Witnesses:
Richard Parkinson, Waste Operations Group
Manager
Nicholas Meadows, Change Consultant
Declarations of
interest:
None.
Key point raised
during the discussion:
- The Waste
Operations Group Manager introduced the report by informing the
Board of the recent changes at Community Recycling Centres (CRCs)
as per the recommendations agreed by Cabinet in November 2015. The
first phase of changes were introduced in April 2016, effectively
reducing the operating hours/days of sites and the non-acceptance
of some non-household waste materials at certain CRCs.
- It was
noted that charges for soil, rubble and plasterboard were
introduced in September 2016, Members were advised that these had
been closely monitored and were detailed in the report.
- The Waste
Operations Group Manager reported that the volume of fly-tipping
collected by District & Borough Councils for disposal had
fallen in the period April 2016 – January 2017. It had
reduced by over 1,100 tonnes compared to the previous year saving
the council £125,000 in disposal costs. This reduction has
coincided with the launch of the fly-tipping prevention strategy in
June 2016.
- A Member
sought clarification on whether there has been a decrease in the
amount of recycling material collected at CRCs and asked for
information on recycling at each CRC. The Member also asked if
there had been an increase in queuing at CRCs, where opening days
had been reduced. The Officer responded by confirming that there
had been a reduction in green waste volumes between April 2016 and
January 2017 and consequently a reduction in processing costs.
Changes in volumes of other types of recycled materials were less
significant,
- It was
noted by the Board that there had not be any particular complaints
from the public about queueing as a
result of the change in operating hours and queuing at CRCs. It was
highlighted that since the introduction of the charging scheme, the
sites had become less busy and the Officer advised that data could
be drawn together to show vehicle counts at sites if
necessary.
- The Waste
Operations Group Manager advised the Board that collecting data in
relation to fly-tipping was inconsistent as Borough and Districts
reported fly-tipping differently and getting this data accurate was
a priority going forward.
- Further to
the above, the Officer informed the Board there was limited data
regarding fly-tipping on private land as this information is not
really collected by District and Borough Councils. This is an area
that the new partnership and intelligence officer is seeking to
understand more about, and has already been liaising with groups
such as the National Trust and the Surrey Wildlife
Trust.
- A Member
expressed the view that the Board should consider a more detailed
report on each individual CRC site as it would be promote a broader
and better understanding of the impact of changes to
residents.
- The Cabinet
Member for Environment and Planning informed the Board that that
the County Council had invested a lot of time into the creation of
a fly-tipping strategy and was one of the only local authorities
with a prevention strategy in place.
- The Cabinet
Member advised that reports by news outlets indicating that there
was an increase in fly-tipping in the UK did not apply to Surrey
and reinstated the fact that there was a reduction with a saving of
£125,000 being made by the County Council.
Victoria Young left the meeting at 11:55am
- A Member
suggested that it would be useful to have data/figures on
fly-tipping in each Borough and District. An officer had prepared
this information, which was circulated to members. The Cabinet
Member advised the Board that not all Borough and Districts
collected data around fly-tipping in a consistent way however
working collectively going forward would resolve this
issue.
- It was
highlighted to the Board that the decision to accept debit/credit
card payments only was made after the original consultation in
2015, as the public expressed a strong preference to debit/credit
payments only. The Officer stated that the handling of cash
transactions on site presented security concerns and additional
costs.
- A Member
asked the Board to consider introducing a bottle bank scheme,
whereby machines offered money in exchange for glass bottles. The
Officer advised the Board that glass bottles did not necessarily
have much value and a scheme like this would need Government
backing and intervention.
- The Cabinet
Member for Highways, Flooding and Transport shared the view that a
bottle scheme would be suitable for festivals, whereby bottles can
be collected from festival goers.
- It was
highlighted that fly-tipping incident data was submitted via the
Waste Data Flow reporting system to DEFRA by District and Boroughs.
Officers indicated that although there was a recording system in
place, collecting this data was difficult as recording was diverse
and inconsistent throughout the county.
- It was
highlighted that where some District and Borough Councils had
reported increases in incidents following the introduction of the
charging waste scheme that construction and demolition waste
related incidents did not show the same increase. The Officer
therefore explained that these reported increases were not linked
to the charging waste scheme.
- The Waste
Operations Group Manager explained that trends in fly-tipping were
unpredictable however the key objective was in promoting the
prevention message and reinforcing the campaign to continue
positive results.
- It was
noted that a van permit scheme was in place at CRCs to prevent
businesses abusing the service. Officers informed the Board that
the service were looking into a number plate recognition system at
CRC sites. A Member expressed the view that the scheme would be
flawed for people who disposed of waste using a hired rental
van.
- Further to
the above, Officers confirmed the
Contact Centre was available as a fall back to obtain a permit for
anyone who was having difficulty in accessing one
online.
- In an
effort to stop fly tipping and tackle bogus waste carriers,
Officers reported that they were working with Trading Standards to
use Checkatrade in conjunction with the
waste carriers licence,
- The Board
were informed that the reuse shop in Leatherhead was producing an
income of £7,000 per month, and that reuse shops at the CRCs
in Woking, Whitley and Earlswood would
be open shortly and would generate more income.
- Officers
identified Ebay as a great way to
resell goods collected at CRCs and generate further profits.
Members shared the view that Ebay was a
good opportunity and would work going forward.
- Officers
were asked whether reusable furniture collected at CRCs was ever
donated to charity. It was explained that the service has supported
furniture reuse projects across the county and would continue to do
so. Officers explained that furniture reuse projects did not
necessarily always want the furniture collected at
CRCs.
- A Member
suggested that there was an opportunity with composting green waste
that was collected at sites to reduce disposal costs and informed
the Board this was currently happening in Sutton. Officers
explained that the County collect up to 30,000/40,000 tonnes of
green waste and that composting this would require a lot of
resources.
- It was
stated by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Flooding and Transport
that district and boroughs were entitled to collect residential
garden and bulky waste at an annual charge.
Zully Duff-Grant
left the meeting at 12:45pm
Recommendations:
The Board noted and commented
on the report.
Actions:
None.