Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room One, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

Contact: Rachel Wilson  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of Chairman

Minutes:

It was proposed, seconded and

 

RESOLVED

 

            That Councillor E Poll be elected as the Chairman of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership for the year 2019 – 2020.

2.

Election of Vice-Chairman

Minutes:

It was moved, seconded and

 

RESOLVED

 

            That Councillor R Gambba-Jones be elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership for 2019 – 2020.

3.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

 

The Chairman welcomed John Coates, the newly appointed Head of Waste to the meeting. 

4.

Declaration of Interests

Minutes:

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

 

5.

Minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2019 pdf icon PDF 195 KB

Minutes:

It was clarified that on page 7, the Communications Group would report through to the Strategic Officer Working Group.

 

RESOLVED

 

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 March be agreed subject to the above amendment.

6.

Partner Updates

(To provide an opportunity for Partners to update the Partnership on any issues which may be of interest)

Minutes:

Each partner authority was provided with the opportunity to update the rest of the Partnership on any developments or updates which may be of interest to the Partnership.  The following was reported:

 

North Kesteven District Council – arrangements were being made to be part of the Paper and Card Trial, (which was already on the agenda).  A lot of work was taking place around tackling litter, and work was being carried out with funding from government to invest in litter picking.  The authority had been operating its new depot for one year now, and some of the benefits were starting to be realised.

 

City of Lincoln Council – there had been no changes to operational delivery.  Contracts were due for renewal in 2022 and work was being undertaken to establish what form they would take.  Conversations were taking place around the waste strategy which were well timed as they would feed into the process of the contract renewal.

 

Boston Borough Council – a lot of time had been spent working on the paper and card trial.  Work was also taking place with members and officers looking at the refuse fleet replacement options and the reprocurement of the maintenance contract.  Work was ongoing in terms of finding a new provider for the enforcement contract.

 

East Lindsey District Council – it was reported that Councillor Martin Foster was in attendance as he was shadowing Cllr Harrison as he would be taking over her portfolio in October 2019.  The Chairman thanked Councillor Harrison for her contribution to the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.

Colleagues were thanked for their support during the flooding incidents, particularly in relation to sand bags.  There was nothing to report in terms of operational changes.  However the district had had two successful prosecutions around fly tipping under section 108.  Both had been issued with 31000 fines.

 

West Lindsey District Council – there were some changes to the senior management team, as the Head of Paid Service would be retiring in October 2019 and there would be some different officers attending the Strategic Officer Working Group.  It was reported that one of the refuse vehicles had been in an accident and had tipped on its side the previous week.  Two of the crew had been walking wounded but one had required surgery to remove some glass, but they were now recovering at home.  A full investigation was underway.

There were new litter in Gainsborough due to the government money received for investing in litter reduction.  The maintenance contract from the fleet was due to be refreshed in the near future.

 

South Kesteven District Council – it was noted that the accident was a reminder that there had been some incidents on the roads in south kesteven, and that crews were out there every day and it was a high risk area of work.  It had been proposed to set up a wholly owned company for grounds maintenance, and this had been operating since March 2019.  The main focus for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Fly Tipping Campaign

(To receive a presentation from Hertfordshire Waste Partnership on their Fly-Tipping Campaign)

Minutes:

The Partnership received a presentation from Duncan Jones, Chairman of the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group, which covered a number of topics, including a summary of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership's S.C.R.A.P. fly tipping campaign.

 

The Partnership was provided with the opportunity to ask questions in relation to the information contained within the presentation and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It was commented that this was a very interesting and thought provoking presentation.

·         There was a very proactive Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire and had held a fly tipping round table in February 2019.

·         A House of Commons Select Committee on fly tipping had picked up on two issues which were fines not being dealt to the maximum and the inequality of costs falling on landowners who had to clear up fly tipped waste.  In Lincolnshire, the majority of farmers would deal with some form of fly tipping every year, with an average cost per year of £1000.

·         In partnership was the way to achieve outstanding results, and West Lindsey District Council was keen to get started and join the campaign.

·         In terms of fly tipping on private land, it was noted that there was a trial taking place in Hertfordshire with the PCC who had access to funds through the Proceeds of Crime Act, and if a farmer suffered a fly tipping incident they could apply to that fund to cover the costs of removing the waste and to protect their land.

·         It was commented this was an excellent campaign.

