To receive any apologies for absence.

None received.

To receive declarations of interests from Members of the Panel in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

The Chairman declared a personal interest in Item 5 (Stein Pyrolysis) as she was on the board of 4 Marlow Road and Pinkneys Green Youth Centre.

Councillor Derek Sharp declared a personal interest in Item 5 (Stein Pyrolysis) as he had met both speakers before.

The Chairman informed everyone present that the meeting was being recorded and that the audio would be made available on the RBWM website.

The Chairman informed everyone present of the fire evacuation procedures and asked that all mobile phones were switched off during the meeting.

 To note the Part I minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on Tuesday 29 November 2016.

RESOLVED Unanimously; That the Part I minutes of the meeting held on the 29 November 2016 were agreed as a correct record.

The Energy Reduction Manager informed the Panel that the BMS project was going out to tender in the next few days / this week.  Councillor Derek Sharp requested that a copy of the BMS specification be emailed to the Panel by the Energy Reduction Manager. 

The Energy reduction Manager went onto explain that he was hopeful the Re:Fit details would be coming back before the Panel in March.

The Chairman thanked the Waste Strategy Manager and Clerk for providing the Panel with the waste figures with the minutes as requested at the last meeting.

Opening remarks by the Chairman on the Panel’s role.

Martin Fry (MRF&A / City University) raised the subject of IS015001 and asked whether the Council was fully certified.  The Energy Reduction Manager stated that the Council was not certified but was using elements of the standard in the Sustainability Strategy.  Martin Fry advised that a revised version would be coming out shortly and would be going to public consultation in July.  It was suggested that the Energy Reduction Manager checked the BSI website for the revised version once it was available.

Martin Fry raised the subject of student workshops and explained that they would be coming up again soon.  The Energy Reduction Manager was requested to let Martin Fry know if any work linked to this was available.

The Chairman informed everyone present that the Panel’s role was to deliver the Council’s Sustainability Strategy that had got six separate work streams which were available on the RBWM website (sustainability, energy, water, waste, transport, renewable generation).  It was noted that the work streams fed into a list of three main pathways. 

Members were asked for any ideas or residents ideas on sustainability to be fed into the Chairman.   

The Vice-Chair questioned whether the Energy Reduction Manager had been involved in the re-fit of York House in Windsor.  It was noted that the Energy Reduction Manager had suggested that Solar Panels should be placed on the roof of York House and he was hopeful his suggestion would be taken into account.

A presentation by Peter Stein (Stein Pyrolysis Ltd).

The Chairman welcomed Peter Stein and Nav Singh (Stein Pyrolysis) to the meeting and invited them to address the Panel. 

Members were given a brief presentation on Stein Pyrolysis.  The presentation covered the following:

• Peter Stein CV.
• Peter Stein.
• Stein Pyrolysis Technology.
• Pyrolysis System’s bad press.
• Video – technical detail.
• Key technology points.
• Gas condensing and oil forming with washing tower.
• Oil recovery.
• Tar recovery and re-use.
• Water treatment.
• Control system.
• Generation.
• Profitability.
• Options.

In the ensuing discussion the following points were noted:

Ø  That no combustion took place.

Ø  That pyrolysis was oxygen free.

Ø  That the bi-product was charcoal, a clean fuel, which was used to fuel the process.

Ø  That nearly all processes in the market today were batch processes which meant they were very high in capital, maintenance and high in smells.  It was noted that three types of these plants in Germany had been shut down due to the smell they had omitted.

Ø  The prototype had been built 12 years ago but that it had been a start and stop process as they had needed to learn how to operate the unit.

Ø  That this was a unique product for the UK although there was a similar product in California.

Ø  That all recycling needed to be separated – it was noted that Peter Stein used a wind shifter to do this and would be able to help out with that.

Ø  That they were virtually licensed in America – Peter Stein explained to the Panel that this was because the laws had recently changed.

Ø  That there was not a full scale operating unit in the UK that could be seen by the Panel.  It was noted that the unit in the video had been dissected after two years so it could be analysed. 

Ø  That Peter Stein did not have three years operational results behind him or £4million available to build a full unit.  It was noted that Peter Stein had been getting performance bonds in place and that the RBWM was the first Local Authority they had approached.

Ø  That there was a flare in the unit and that it was a fully enclosed system which could be seen from the air but not from the ground.  It was noted that no smells were present as it was a fully enclosed system.

Ø  That glass in recycling helped bind things together.

Ø  That up to 50% mix of plastics and other materials was OK, but not 100% plastics.

Ø  That it would take 12 months to manufacture the unit and a further 6 months to set it up, hence 18 months in total.

Ø  That the input would be 8000 hours (dry weight) which would be made up of 50% wet weight (50/60 tonnes) and half total waste.

Ø  That other size plants were available but it was felt that the 4 tonne plant was the most cost effective.

Ø  That worst case scenario would be that the Council could get  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

A verbal update by the Waste Manager (Naomi Markham).

