Agenda item

(a)       That the proposed changes to the Council Waste Collection be endorsed; and

(b)       That the Cabinet Member and Officers be requested to have regard to the comments made by Members during the discussion.

The Head of Streetscene introduced a report to inform Members of the proposals to review and update the Council’s Waste Collection Policy. 

He detailed the background to the report and explained that recycling was still a significant challenge for the authority.  The municipal waste target for 2015/16 was 58% and this year the Council was currently achieving 57%.  The Head of Streetscene reminded Members that the cost of not achieving the targets was extremely high and that failing to meeting the target by 1% could result in infraction charges of £400,000 for that year alone.  The Sustainable Waste Management Grant was decreasing each year and the targets were increasing so it was good practice to review the processes and policies in place.  The following were reported as changes to the policy:-

• Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) had now been incorporated into the policy
• curtilage collections
• restricting garden waste bins to two per property
• continuation of side waste
• provision of a new HRC site in Sandycroft resulting in the closure of Saltney and Queensferry once it opened
• opening times amended to take account of footfall levels at the sites
• van owners with a Van Permit limited to Greenfield and Mold sites

            The Head of Streetscene explained that areas which had high amounts of side waste would be monitored and where issues were identified, an action day would be set up in the area to educate residents on what could or could not be recycled to encourage them to recycle.  Visits from officers may also be required and enforcement action would be undertaken as a last resort.  He explained that plans for the new site in Sandycroft, which now did not include steps, would be submitted to Planning in March 2014. 

            Councillor Nancy Matthews expressed concern about side waste and queried whether reports could be submitted to future Committees about the levels of side waste to allow the Committee to monitor whether it was reducing.  She welcomed the provision of the van permit scheme at two sites and queried whether the permits would be available at the Alltami depot in future.  The Head of Streetscene advised that he could provide a summary about side waste in his six monthly performance report to the Committee.  It was intended that the van permits would be available at Alltami and that renewals could then be undertaken through the Contact Centre. 

            Councillor Colin Legg raised concern about the number of complaints he had received from residents about collections of waste during the Christmas period.  He also asked if a smaller bin for residents who lived alone could be considered and queried why other authorities such as Liverpool asked that all waste be placed in one bin and not separated into recyclable/non-recyclable waste.  Councillor Legg also asked that thanks from residents be passed on to the refuse collectors. 

            In response, the Head of Streetscene said that the number of complaints during the Christmas period was very low, which was encouraging, and that a 99.3% collection was now being achieved.  Processes were in place for missed collections but he reminded Members that the Council was not always to blame for missed collections.  He said that the suggestion of a smaller bin could be explored.  The Cabinet Member for Waste Strategy, Public Protection and Leisure said that there had been a significant number of changes over the past 12 months and he highlighted that supervisors would be allocated responsibilities for rounds and HRC sites to ensure that they were dealt with appropriately.  On the issue of separating waste, the Head of Streetscene said separation of recycling by residents was the preferred option from Welsh Government and that it was likely to become a legal requirement for Councils to ask residents to do it. 

            Councillor David Wisinger welcomed the report but asked how many van permits had been issued (743) and indicated that he would have preferred the two sites to be Greenfield and Queensferry not Greenfield and Mold.  The Cabinet Member for Waste Strategy, Public Protection and Leisure said that the sites had been chosen because of their spatial ability but that the issue would be monitored and would be reviewed 12 months after implementation.  In response to a question from Councillor Wisinger, the Head of Streetscene said that residents would be notified if any bins were crushed or lost during the collection of waste.  Councillor Wisinger requested that Queensferry and Saltney HRC sites remain open for a period of time following the opening of Sandycroft until such time that he was satisfied with it but the Cabinet Member stated that it was neither possible or appropriate to keep all the sites open beyond the opening of Sandycroft.  The Head of Streetscene advised that he would make enquiries about the number of van permits issued. 

            Councillor Chris Dolphin asked questions about the provision of replacement green food bags and the returning of bins to their point of origin and suggested that the noting and monitoring of properties that put out side waste should be undertaken by the supervisors.  The Head of Streetscene advised that the properties leaving out side waste were recorded onto a device in the cab and were fed back to supervisors automatically.  He agreed that supervisors should take more control and have a greater role in the area that they were responsible for. 

