Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment introduced the report and wished to put on record his thanks to officers, the Joint Waste team, Ubico and the South Somerset waste partnership for their input in the work which had been undertaken to assess and shortlist the waste and recycling service options available and the consultation work completed to gauge residents support. He also thanked Members for their support in promoting the consultation and the public for responding in such high numbers. He believed that the proposed solution in purchasing new vehicles replacing those approaching the end of their usable life, would provide another opportunity to improve services.

The Cabinet Member said that the key messages received from residents from the consultations were as follows :

·         Members of the public were broadly satisfied with the service; they liked recycling and were keen to do more. This was why it was now being proposed to include mixed plastics and heavy cardboard.

·         The majority of residents (60%) who responded to the consultation favoured option 2a as being the preferred waste and recycling service option for Cheltenham. This was weekly food collection, with fortnightly chargeable garden waste, fortnightly refuse and with the addition of brown corrugated cardboard and plastic pots, tubs and trays.

In terms of route utilisation the Cabinet Member stated that there had been a number of large scale property developments during the last 5 years which had increased the total property numbers and diluted the efficiency of the collection service. With more developments to come, a routes optimisation exercise would have to be undertaken. With the arrival of the new vehicles and new materials to be recycled this would make the service more efficient and more reliable. He would be requesting the support of Members in informing residents of the necessary changes to the collection day which would be inevitable once the routes were defined.

The Cabinet Member informed Council that Cabinet had agreed to set up a Cabinet Member Working Group to oversee the next phase of the project. A cross party sounding board was in his view essential in moving forward. He then informed Members that if approved today the first part of ordering the new vehicles would be completed as a matter of urgency before Christmas.

The following questions were raised by Members and responses given by the Cabinet Member :

·         When asked what further investigations had been done to include more recycling in the future given the new vehicle fleet, the Cabinet Member stated that recycling boxes would be retained and cost would be carefully monitored. It was hoped that textile recycling could be included in the future, this will be costly but was high on the agenda. There was a clear desire to recycle a wider range of materials.

·         Capability of the new fleet to go down narrow streets - acknowledging the difficulty of certain streets in the borough, the Cabinet Member confirmed that there would be a mixed range of vehicles in the new fleet. It was also hoped that there would be a sufficient number of spare vehicles. He also advised that the Joint Waste Team was working with Highways to discuss instances where for example the vehicles could stop to collect on double yellow lines.

·         Houses of Multiple Occupation in terraced areas/flats where it was difficult to get recycling right - the Cabinet Member stated that this was the second phase of the project but work was ongoing in terms of identifying the range of material. Where Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs)/CBH flats were not presenting waste properly the aim was to put an incentive in place to present it in the right way. It was important that those in HMOS received the right information, and assistance from CBH and landlords was required to see how the good work already being done could be extended.

·         Technology on vehicles (cameras) it was recognised that real time information coming back to customer services was very useful and the question was raised as to whether the new vehicles would incorporate such or even more advanced technology. The Cabinet Member confirmed that cameras would still be on vehicles and stated that it was a rare event that operatives were acting incorrectly but less rare was when motorists drove round closely to vehicles and/or mounted pavements. The cameras would assist in helping with that and the compensation claims Ubico faced.

·         Recycling of tetrapaks – this was being kept under constant review acknowledging that there was only one site in the town which could be used for this purpose. He emphasised the cost of recycling tetrapaks as they consisted of 4 different materials. To make it cost effective volumes would therefore have to increase.

·         Retaining the current recycling boxes would provide flexibility in terms of what materials could be collected and what materials could be collected in future.

·         Clearing up recycling spillages on to the roadside after collection - the Cabinet Member emphasised that box lids and litter on the street after collections was not always down to the operative. He hoped that recycling rates would increase so that more boxes could be ordered and he also hoped that as part of the service redesign lids alone could be ordered so replacements could be issued where they had been lost or damaged. He highlighted that the new vehicles would make it easier for operatives to collect from boxes and said that they also contained the waste much better than the existing fleet.

·         Black plastic – this was very difficult to recycle and it would be kept under review as to whether this could be collected in the future.

·         Ubiquitous sensors on vehicles could detect potholes-opportunity to work with a company to help prevent road defects-Cabinet Member said that the council would work with the Joint Waste Committee and Ubico to see what technology could be bolted on to the vehicles; this would be investigated further.

·         The new vehicle fleet would be diesel, electric technology was not yet available.

·         A request was made to improve the appearance and maintenance of recycling skips in Bath Road.

·         Volunteers to promote recycling among neighbourhoods would be welcomed.

·         Cllr Babbage was nominated as the Conservative member of the Cabinet Member working group

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment commended Ubico staff for the fantastic job they did for the town which was reflected in the high satisfaction levels in the service. He welcomed the fact that most people wanted the opportunity to recycle more and to that end was pleased that cardboard and plastics could now be included. He highlighted that this quarter, 50 % of total waste had been recycled. He said that the door was now closed on having a commingled service as a result of the consultation but acknowledged that the council had a duty to provide the best possible solution to residents.

Finally, he requested support for the second phase of the service redesign in terms of route reutilisation and he would be seeking Members’ support in promoting the service.

RESOLVED (unanimously)

To approve the finances to support option 2a, and following the necessary tender process, an order be placed for new recycling collection vehicles.