Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations.

Councillor Banks introduced the report and explained that the current recycling performance statutory target was 64%.  The Council continued to perform well with the recycling performance for 2019/20 being 65.58%.  However, the impact of the pandemic had resulted in significant changes in the volumes of waste and recycling collected from residential properties and deposited at the Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) which had resulted in a downturn in performance to 64.4% for 2020/21.  That change was as a result of increased working from home, restrictions on movement and the closure of hospitality venues, along with the periodic closures of the HRCs.

Whilst the current waste strategy did not come to an end until 2025, the next national target to be achieved was 70% by 2024/25 so it was important that the Council started to plan for the future, assess the ongoing impact on waste volumes post the pandemic, and consider what more could be done to increase recycling rates to ensure that the national targets were met.

The Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) said in July 2021, following a report to the Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee, two all Member workshops were held to provide an update on the current position and discuss what changes the Council could implement to achieve the national recycling target of 70%.

The report provided full details of the feedback from the seminars and recommendations on future recycling and waste service provisions.

Councillor Jones and Mullin welcomed the introduction of the AHP collection service which would be well received by many residents.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the feedback from the Member seminars be welcomed and the work undertaken to date to increase recycling rates be supported; and

(b)       That the recommendations on future recycling and waste service provisions be approved.