Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to report of the Service Manager Neighbourhood Services.

The Team Leader Waste & Fleet Management presented the report which provided a copy of the draft Waste Management and Recycling Strategy.  The Officer went through the report and highlighted points contained therein.

A Member referred to the Objectives outlined at section 2.8 of the report, namely Objective 3, and asked whether it was feasible to reduce trade waste fees in order to maximise recycling.

In response the Officer confirmed that the trade waste service had been subject to a review over the last 6 months, and a report on this would be submitted to Scrutiny in December.

A Member referred to page 29 of the draft document (Appendix 2), and expressed concern that one of the strategic objectives for 2020-21 was to review the frequency of residual collection.  He said this objective should be removed until the impact of the new HWRC was realised.

In response the Service Manager Community Services said the action plan and timelines outlined in Appendix 2 were just guidelines at the moment.  However, in order to achieve a 70% target, the frequency of residential collection would need to be considered in the future, and other Authorities had seen substantial improvements in recycling rates where this had been implemented.

A Member asked that any proposed changes to services be reported to Scrutiny for full consideration by Members prior to any decisions being made.  The Team Leader Waste & Fleet Management confirmed that all proposals would be reported through the appropriate democratic process.

In response to a question raised by a Member regarding monitoring of performance information, the Officer confirmed that Members were updated regularly on performance within Waste Management through the democratic process.

A discussion ensued when the Head of Community Services said due to the uncertainty moving forward, Strategies needed to be flexible, sustainable and deliverable, and include all principles of engagement.  He said one guarantee was that the agenda around climate change would get broader, and this action plan aimed to future proof the Council and enable us to have the sufficient tools in place to address future challenges. 

The Committee AGREED to recommend, subject to the foregoing, that the report be accepted; and

·       The Scrutiny Committee considered the draft Waste Management and Recycling Strategy and recommends it to Executive Committee for approval (Option 2); and

·       Any proposed service changes, i.e. residential waste collection, be brought to the Community Services Scrutiny Committee for consideration.