The Chairman welcomed the Waste Strategy Manager, Naomi Markham, to the meeting and invited her to update the Panel. 

The Waste Strategy Manager informed the Panel that she had not received the January tonnage figures as yet.  It was noted that just over 190 tonnes of food waste had been collected over November and December which equated to a 16% increase on November and December 2015 figures.  An increase for the year was noted to be 34%. 

The Waste Strategy Manager informed Members that the new textile collections were continuing and that a textiles leaflet would be going out soon.  Councillor Lynda Yong explained that she had put textiles out to be collected three times since the last meeting but that they had not been collected.  The Waste Strategy Manager asked that Councillor Lynda Yong informed her of the address so she could look into it.  It was noted that the collection vehicles visited every street in the Royal Borough.  Councillor Lynda Yong suggested that bright bags be used so that this recycling stood out clearly to the collection operatives.  The Waste Strategy Manager agreed to look into this suggestion but did state that the Council was trying to stop people from having to collect a specific bag to use for textile recycling as residents could currently use any bag available to them.  Councillor Simon Werner stated his concern regarding the number of bags collected (approximately 200 bags per week) compared to the amount of fuel and manpower used to collect from every street in the Royal Borough as he felt it to be uneconomical.  The Waste Strategy Manager explained that she was expecting the number of bags collected to increase as the textile collections had only just started.  The Panel was informed that the original plan had been to have cages on the waste collection vehicles but it was found that the bins had a higher bin lift than previously thought.  The Waste Strategy Manager informed the Panel that the Lead Member for Environmental Services and Managing Director had made the interim decision to start the textile collections as they were currently operating (i.e. on separate vehicles collecting from every street in the Royal Borough).  It was noted that textile recycling was cost neutral to the Council as they received an income from the textiles collected.  The Waste Strategy Manager informed the Panel that she was unaware of the carbon cost of collection vehicles visiting every street in the Royal Borough.  The Panel was informed that it was hoped the interim decision with regard to textile collections would only need to be in place for up to a maximum of six months.  It was requested that the carbon costs over six months be raised with the Lead Member for Environmental Services, Councillor Cox and the findings be circulated to the Panel.               

Councillor Derek Sharp questioned what size grey bin was provided if a bin was lost as he had received reports that smaller bins were being supplied to residents  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

By the Energy Reduction Manager (Michael Potter).

The Energy Reduction Manager, Michael Potter, referred Members to pages 13-20 of the agenda and explained that the report provided an update and gave the Panel an overview of the progress being made to deliver the Panel’s energy reduction strategy. 

The key areas covered were noted as follows:

• Energy Consumption
• Town Hall Solar Performance
• RBWM Energy Switch to Save
• Schools Energy Saving Competition
• Town Hall Water Usage and Reduction Project
• Work planned over the next period until the next Sustainability Panel

In the ensuing discussion, the following points were noted:  

Ø  That Chairman congratulated the Energy Reduction Manager on the energy cost saving for corporate buildings of just under £250k.  Councillor Derek Sharp commented that it would be good to have a screen in Reception to display the good news on.  The Chairman agreed to contact the Managing Director, Alison Alexander, to find out what the current situation with the non-operational screen was.

Ø  That the cleaning of the solar panels on the Town Hall roof cost approximately £400. 

Ø  That the solar panels were checked following the fireworks and there where no issues observed with debris or otherwise. It was noted that the condition of the panels would be checked in February to see if it would be beneficial to have them cleaned again.

Ø  Martin Fry requested that the uptake figures in Hurley after the second round of the RBWM Energy Switch to Save scheme be provided to him by the Energy Reduction Manager.

Ø  Councillor Lynda Yong informed the Panel of her unpleasant experience with her energy supplier when they had called to put pressure on her to stay with them.  Councillor Yong expressed concerns for the elderly residents in the Royal Borough who needed to switch.  It was requested that more help / support be given to the elderly, especially those without access to computers.  The Energy Reduction Manager explained that the Council offered help with registration to get people onto the scheme but had not looked at the next step (re: actually switching).  This was something that could be looked into going forward. 

Ø  Councillor Derek Sharp requested that with regard to energy consumption that the lease of Grenfell Park be re-looked at when it was up for renewal.  It was felt they should be paying for their energy otherwise they had no incentives to be ‘green’.

Ø  The cut-off date for the February auction was the 13 February 2017.  It was requested that the Energy Reduction Manager emailed all Councillors to notify them of this date to help encourage them to switch energy suppliers.

Ø  That the numbers entering an auction did make a difference as it was a collective energy scheme.  It was noted the more that signed up meant the better deals offered by the energy suppliers.

Ø  It was suggested that the Energy Reduction Manager looked into whether the Mayor or Deputy Mayor would be available to attend the Schools Energy Saving Competition on the 23 February 2017.  It was noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

The dates of future meetings are as follows (7pm start):

·         Monday 6 March 2017.

·         Tuesday 9 May 2017.

Future meeting dates were noted to be as follows:

•      Monday 6 March 2017

•      Tuesday 9 May 2017