Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtually

Contact: Katharine Simpson  01276 707157

Items
No. Item

22/JW

Minutes of Last Meeting pdf icon PDF 215 KB

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee held on 30th September 2020.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee held on 30th September 2020 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

23/JW

Declaration of Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

24/JW

Budget Monitoring Quarter 2 (July to September) 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 229 KB

To receive a report setting out the budgetary position of the Joint Waste contract at the end of Quarter 2 (July to September) of the 2019/20 financial year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report setting out the financial position of Joint Waste Solutions (JWS) at the end of the second quarter (July to September 2020) of the 2020/21 financial year.

 

It was reported that the Contract management Office (CMO) year-end expenditure was projected to be £2,556,844 against an allocated budget of £2,630,837.  Notwithstanding this underspend, the variable charges paid to Amey had been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and were projected to exceed the £1.78million budget by £810,540.

 

The majority (£624,086 or 75%) of the £810,540 overspend was attributed to the need to employ significant numbers of agency staff to provide cover for regular staff who had been unable to work.  The increase in the number of people requesting garden waste collections had resulted in an overspend of £28,056 against the agreed budget however the majority of this would be offset by the increased income from new subscribers to the service.  An increase in requests for other container types during the pandemic lockdown had resulted in an overspend of £30,601 against the agreed budget.

 

The Committee noted the report.

 

 

25/JW

Joint Contract Performance Reporting - Quarter 2 (July to September) 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 247 KB

To receive a report setting out the recycling performance and operational performance of the joint waste collection contract at the end of the second quarter (July to September) of 2020/21.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report summarising the recycling performance of the four joint contract authorities at the end of the second quarter (July to September 2020) of the 2020/21 municipal year.

 

It was reported that the pandemic restrictions continued to have an impact on kerbside waste collection tonnages across all waste streams compared with the same period in 2019/20.  Across the partnership area dry mixed recycling (DMR) tonnages were up between seven and ten percent in July and August 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.  Food waste tonnages had increased between four and ten percent and residual waste had six and 10 percent when compared against the same period in 2019.

 

It was not clear why there was such a variation in recycling rates across the partnership area however it was noted that during the reporting period round changes had been implemented in Mole Valley and it was thought that the increased communications work around these changes had driven the 10% increase in food waste tonnages collected.

 

During the first lock down difficulties had been experienced in communicating with the disposal outlets responsible for WEEE and textiles.  To ensure that collections did not become unreliable it had been decided that collection of these waste streams would be suspended temporarily.  WEEE and textile collections had recommenced in June and to date no further problems had been reported.

 

It was clarified that fly tipping in Mole Valley was collected as part of the street cleaning work and consequently there was currently no data available for fly tipping tonnages in Mole Valley. 

 

It was clarified that the term ‘Other Recycling’ referred to materials that were collected outside the DMR process for example batteries and scrap metal.  Tonnage data for these materials were reported on a quarterly basis.

 

The Committee noted the report.

26/JW

Budget Proposal 2021-2022 pdf icon PDF 160 KB

To consider a report setting out a proposed budget for Joint Waste Solutions for the 2021/22 financial year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report setting out a proposed budget for the JWS function for the 2021/22 financial year.

 

It was noted that the pandemic had had a significant impact on the value of the variable invoices during the current financial year and these impacts could continue into the next financial year.  The proposed budget for the variable invoices did not currently include costs that were directly attributed to Covid-19, however if Covid-19 continued to impact on crew sickness levels then, based on the average cost borne by partner authorities since April 2020, the estimated budget pressure would be an additional £52,191 per month. 

 

RESOLVED that the proposed Joint Waste Solutions staffing and overheads and the joint contract budgets for the 2021/22 financial year, as set out in the report, be commended to individual partner authorities for approval.

27/JW

Contract Service Improvement Plan Update pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To receive an update on the progress made towards achieving the objectives set in the contract service improvement plan.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report summarising the partnership activities and financial performance of the contract during the second quarter (July to September 2020) of the 2019/ municipal year.

 

It was reported that a campaign to raise awareness amongst residents of the dangers and aggression that collection crews faced was underway.  The BBC had been in touch with Amey as a result of initial videos and an interview would be filmed for broadcast the week commencing 7th December.

 

The spikes in missed collections during June were attributed to a number of factors including a complete change in management at Woking, a number of related individuals being in isolation at the same time in Elmbridge and round changes in Mole Valley.  The introduction of live data dashboards provided managers with a daily update on key performance indicators and this enabled any problems to be resolved in a more timely manner.

 

The pandemic restrictions had resulted in an increase in footfall across all areas of the partnership and this had been particularly noticeable in areas with easy access to open spaces and nature for example around Box Hill and had necessitated an increase in street cleansing activities.  The closure of charity shops had also resulted in an increase in the number of fly tipping incidents being reported in and around bring sites which were not being emptied as frequently as they would have been ordinarily.

 

Notwithstanding these pressures, the reduction in road traffic had meant that it had been possible to carry out High Speed Road Cleansing work without having to close as many roads as otherwise would have been required.  Amey had also liaised with other organisations to combine street cleansing work with other activities such as hedge trimming thus reducing road closure requirements, an approach which would be continued going forward.

 

Amey’s Social Value Plan made a commitment to reach net zero carbon by 2050, with an ambition for fleet and buildings to be at net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and for total emissions to be at net zero by 2035.  Targets which it was hoped could be brought in line with commitments made both by Surrey County council and individual partner authorities.

 

The Committee thanked Nicola Blake for the comprehensive update.

 

 

  

 

 

28/JW

Dates of Future Meetings

Future meetings of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee will be held on the following dates:

 

·         Thursday 4th March 20221

·         Thursday 1st July 2021

·         Thursday 30th September 2021

·         Thursday 2nd December 2021

Minutes:

The Committee noted that future meetings of the Joint Waste Collection Services Committee would be held on the following dates in 2021:

 

·         Thursday 4th March 2021

·         Thursday 1st July 2021

·         Thursday 30th September 2021

·         Thursday 2nd December 2021