Agenda and minutes

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee held on 19^th July 2018.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee held on 19 July 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and non-pecuniary interests they may have with respect to matters which are to be considered at this meeting. Members who consider they may have an interest are invited to consult the Monitoring Officer or the Democratic Services Officer prior to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive a verbal update on the work to mobilise the joint waste contract across the partnership area.

The Committee was informed that the contract had mobilised across the Mole Valley area on the 6^th August 2018.  It was acknowledged that there had been an increase in the number of missed collections during the first few days of the mobilisation period however collection rates were now back to the level they were before the contract had been mobilised.

It was reported that throughout the contract mobilisation process Joint Waste Solutions’ (JWS) focus had been working with Amey to ensure that the systems and data were both robust and correct.  With the mobilisation of the contract in the final partner area now complete, the focus could now be placed on delivering the value added areas of the contract including working with charities on bulky waste collection and commercial waste collection.

JWS was supporting Amey in their development of a Contract Improvement Plan.  This would prioritise those areas where improvement was critical and set out how the value added aspects of the contract would be developed.  It was expected that the Improvement Plan would be brought to the Committee’s next meeting for approval.

Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:

·         Improvement to the data sets and the ICT systems would continue regardless of the status of the Contract Improvement Plan.

·         It was acknowledged that ReUse schemes would form an important part of the contract going forward and it was requested that details of any local reuse schemes be forwarded to JWS so that appropriate links could be made.

·         Suez was working on ReUse schems on behalf of Surrey County council and developing links with this work would be important to ensure that duplication did not occur.

The Committee noted the update.

To receive a verbal update on the performance of the joint waste contract across the partnership area.

The Committee was informed that Eunomia’s review of the 2017/18 data was nearing completion and the 2017/18 Annual Performance Report would be brought to the Committee’s next meeting for consideration alongside the performance data for the first two quarters of the 2018/19 financial year.

To receive a report setting out the financial status of Joint Waste Solutions as at 31^st August 2018.

The Committee received a report setting out the financial position of Joint Waste Solutions as at 31^st August 2018.

It was reported that the costs incurred at the end of August 2018 were £158,029 and it was projected that at the year-end the total spend would be £908,202. The Surrey Waste Partnership had funded the production of service guides and this would contributed to the projected year-end budget savings of £72,813.

The Committee noted the report.

To consider a report setting out proposals to improve the recycling rates of flatted developments.

The Committee considered a report setting out a number of proposals to increase the recycling rates of flatted developments.

It was reported that the Surrey Waste Partnership (SWP) Members’ Group had agreed that as part of a drive to improve the recycling rates from occupiers of flatted developments and other hard to reach properties the Flats Recycling Team would be made a permanent part of the SWP.  To further develop this area, the SWP had agreed to provide up to £700,000 of match funding towards the capital costs for bins and communication materials to promote any of the following activities:

      i.        Expanding food waste services to all flats and Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMOs)

     ii.        Expanding dry mixed recycling services to all flats and HMOs

    iii.        Reducing Dry Mixed Recycling contamination

   iv.        Expanding the textiles and small electricals services to flats and HMOs

Expanding Food Waste Collection

There were 12,924 flats across the four partner areas which were not currently part of the food waste collection service.  If the food waste collection service was expanded to these properties it was expected that the resulting savings would be in the region of £35,000 however this saving would not cover the additional collection costs that would be incurred.

It was agreed that the potential impact that emptying the proposed Bin In Lid solution would have on productivity levels compared to other methods of food waste collection would be clarified.

Expanding Dry Mixed Recycling to All Flats

The limited number of flats where this service was not currently provided (354 properties across the four partner areas) meant that the scope for delivering benefits was small.  It was also noted that logistically introducing the service could be difficult in a number of these properties for example buildings where rubbish collection chutes were used or where there was limited space to store bins.

Reducing DMR contamination  

Trials of different methods to reduce contamination in dry mixed recycling bins including improved signage, providing residents with reusable recycling bags to transport recycling to outside bins and changing the bin lids so that refuse had to be fed into the bin rather than just being tipped in had all shown to have positive impacts on recycling behaviours reducing the number of contaminated bins from 21% to 9%.

It was acknowledged that replacing bin lids would give the greatest benefits for the least investment and should be considered a priority.

Expanding Textiles and Small Electricals to all flats

There was currently limited coverage of textiles and small electrical collections from flats across the four partner areas and it was felt that this area could provide a significant increase in the amount of recyclable goods being left out for collection.

It was stressed that if this activity was pursued then work would need to take place with Amey to ensure that an adequate collection approach was agreed.

RESOLVED that JWS apply for match funding, from the Surrey Waste Partnership for the following activities in order of priority:

1.    Reduce DMR  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/JW

To consider a report summarising the implications of incorporating Joint Waste Solutions.

The Committee considered a report setting out the implications of upcoming changes to JWS’ governance arrangements.

It was reported that Surrey local authorities had, via the Surrey Waste Partnership, been working towards establishing a new form of governance for all joint working involving waste management with the aim of removing organisational boundaries, consolidate the staff that do the joint work into a single effective management structure and improve the formality and transparency of decision making.   

The commitment made to increasing the joint working done across Surrey would result in changes to the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee and the Joint Waste Partnering Board, as it expanded to involve members from outside the JWS partnership.

It was acknowledged that where Council’s had set up standalone companies to deliver services having member son the company’s board ensured that Councillors were able to maintain ownership of a situation.

The Committee noted the report and indicated that they were broadly supportive of the proposals.

To consider a report setting out proposals to align communications and engagement across the partnership area.

The Committee considered a report setting out proposals to align communications and develop consistent branding across the Surrey Waste Partnership area.

It was reported that, in addition to the branding used by individual partner authorities, there were three further waste related brands in use across Surrey: Surrey Waste Partnership, Joint Waste Solutions and Recycle for Surrey (The local version of the WRAP recycling mark).  In addition, each of the three brands had their own websites, social media accounts and protocols governing the brands use.  It was proposed that bringing the three brands together into a single coherent brand with one website and one set of social media accounts would streamline communications work and reduce duplication.

Arising from the subsequent discussion, the following points were noted:

·         Combining the three websites would incur a cost of approximately £10,000.

·         Residents identify with their local authority and branding should incorporate local references. However it was recognised that local branding would limit cross boundary working.

·         The JWS brand was not currently widely recognised by the public and although there could be some short-term confusion if the branding was changed there would be less if the JWS brand was changed at this current juncture than if the JWS brand was given more time to become established.

·         The strapline ‘Your Council’s working together’ had been used on cross boundary projects in the past and a similar approach might be worth considering.

·         It was suggested that delaying the launch of any new branding until after the Borough elections in May 2019 would be appropriate.

·         The principles for the new branding would be brought to the next Surrey Waste Partnership meeting.

·         A note outlining the rationale for the changes would be produced to enable members to be able to respond to questions from the public.

The Committee noted the proposals.

To agree the content of the next newsletter to stakeholders which will be circulated after the Joint Committee meeting.

The Committee was informed that a newsletter would be produced after each of their meetings to provide key stakeholders including councillors, relevant officers, chief executives and directors in each partner area with updates on key areas connected to the waste contract.  

It was noted that the next newsletter would include updates on the following areas:

·         Mobilisation in Mole Valley

·         General performance

·         Vehicle branding

·         Wider communications activity including the introduction of the next phase of the textiles campaign

It was agreed that Christmas collection arrangements would be added to the newsletter produced following the November committee meeting.

The next scheduled meeting of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee will take place on Thursday 15^th November 2018 at 10am.

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee would take place on Thursday 15November 2018 at 10am.