By the Waste Manager (Naomi Markham).

Naomi Markham, Waste Strategy Manager gave Members a brief update which included the following key points:

Ø  Food waste:

o   The Council ran a campaign in 2016 which focused on food waste and since then, figures have been maintained in the amount of food waste recycled.

o   In 2015, 170 tonnes of food waste had been processed. This rose to 272 tonnes in 2017

o   The team were supplying the libraries with food waste bags.

o   The team were on target to increase food waste being collected in 2018.

Ø  Textiles:

o   The Council relaunched the scheme in 2017.

o   Sacks were introduced for residents to put their unwanted textiles in.

o   In October 2016, seven to eight tonnes of textiles were collected per month.

o   In November 2017, 18 tonnes of textiles were collected with 10 tonnes collected in December 2017, 16 tonnes collected in January and 12 tonnes collected in February 2018.

o   Residents were now aware of the service and could recycle the stuff they could not take to charity shops.

Ø  Contamination:

o   Residents were confused over what could be recycled and what should not be recycled.

o   Nappies were becoming more of a problem

o   Shiny gift wrap and polystyrene were among the items that could not be recycled

o   In recent weeks, the recycling collection team were putting stickers on bins which showed a list of items that could not be put into recycling bins.

The Waste Strategy Manager confirmed the Council received approximately £40 per tonne of recycled textiles.

Martin Fry commented that biodegradable food waste bags were no longer available through the Council. The Waste Strategy Manager confirmed they could be bought from a supermarket but, the Council was still supplying plastic bags. The reason the Council was still using plastic bags was due to the way the food waste was processed. It was an anaerobic process and the biodegradable bags were not suitable for the machinery. The plastic bags were being recycled once they were emptied of food waste. Councillor Werner enquired how much recycling was rejected due to contamination. The Waste Strategy Manager responded that no recycling was rejected but, approximately 14% of recycling was contamination which was sorted at plant and removed; the 14% that was rejected was not the Borough’s targeted waste. Councillor Werner stated that other Councils were running a campaign ‘if in doubt, leave it out’. The Waste Strategy Manager said that was something she could look into.

The Waste Strategy Manager confirmed that the 14% of contamination found in recycling was put back into waste. When inputting data flow, her team input the full waste flow which included rejected recycled waste material. The Chairman stated she was impressed by the level of detail on recycling and waste. Councillor Werner requested a monthly spreadsheet with an itemised list of what had been collected which went back for the last few years. The Waste Strategy Manager agreed she would send Councillor Werner the information.

The Waste Strategy Manager confirmed the Borough was not looking to change waste collection contracts. There were no large scale changes due to be made. She was however, happy to listen to any potential small scale changes that could improve the current contracts. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships confirmed a paper was going to Cabinet in April 2018 relating to the waste contracts and that could be circulated to the Panel prior to Cabinet.

Councillor Werner wanted to know if the 25 year waste contract affected the food waste collection. The Waste Strategy Manager confirmed they were two separate contracts. The contracts were for 25 years and the Borough were tied into them from 2012. The food waste contract tied the Council into an anaerobic disposal way of disposing of food waste and the Borough was committed to a certain level of tonnage. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships stated there was still food waste being disposed of into normal refuse.

Councillor Werner asked the Waste Strategy Manager if it was possible to introduce free garden waste collection. The Waste Strategy Manager confirmed the Borough received some income from garden waste collection so her team would need to look into that. Councillor Werner stated it seemed harsh to be tied into a 25 year contract for waste when technology moved so quickly. The Waste Strategy Manager responded it was a standard length of contract for the industry. The Borough had a degree of flexibility in the contract is it was 15 years with a five plus five clause. The Chairman commented the Borough was still ahead of other local authorities on how much and what the Borough collected and recycled.

Members thanks the Waste Strategy Manager for her comprehensive and informative update.

v  Action – The Waste Strategy Manager to send Councillor Werner historical spreadsheets showing all items collected in recycling.

v  Action – The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships to circulate the Cabinet Paper on waste collection and recycling contracts to the Panel prior to it going to Cabinet.