Agenda and draft minutes

To receive the notes of the meeting held on 9 November 2022.

The notes of the meeting held on 9 November 2022 were received by the Group.

To update the Group on planning for food waste collections.

The Head of Recycling & Waste updated the Group on planning for food waste collections.

Clarity and guidance from government is still required regarding food waste collections however work is been planned towards a 2025 target.

Details are required on capital funding- which will be received as part of the new burdens funding and should earlier implementation take place, guidance is required on whether funding would be available early to support required changes.

For future preparations Horsham District Council is undertaking re-modelling work on the regularity of waste collections which are the 1-2-2, 1-2-3 and 1-2-2 collection schemes. AHP models -which are the weekly absorbent hygiene products are also being considered.

The Group were reminded of the successful small waste food trial which took place in the Horsham district in Autumn 2021. 105 households took part in the 1-2-3 scheme where households were provided with a 140 litre bin which was collected every three weeks alongside food waste and recycling.

Other larger trials have taken place in West Sussex where uptake to the food waste collections have been high. All councils are waiting for confirmation of government funding.

It is hoped that once responses are received from government consultations, plans will be considered at Cabinet and Council later in the year.

Further updates will be considered at future PDAGs.

An update on clearing litter and dealing with littering offences.

The Group were updated on recent planned litter collection work. Litter Picks were taking place on High-Speed roads using traffic management.

Areas recently covered were parts of the A264, A24 and work on the A272 is due to take place at the end of March.

The Head of Recycling & Waste advised that regular litter picks were scheduled, and larger roads required mobile works and road space to be booked which were sometimes difficult to schedule.

A new Litter & Cleansing Supervisor had been recently recruited to highlight problem areas, assess current work carried out and identify areas required for future work.

Consideration and discussions were taking place with the councils’ grass cutters to consider litter picking on days they are cutting grass. This would mean a co-ordinated approach and less need to use traffic management measures.

Members re-enforced the importance and priority of collecting and improving litter within the district. It was felt the issue was a priority for residents and the image of the district and commercial vehicles with unsecure loads were the main contributor of litter which needed enforcing.

Discussions and enforcement has taken place with commercial companies to encourage improvement in securing loads and reducing litter. Officers are also building cases against offenders with twice weekly checks with dashcam footage. Enforcement days were due to take place on the A264 within the next week.

Members suggested raising litter issues with government however understood that littering was the responsibility of local authorities.

To update the Group on the soft furnishing collections (POPs) and how this will impact on the bulky household waste collections.

The Recycling & Waste Strategy Manager briefed the Group on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) which are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods of time. They are toxic harmful chemicals that are commonly used for flame retardants in upholstered furniture.

As from 3 April current regulations require POP waste items of Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) to be collected separately.

Collections of WUDS will take place weekly on Monday and Wednesday as part of the paid large item collections and disposed of separately at the Amenity tip.

Guidance has been set up on the Council website and a new booking form for the collection of WUDS.

An update on Green waste renewals.

Renewals are currently being processed and letters and new coloured stickers will be issued to residents in the next few weeks.

Payment reminders to sign up to the scheme will be issued at the beginning and mid March if residents have not already done this.

Uptake of the scheme has been extremely positive even with the price increase and Horsham district is still offering one of the cheapest subscriptions in Sussex and provide a good value service.

The service will be advertised on council vehicles, the main gates at the Hop Oast site and local magazines.

Members were keen to investigate the option of offering rolling ‘sign on’ to the service whereby users could sign up at any time throughout the year.

Detailed work is taking place to consider this option and an update will be provided at a future PDAG.

To update the Group on the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers released by DEFRA.

The Recycling & Waste Strategy Manager updated the group on the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) which is currently being developed and planned to be introduced in October 2025.

The purpose of the scheme is to boost recycling, reduce littering and promote a circular economy.

Consumers are charged a deposit up-front when they purchase a drinks container that is part of the scheme. The deposit can then be redeemed by the consumer when the container is returned to a designated point.

Similar Deposit Return Schemes have achieved 90% collection rates on single-use drinks containers within Europe and Worldwide.

Details are currently being developed and the PDAG will be updated as and when information is available.

There are no current items on the Forward Plan for the Waste & Recycling portfolio.

There were no current items on the Forward Plan for the Recycling & Waste portfolio.

The Head of Recycling & Waste briefly advised the Group that following the commercial waste tenders, Dry Mixed Recycling and Paper & Cardboard were going to West Sussex sites at a slightly lower cost.

The first RCV – Refuse Collection Vehicle had gone for planned refurbishment. Weekly updates were being provided on progress and it is hoped completion will be within 8-12 weeks.