Agenda and draft minutes

To receive the notes of the meeting held on 18^th January 2024.

The notes of the Recycling & Waste PDAG meeting held on 18^th January 2024 were received.

Cabinet report on domestic food waste for policy development.

The Head of Recycling and Waste provided more context to the Group regarding the report on Domestic Food Waste that will be considered by Cabinet. They explained that the report details the implications and processes necessary to meet the reforms set out in the simpler recycling announcement made by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. The announcement stated that weekly domestic food waste collections should be in place by 31^st March 2026.

The Head of Recycling and Waste explained that to meet this deadline that a proposal to Cabinet is made in the report to fund vehicle procurement, vehicle and bin storage, caddies, and recruitment. They further clarified that the capital funding from the government will not cover the cost of vehicle procurement and will fall short by £1.2m. Additionally, the report covers the recommended frequency of collections and revenue expenditure for route planning.

The Group discussed the issues with less frequent residual waste collections regarding nappies and dog waste. The types of vehicles that would be procured as part of the fleet expansion to meet the increased demand, which would be diesel vehicles as there is not currently a suitable alternative to meet the tonnage and load baring necessary in the electric vehicle market currently.A site to park the additional vehicles also needs to be found, the cost for this is currently unknown.

Cabinet report on commercial food waste for policy development.

The Head of Recycling and Waste provided more context to the Group regarding the report on Commercial Food Waste that will be considered by Cabinet. They explained that there is no legal obligation to supply a commercial food waste collection service, but businesses will be legally obliged to separate their food waste if they have more than ten employees. This means that businesses will be looking for suppliers to fulfil this need and the Council would likely lose customers that utilise their commercial waste collections currently if they do not offer a commercial food waste collection service. This offers an opportunity for the Council to offset some of the cost of implementing the legislated Domestic Food Waste Collection Service.

The Head of Recycling and Waste explained that the report looks to fund the purchase of a single vehicle and crew members to complete the commercial food waste collections. As the business grows consideration can be given to purchasing a second electric powered vehicle which could service areas such as the town centre

The Group discussed that there are targets for waste within the domestic recycling and food waste collections but that there are no such targets for commercial collections. The Group discussed implementing processes to target and review the commercial waste collections going forward.

Cabinet report on isolated properties for policy development.

The Head of Recycling and Waste provided more detail regarding the report on Isolated Property Collection that will be considered by Cabinet. They explained that there are a number of homes within the districted that are very rural, often down narrow lanes that require the waste collection vehicles to reverse over a mile as there is no room to turn around. The report details the proposal of procuring a smaller vehicle to complete these collections, increasing safety of collection operatives and capacity for other vehicles and operatives to complete other rounds.

The Group discussed the types of vehicles to be considered and when the purchase was likely to be made.

The Head of Recycling and Waste provided more detail regarding the report on Section 106 Funds to be considered by Cabinet. They explained that the proposal is to utilise Section 106 funds to try and offset the short fall of funding to implement the Domestic Food Waste Collections. They explained that this would be done in consultation with the Parish Councils and Members.

The Group discussed that the Section 106 funds are utilised by Parish Councils to address a need in the Parish that developers have not been able to deliver and that some Parish’s may not wish to use their allotted funds for Waste in this way and agreed that consultation with the Parishes would be needed.

To note the Forward Plan extract for the Environmental Health, Recycling & Waste portfolio

The forward plan extract was noted.