Agenda item

Purpose of the item: For the Select Committee to receive an update from the Chairman of the Waste task group on work undertaken by the task group to date.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Dr Andrew Povey, Chairman of the waste task group

Alan Bowley, Interim Head of Environment

Jason Russell, Executive Director for Highways, Transport and Environment

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Chairman started by explaining that the Executive Director for Highways, Transport and Environment was leaving the council and thanked him for all his hard work, wishing him all the best for the future.

2.    The item was introduced by the Chairman of the Waste task group whom explained that in January 2019 the Cabinet had paused on the closure of four Community Recycling Centres (CRC’s). The waste task group would be reporting back to Cabinet with its findings in September. A key priority of the task group was to try and find savings in the current operation of the CRC’s and investigate ways of increasing recycling rates. A number of site visits had been undertaken at various CRC’s across Surrey and the group supported the use of re-use shops at these sites. Therefore it was important that the CRC’s were kept and developed as a place for recycling and helping the environment.

3.    Two Members of the Waste task group whom were also Members of the Committee stated that the closure of CRC’s was deeply unpopular and reusing goods needed to be promoted alongside recycling. 

4.    The Chairman queried if the waste task group had had any ideas of how income could be generated at CRC’s. The Chairman of the waste task group explained that re-use shops had been extended which would not only generate income but take goods out of the waste stream. A bike scheme had also been set-up to refurbish and resell bikes which could also be extended. It was further added that the county needed to work better with the voluntary sector to promote re-use. Importantly further work needed to be done with residents to promote the re-use, recycle and reduce agenda.

5.    A Member of the Committee queried if there were plans to extend re-use shops to other CRC locations and if it was possible to identify individuals not recycling properly and engage with them more proactively about the benefits of recycling. The Interim Head of Environment explained that Suez collected all re-use items from CRC’s and delivered them to the four re-use shops. Discussions were taking place on whether these shops could be stand alone and if co-location was actually necessary. Through the use of performance data, the Surrey Environment Partnership would be targeting efforts to promote recycling in areas where recycling rates were low. 

6.    A Member of the Committee stated that they were relieved to hear that the Task Group were in support of retaining the four CRC’s and queried if it was possible to differentiate between commercial and household rubbish. The Interim Head of Environment explained that van permits were being introduced for commercial activity but there would also be a grey area in terms of unscrupulous users but work was being done with Suez to identify these people. It was added that charging for waste was set by government and the council was legally entitled to charge for the disposal of some waste. The Chairman of the task group stated that the group had not reviewed charging and would look into the details of this.

7.    Concerns were raised around the implications of charging for waste and specifically issues around fly-tipping and individuals burning wood. It was therefore important to review these decisions in line with other council policies.  

8.    A Member of the Committee asked for officers to clarify closing times for CRC’s especially Randall’s Lane. The Chairman of the task group stated that in order to encourage re-use and recycling, information about the CRC’s needed to be clarified and information was already available on the public website.

9.    The Interim Head of Environment stated that Surrey CRC’s did not track people visiting sites although permit schemes were being introduced to control cross border waste disposal. It was explained that Suez was responsible for handling Surreys waste through a PFI contract. 

10.  Members of the Committee were in support of more work being undertaken with social groups around the re-use of goods.

11.  Another Member of the Committee argued that the current contract in place with district and boroughs was not working. The Interim Head of Environment explained that there were four district and boroughs within the current contractual arrangements but with the governments drive towards more consistency with collections these arrangements could possibly change with more authorities joining the arrangements.

12.  The Chairman recommended that the task group should review charging at CRC’s. The Chairman of the task group stated that although the group had not taken a view on this, all evidence to increase recycling points to one direction with regards to charging.  

Resolved:

The Communities, Environment and Highways Select Committee,

      I.        welcome and endorse the waste task groups indication for keeping all CRC’s in Surrey open,

    II.        encourage extensive publicity and communication around recycling to residents by both officers and members,

   III.        scrutinise the final waste task group report before submission to Cabinet,

  IV.        recommend that the waste task group consider charging for waste disposal at CRC’s as part of their work programme.