Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Emily Spicer, South Holland District Council.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

RESOLVED

            That the minutes of the meeting held on the 10 September 2015 be            signed by the Chairman as a correct record subject to the last sentence       of minute 60b be amended to read 'There would be an ongoing need to       look at other processes…….'

(To approve the revised Terms of Reference for the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership)

The revised Terms of Reference were presented for consideration and it was requested that the nominated representative for West Lindsey be double checked, and also that the date of the Annual General Meeting of the Partnership be set after the AGM of each district and the County Council had taken place to ensure that all representatives would have been appointed.

It was requested that these changes be made and the Terms of Reference be brought back to the next scheduled meeting of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.

RESOLVED

            That the changes highlighted above be made.

(To agree the following revised LWP dates – move the 5 May meeting to 2 June 2016 and move the 1 September meeting to 15 September 2015)

RESOLVED

            That the revised meeting dates as presented be agreed.

(To provide partners with an opportunity to update the rest of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership on any developments within their areas which may affect or be of interest to the Partnership as a whole)

Members of the Partnership were provided with the opportunity to update the rest of the Partners on any developments within their individual districts which may be of interest, and the following was reported:

Boston Borough Council – a consultation on green waste charging had just been completed, and would be going through the committee process in the next month.  There had been a massive response to the consultation, with over 1200 questionnaires returned.  Initial indications showed that 88% of respondents were in favour of continuing to pay for the service, an exact charge had not yet been agreed, but was likely to be £25 per year;

South Kesteven District Council – an update on the waste policy document was currently going through the Committee process.

South Holland District Council – approval had been received for a pilot on green waste collection.  There was also a working party looking at the benefits of crews working four days per week instead of five on a rota basis, but collections would still be carried out five days per week.  This would require slightly earlier starts.

It was commented that there had been rumours that there were plans to reduce the opening hours at the household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) in Spalding and also to reduce the supplementary collections.  It was requested that the green waste collections be allowed to 'bed in' and for people to have time to sign up to before any changes were made to the HWRC.  It was thought that people would quickly realise the inconvenience of using the HWRC for green waste and would sign up to the collection service instead once they realised the benefits.

The Partnership was advised that the County Council would need to save another £90m, and the amount of 'wriggle room' left in budgets was diminishing.  It was noted that any activity that was not part of statutory policy would be a target.

In relation to the comments regarding HWRC opening hours, it was noted that it was expected that there would be very little change, but it could be an area which was vulnerable.

The charging regime that South Holland was considering implementing was £49 per year for 24 collections (fortnightly throughout the year) and a £15 initial fee for the green bin delivery.

Environment Agency – the risk of fires at waste sites was being examined, and was very much high on the agenda.  Officers were looking to identify sites which could be high risk and then arrange for visits from the fire service.

Officers were very conscious that these sites were providing services for local people, and they were required to comply with their permits.  It was useful to include something in contracts for waste sites, that the operator was required to certain level of compliance with permits.  It was noted that the Group Manager Environmental Services (LCC) would be meeting with Simon Mitchell (EA) to look in more detail at some of these issues, particularly around contracts.

Concerns relating to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61f

(To receive feedback following the task and finish group held to discuss a County recycling campaign)

The Partnership was advised that a meeting had taken place, as agreed at the last meeting, between Councillor R Shore (LCC), Sean Kent (LCC), Simon Cotton (LCC), Councillor F Smith (City of Lincoln) and Steve Bird (City of Lincoln) to hold initial discussions on producing a standardised message for a county recycling strategy which could be included in a future edition of County News, which set out what should be placed in green bins, waste bins and recycling bins.

It was suggested that the group look at what items were common to all authorities and a diagram showing this was produced by Steve Bird and circulated to the Partnership.  It was commented that it had been a very successful meeting.  It was noted that the success of this campaign would rely on the co-operation and support of all members of the Partnership.

The aim of the campaign would be to increase recycling, both by ensuring that the right materials go into the right bins, and also by reducing contamination within recycling.  This would be achieved by improving the householders knowledge of what can go into the recycling bin, and how important it is for that material to be placed in there clean, as well as what the implications were for putting things in the wrong bin e.g. putting items that were not recyclable into the recycling bin.

It was suggested that the best way to achieve this would be to simplify the message across all districts and possibly to simplify the streams in the short term.  The main issue would be how this was communicated.  It was also noted that this would create the potential for savings or income generation, and it was thought that if this was the case, they should be shared by all authorities.

