the best value for money.

A pre-market questionnaire had recently taken place to gain an idea of how best value for money could be achieved from specifications.

The Group were keen to understand if the tender specifications included information on where end waste was located. The Head of Parking and Waste advised that this information was sought as part of the tender process alongside other detailed requirements.

Members were informed of timescales with the intention for the contract to start February 2023.

Full details would be considered at Cabinet in November.

Following a question at Council from Councillor Andrew Baldwin highlighting the importance and problem of littering and fly tipping within this Country, he requested the Cabinet Member for Recycling and Waste to consider plans to increase on the spot fines within the Horsham district.

It was agreed the PDAG would discuss Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) and pricing within the district as these were currently fairly minimal. If changes were suggested from the statutory minimum, further consideration would need to be given at Cabinet and Council.

The Group were reminded of the hard work taken by Officers to clear fly tipping and investigate its source. The number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) issued had improved considerably since a new Environmental Enforcement Officer had been in post. Neighbourhood Wardens were also engaging with offenders to educate rather than issue fines. The Cleansing Team and Officers were also contributing greatly to overall cleanliness and appearance of the district.

The Head of Waste gave an overview to the Group. Since November 2021 the Enforcement Officer had issued 28 FPN’s which were mainly from fly tipping and littering from larger vehicles carrying waste. It was highlighted how difficult it was to identifying vehicles littering and enforcing these especially along the A264.

Horsham District Council FNP’s were currently charged at £75 or reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days of the fine. In comparison to other local Council’s the charges were the lowest in West Sussex.

It was felt the fines were not substantial for larger companies and the Head of Waste had met with some organisations that had littered and discussed methods of improvement such as securing better netting to larger vehicles. Regular meetings would be taking place to improve communication and find practical solutions to the issues.

The Group discussed in detail the current FPN charges and were in agreement that these needed to be increased substantially. They felt that larger fines would not only discourage people from littering and fly tipping but would also assist at Parish Council level where considerable expense was incurred due to litter picking.

It was agreed that The Head of Waste would progress consideration of an increase in current FPN charges from £75 to £150 and £50 to £100 if paid within 14 days.

The Group also requested some mechanism to offer no discounted FPN rate to repeat offenders if legislation allowed this.

Progress would be discussed at a future PDAG.