            Councillor Peter Curtis welcomed the report and the changes proposed to the policy including curtilage collections.  He raised concern about shopkeepers in town centres that put out their waste on a Saturday for early morning collections on a Monday and asked if collections could be undertaken later on Mondays so that the waste could be put out that morning instead of over the weekend.  On the issue of Christmas collections, he said that information was issued about changes during that period and he welcomed the collection rate in his area.  Councillor Curtis also welcomed the inclusion of Disability Living Allowance in the list of benefits that householders could receive to qualify for up to two free collections per year of bulky household waste.  The Head of Streetscene advised that he would look at the issue of town centre waste collections. 

            On the issue of black bins, Councillor Ron Hampson said that they were not big enough for some families and therefore the issue of side waste would continue; he queried whether the bins used in Chester were larger.  The Head of Streetscene responded that a significant amount of time and effort had gone into deciding the correct size for the black bins.  The Cabinet Member for Waste Strategy, Public Protection and Leisure said that it was hoped that the amount of side waste would continue to reduce and therefore the Council would continue to use the size of bin that was currently in place. 

            In referring to the comment that bins would be returned to their place of origin once emptied, Councillor Veronica Gay asked that the lids be put on the bins.  She also welcomed the proposals to not include steps at the Sandycroft HRC and asked if advertising would be undertaken to prepare the public for the closure of the sites at Saltney and Queensferry.  Councillor Gay also suggested that figures be published to raise awareness about which areas were better at recycling than others.  She commented on the ‘bring sites’ and asked it these were located in the correct sites across the county.  The Cabinet Member for Waste Strategy, Public Protection and Leisure said that the situation of ‘bring sites’ would be monitored and reviewed if necessary.  In response to the subject of lids on bins, the Head of Streetscene advised that the lids should be closed once the bin had been emptied. 

            Councillor Glyn Banks congratulated the officers for the report and felt that a presentation on what could or could not be recycled would be welcomed in his ward.  On the issue of collections, he said that Talacre had a Saturday collection whilst the rest of area had their waste collected on a Monday; this was an area of concern and Councillor Banks asked if it could be reviewed.  The Head of Streetscene responded that areas that received presentations were chosen because of their high rate of side waste and he added that the Local Members would always be invited if such an event took place in their ward.  There were currently no plans to change the rounds but the issue of collections in Talacre could be reviewed. 

            In response to a question from Councillor Haydn Bateman about black bags no longer being able to go to landfill, the Head of Streetscene said that the Environment Act was being reviewed and it referred to residual waste not being permitted in landfill so was not referring to the use of black bags.  Following a further query from Councillor Bateman, the Head of Streetscene said trade waste was only permitted into the Greenfield HRC site with the necessary permit. 

            Councillor Ray Hughes referred to the collection of waste during the Christmas period, which he welcomed, and queried whether the weekly collection of black bins during this period could be extended to the end of January.  The Head of Streetscene responded that the brown bin service was suspended for four weeks to allow weekly black bin collections during the Christmas period and it was felt that this was a sufficient timeframe.  Councillor Alex Aldridge felt that the diligence of residents should be highlighted as the Council would not achieve its targets without them.  He asked if regular visits were made to schools to educate children as he felt that this was essential and the Head of Streetscene confirmed that these were undertaken.  Councillor Aldridge raised concern about areas in the county where litter including cans and bottles were left and asked how those responsible for this were dealt with. 

            The Chairman referred to rows of terraced properties where the bins were left out all week as there were no areas to store them and said that he felt that the residents needed to be educated about this.  On the issue of bulky waste collection, he asked if this applied where a child in the property was in receipt of Disability Living Allowance.  The Head of Streetscene responded that it was intended to apply to householders in receipt of the listed benefits so the service would not be free if only the children in the property were in receipt of the benefits listed.                  

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the proposed changes to the Council Waste Collection be endorsed; and

(b)       That the Cabinet Member and Officers be requested to have regard to the comments made by Members during the discussion.