Members of the Partnership were provided with the opportunity to discuss the document which had been circulated and also ask questions to the officers present, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following;

·         One message to get out would be that the HWRC would accept items such as textiles, metals and electronic equipment;

·         It would also be beneficial to include information relating to the duty of care in relation to fly-tipping;

·         There was also a need for further discussion in relation to enforcement and rewards for information which led to prosecutions for fly-tipping;

·         Concerns were raised regarding the simplifying of the recycling streams as it could be seen as a backwards step.  There was a need for caution when suggesting removing materials from the recycling stream;

·         It was highlighted that the purpose of this exercise was to remove some of the confusion from the public and having a consistent message regarding what recyclable material was collected; 

·         The Partnership was advised that not many of the tetrapaks which were collected had been recycled.  It was noted that there had been a national scheme to recycle tetrapaks, however, they were difficult to recycle as they needed to be broken down  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62a

The Partnership received a presentation from Mark Taylor, North Kesteven District Council in relation to Waste and Fly-Tipping – the North Kesteven Approach, which provided further information in relation to the following areas:

·         Fly Tipping – Lincolnshire Context

·         NK Commitment

·         Approach in Practice

·         Publicity

·         Opportunities Available

·         Future Activities

Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the presentation, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         The City of Lincoln was undertaking a new initiative and were looking into the opportunities of providing a 'Crimestoppers' type reward;

·         One district had seen a reduction in fly-tipping following the introduction of an enforcement officer three days per week;

·         It was queried whether the Enforcement seminar scheduled for spring 2016 could be delivered to the LWP.  It was noted that this was intended for practitioners, but an update could be provided to the Partnership;

·         It was noted that the courts could award costs and compensation following a successful prosecution for fly-tipping;

·         In terms of evidence collected for a prosecution, it needed to be strong to ensure that it was beyond all reasonable doubt;

·         Some members were not in favour of offering a reward for information relating to fly tipping, and it was suggested that it was better for this activity to be seen as socially unacceptable rather than financially beneficial;

·         It was thought that that in some areas, people must see something, but did not want to come forward.  therefore offering a financial incentive was a last resort;

·         It was requested that partners share this with their own authorities and gather opinions regarding the implementation of a reward system, and that the issue be discussed again at a future meeting.

RESOLVED

            That the presentation and points highlighted be noted, and this issue        be brought back to a future meeting for further discussion.

(To receive a copy of the recently published North Kesteven District Council Waste Policy, which the Partnership is encourage to discuss and comment on)

The Lincolnshire Waste Partnership received a copy of North Kesteven District Council's Residual, Recycling and Composting Collection Policy, following a request at the previous meeting where it was agreed that their approach would be shared.

Members commented that they had found the policy to be an excellent document, and requested permission to emulate some aspects of it for their own authorities.

RESOLVED

            That North Kesteven District Council's Residual, Recycling and       Composting Collection Policy be received.

(To receive a report which provides an update on the current status of the Waste Collaboration Project)

(12.30pm – Boston Borough Council and South Kesteven District Council left the meeting)

The Partnership received an update from North Kesteven District Council in relation to the Waste Collaboration project.  It was noted that the report set out the work which had been completed, what was still being worked on and what work still needed to be completed.  The Partnership was advised that a more detailed report would be brought back to the meeting in February 2016.

RESOLVED

            That the report be noted and a further report be brought back to the             meeting in February 2016.

(To receive an update in relation to the District Heating project)

The Partnership received a verbal update in relation to the District Heating project.  It was reported that the first stage of the mapping work had been done.  The County Council was working very closely with the City of Lincoln Council and North kesteven District Council.  The next phase was to identify a masterplan and look at what scenarios were possible.

A decision on the next phase would be made by the Executive Councillors for Waste and Recycling, and Economic Development, Environment, Planning and Tourism on 15 February 2016.

It was noted that the project was progressing and there were one or two scenarios which had potential.

RESOLVED

            That the update be noted.

(To receive a report detailing the findings and actions at the Energy from Waste (EfW) plant at Hykeham during the recent closedown for planned maintenance)

Consideration was given to a report which provided an update in relation to the recent planned shutdown for annual maintenance of the Energy from Waste facility in North Hykeham.  It was reported that the shutdown had gone well, and following ultrasonic thickness testing (UT) it was found there was not quite as much wear on some of the equipment as had been expected.

The Partnership was also advised of FCC's intention of achieving R1 status for the EfW.  It was noted that there were very few EfW's in the UK with this accreditation in the UK, and was only likely to be achieved by modern facilities where energy generation had been a part of the plant from design rather than as a retro-fit. 

It was highlighted that achieving R1 status would be particularly significant following an announcement at the recent LARAC (Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee) conference, where a speaker stated that as part of a the circular economy package under development in the EU, a ban on disposal of key recyclates such as paper, cardboard, and plastic by any means other than recycling was under consideration.  The implication of this was that waste collection authorities would need to keep all of these materials out of the residual waste bin.  Partners were advised that the one exception currently considered appropriate to relax that requirement, would be if those materials were going to an EfW plant with R1 status.

RESOLVED

            That the update be noted.

(To receive an update on the work of the Officer Working Group)

The Partnership received an update on the work of the Officer Working Group.  It was reported that the Officer Working Group was working really well. 

Following legal advice in relation to the clearing of the highway after road traffic accidents (RTA's) it was believed that it was a district council function to do this.  However, there was still a need for clarification on what was expected from the highways authority.  A draft agreement would be going out to all district officers.

In relation to the collection of clinical waste from GP surgeries, there was a need for a business case to be put to Public Health.

It was noted that it was the responsibility of the Highways Authority to ensure than the highway was safe, but it was queried who had the legal responsibility to close highways following an accident.  Partners were advised that this would be the Police in the first stance, but the highway authority would also be called out.  The Police and highway authority would work together to ensure that the road could reopen and it was safe.

RESOLVED

            That the update be noted.