Agenda item

The committee to receive a presentation on the service, performance indicators and operations.

The committee received a presentation from the Waste, Recycling and Market Leads which covered; waste and recycling target results, how Watford compared with the rest of Hertfordshire, the factors within the council’s control (including collection methodology, operational effectiveness and communications), the factors outside the council's control (including climate, demographics and legislation), the impact of rurality and deprivation and educational and communications outreach activities.

The committee then received a presentation of David Birley, Waste Aware Co-Ordinator. The key points highlighted were:

·                 Waste Aware was a coalition of all 10 Hertfordshire district and boroughs and Hertfordshire County Council.

·                 Over half of all waste was recycled and most residual waste was sent to the energy from waste plants and this would be all residual waste in a couple of years so there would be none going to landfill.

·                 Garden waste was sent to an open windrow composting site and used in agriculture and landscaping. In-vessel composting was used for mixed garden and food waste. Food from separate food waste collections was sent to anaerobic digestion from which methane was derived to power electrical generators.

·                 Dry recycling materials were separated and sent to secondary processing plants, mostly in the UK. Plastics were mostly processed in the UK but some materials, especially card was sent to the Far East where it was used in packaging new products.

The committee received a final presentation from Bev Knight, Veolia, on the food waste collection service in flats. The key points highlighted were:

·                  Food waste constituted 30% of residual waste and collections had been available for any new build flats since the service change but were not initially available in those built prior to September 2020. There would be an increased offering going forward where managing agents had opted in. 

·                 Landlords and manging agents had been contacted and sites were being surveyed for suitability. Kitchen caddies, liners and information on how to use the service would be delivered in October for the first tranche.

·                 They would also deliver wheelie bins to bin stores and posters to advise residents on how to use the service.

·                 Veolia were working closely with Watford Community Housing with a view to adding the food waste service to suitable sites in the future.

During the course of the discussions, the following points were highlighted:

·                 Practical considerations and economics made kerbside collections of soft plastics difficult but there were collection points at supermarkets.

·                 Delays in particular government initiatives, including extended producer responsibility, were impacting local government decision making. 

·                 Food waste was collected weekly; one week with garden waste and the following week separately. These were treated differently and was in part due to the chargeable garden waste service and was a cost-saving measure. Contracts for the disposal of garden waste and food waste were being procured by Hertfordshire County Council

·                 Where residents’ residual bins were overfull, the crews left a tag and this provided an opportunity to educate on what could be recycled. The crews knew which households repeatedly overfilled their bins. Excess recycling was taken as long as the material has been correctly sorted.

·                 The pricing levels for recycling materials fluctuated and was negative at present but should increase as the economy stabilised.

·                 Food waste bins for flatted developments would be similar to other residential receptacles and should not be susceptible to foxes. Caddies would be left in bin stores for collection, where appropriate.

·                 Communications should reflect that elderly residents might need additional support in collecting their food caddy.

·                 Planning issues around processing plants within Hertfordshire tended to relate to lorry movements and particulate emissions.

·                 There were textile banks available near the library and on the Meriden estate and clothes could also be taken to charity shops.

·                 Residents could purchase an additional sack for occasional excess waste and additional recycling would also be collected.

·                 Fly-tipping in other areas would not be collected by the crews as this was a different category of waste which might require investigation by enforcement teams and presented operational issues.

RESOLVED –

that the updates and actions be noted.