Issue - meetings

Purpose of the report: Scrutiny of Services and Budgets and Performance Management

To update the EPEH Board on the changes to the Community Recycling Centre service implemented as part of the council’s cost saving measures.

Witnesses:

Richard Parkinson, Waste Operations Group Manager

Nicholas Meadows, Change Consultant

Declarations of interest:

None.

Key point raised during the discussion:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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,

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8