Agenda item

Members were briefed with the performance overview update for ‘ECS4’ which was in respect of the recycling of household waste. This was rated as ‘amber’. This was below target due to the impacts of the Covid Pandemic. ‘ECS6’ was similar to this and was also amber, figures similarly being affected by the pandemic.

Changes to residents’ lifestyles during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions meant that more people were at home during the daytime. This had resulted in an increase in the amount of residual waste produced per household. It was likely that home clearances and improvement activities also increased during this time which also impacted on the figures.

Members heard that with respect to the arboricultural contract, the required target levels had not been hit. This was due to the seasonal volatility of the work and the need to deal with a backlog. Performance had now improved.

The Chairman said that the borough had experienced disruptive waste collections with the snow and ice that occurred during February. Services had been suspended for several days. He wondered if with hindsight, this was the correct course of action, and if the decisions made had been communicated effectively, and what could the Council do better next time.

Members were informed that the snow and ice caused chaos and serious health and safety issues. The safety of the work force was of first importance and so services were suspended for three days. A discussion took place as to how matters were communicated during this period. The Portfolio Holder pointed out that going forward, the Council would benefit from an enhanced  website which would improve the way the Council communicated with residents. It was also the case that LBB now benefited from an advanced weather forecasting system which was very reliable and perhaps more trust could be placed in their accuracy, rather than waiting for early morning inspections before determining whether collections could occur safely, thus allowing residents to be alerted the day before. 

Part of the discussion relating to communication, concerned whether or not a message concerning collections should have been put on the front page of the Council website, where it would be easy to see. The Communications Executive stated that the waste news website address was well known, and lots of people had looked at this. He said that in terms of the lessons learnt, the Council would be looking to improve the website, and was also looking into text messaging  residents directly.

A Member inquired if refuse teams could have been redirected to the North of the borough which seemed to get less adverse weather conditions. It was noted that an issue making this difficult was that this would have necessitated a comprehensive communications exercise to explain what was happening, so that residents could get their bins out for collection on time.

A Member suggested that emails be sent directly to residents explaining what the default position was, sending out a holding email if necessary. In her ward, as there was little communication, plastics were left out for collection for a week which were blown everywhere by the wind.

A Member suggested the possibility of adding a note to Council Tax reminders to request more email addresses, so that the Council could get greater coverage for their communications. The Communications Executive said that  the Council currently held 70,000 email addresses of residents but it would obviously be good to get more.

The Chairman wondered if Residents Associations could be used to get messages out to the public if required.

A Member referred back to ‘ECS 4’ and the issue of high precipitation making paper too wet for recycling. He wondered if any plans were in place to try and resolve this issue. The Strategic Manager for Waste Services explained alternatives to the current collection methodology was something that had been looked into, but so far all options for alternative collections seemed to be too costly. In the meantime, the Waste Transfer Station was having some repairs actioned, and holes were being repaired in the roof to stop water getting in and wetting the paper.

The Committee was briefed that trials were underway with an alternative paper re-processing centre and a refuse derived fuel facility, in an attempt to find cost effective ways of drying paper that could then be recycled.

The Committee noted that with respect to the paper market, there had been a general downward trend in pricing due to supply exceeding demand with respect to paper. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the price had seen an uplift due to an increase in demand for card packaging. This was likely to be temporary, with the overall trajectory being that paper prices would continue to decline.

RESOLVED that the ECS Performance Overview update be noted.