E.33/22
The Executive considered a
report which provided an update on progress made following the
recommendations and decisions taken by the Executive at its Special
Meeting on 12 July (Minute E.27/22 refers) regarding the Waste and
Recycling Service.
In discussion, the following
points were raised
a) The Deputy Chief Executive
reported that a successful and productive meeting had recently been
held with the majority of Waste and Recycling staff that were due
to return to the Council’s employ at the beginning of October
2022. Members were grateful for this
update and wished for a formal acknowledgement of thanks to be sent
on behalf of the Executive to those operatives who had been working
on the frontline in incredibly difficult circumstances in recent
years;
b) Members welcomed the
confirmation received from officers that street cleanliness was
recognised as being very high on the list of priorities when the
service returned in-house;
c) It was noted that a
detailed (and appropriately worded) letter would be sent from the
Council to all of its residents concerning the new in-house Service
at the start of October 2022;
d) In recognition of the
environmental and sustainability benefits, it was felt to be
disappointing that, despite the Council allocating £200,000,
there had yet to be any take up of any additional Community
Composting Scheme across the District;
e) It was vital that the Council
took account of the experience and knowledge of the current waste
and recycling workforce to help improve the operation of the
Service. Furthermore, the local
knowledge and expertise of all local Ward Members and Town and
Parish Councils had to also be utilised as quickly as
possible;
f) Some Members stated that
residents were not appreciative of the repeated reference in
Council communications to the Garden Waste service being defined as
‘free of charge’. Residents
were of the view that they had been paying for the service via
their Council Tax precepts and these Members therefore asked that
this statement be removed from any related future
communications;
g) With regard to the
recommendations to Full Council that related to the Garden Waste
Service, it was felt that the proposal to charge for the Service
would offer residents the choice on whether to engage with the
service or not. In addition, the point
was made that a service charge was necessary in order to make the
Service viable moving forward.
h) Members noted that a more
detailed report on the operating costs of the service was to be
presented to the Executive Meeting to be held on 1 December
2022;
It was
then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the actions
being taken by the project team to ensure a safe transfer of the
service on 3 October 2022 be endorsed;
2.
That the approach
to the service transition phase be endorsed;
3.
That the
information in section 5 of the presented agenda report regarding
the garden waste collection service be considered and recommended
to Council to implement a chargeable garden waste service from
March 2023;
4.
That a further
report be brought back to the Executive at its 1 December 2022
Meeting on the progress of the transition period and the costs
incurred to date on the service transfer;
5.
That the
organisational changes made by the Head of Paid Service
be noted and the further changes
required to ensure that the Waste and Operations team and the wider
organisation, has the capacity and skills required to deliver the
Council’s key services and corporate priorities be
endorsed;
6.
That the use of the
£120,000 from the Revenue Grants Earmarked Reserve to fund
the Council’s share of the 2-year fixed term senior role
outlined in paragraph 6.3.2 of the presented agenda report be
approved;
That Council be
RECOMMENDED to:
7. end the current free
non-statutory Garden Waste collection service from Monday, 31
October 2022 to ensure that there are sufficient resources and
capacity to deliver the statutory waste and recycling collections
services; and
8. introduce a chargeable,
fortnightly Garden Waste collection from early spring 2023 at a
charge of £49 per bin per household subscription.