·         The quality of case file for prosecutions was referenced and it was noted it did cost a lot of money in terms of time and expertise to build a large case file.

·         It was queried what the definition of fly tipping was, and it was noted that it was currently two pages long.  Generally, it was anything from a black bag and above.  There were 10 boroughs and districts involved in the group and so the definition had evolved.  The inspectors needed to have the freedom to say whether it constituted fly tipping.  It was not part of the toolkit, but this could be provided to the LWP.

·         It was noted that there used to be a magistrates forum which held training days, but recently they had died out.  It would be interesting to see what appetite there would be across the county for restarting the sessions.

·         Magistrates training days had been held in other areas, to try and get better results from the courts.

·         In relation to the enforcement officer academy, it was queried whether it had been a one off event, or would authorities have access to it if they signed up to the campaign.  It was confirmed that it was a one off event and involved 7 borough councils and lasted 5 days in total.  It culminated in a day in court and involved training on how to put together a case file and present it in court. It would be possible  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Paper and Card Trial pdf icon PDF 286 KB

(To receive an update from South Holland District Council and Boston Borough Council, in relation to a proposed paper and card trial)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to report which set out the details of the proposed paper and card collection trial, where one of the objectives was to improve the quality of the recycling stream.  It was proposed that the trial would take place in three districts – South Holland, Boston Borough and North Kesteven.  During the trial, bags would be issued for South Holland and wheelie bins for Boston Borough and North Kesteven.  It was expected that this would have a positive impact on quality.  A communication and education strategy would be running prior to and during the trial.

 

Partners were provided with the opportunity to ask questions in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised included the following:

·         The new contract for mixed dry recycling was due to be negotiated March 2020 and if there was substantial contamination then the contract would be more expensive.  There was a need for change as soon as possible.

·         It was commented by one member that it was positive that things were starting to move forward in terms of meeting the objectives of the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS). 

·         Paper and card had a commercial value as a waste stream, and it was queried what that looked like in terms of a business case, and what level of income was possible.  It was highlighted that any income would be dependent on the values of the material based on the quality of the material collected.  There was a need to determine what the averages would look like, as current values were based on what was currently being collected.  However, clean card was worth about £100 per tonne.

·         It was queried whether paper and card was put into the mixed dry recyclables during the trial, if this would be classed as contamination.

·         In terms of the food waste trial, one of the key aspects had been the reduction in the amount of food waste created, and it was queried whether there was something that could encourage people to reduce the amount of paper used to begin with. 

·         It was confirmed that people on the proposed routes had been invited to volunteer to participate in the trial rather than it being compulsory.

·         It was important to make clear the type of paper and cardboard that would be accepted, e.g. pizza boxes.  However, it was likely that pizza boxes would not be accepted due to the contamination risk.  The emphasis would need to be on clean paper and card.

·         If the waste streams were to be separated out and some cardboard was contaminated by food, there could be a combined benefit if people could be encouraged to scrape out the pizza boxes, the food waste would go in one container for collection and there would be better quality card.

·         A visit was undertaken by some officers to the paper processing plant, who were very specific about what they would and would not want to receive or collect.  It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Food Waste Collection Trial Update pdf icon PDF 189 KB

(To receive an update from Ian Yates, South Kesteven District Council, following the completion of the first year of the food waste collection trial)

Minutes:

Councillor Dr P Moseley, South Kesteven District Council, provided the Partnership with an update and overview of the Food Waste Collection Trial which was underway in selected areas of South Kesteven.

 

It was reported that data was still being collected, and the team was 'pushing at an open door' in terms of public engagement and participation.  Participation had been at around 85%, and participation was generally rated as 'good' between 50 – 55%.

 

An increase of 10% in the recycling rate had been seen.  Of the expected issues with participation, the proportion who said having a separate food waste container in the kitchen was smelly, was around 3%.  The most important aspect of the scheme for participants had been caddy liners. 

 

Moving forward, a lot of food waste had been collected, and it was averaging around 1.8kg per household.  It was hoped that as the trial progressed, a reduction in volume would be seen.

 

Every piece of communication which had been produced and circulated had the word 'reduce' in it.  For the second year there would be a change to the collection methodology, so I would need to be seen how this would affect the collection rates.

 

The Head of Waste Strategy had recently met with Defra to discuss what had been done so far, and had been very impressed with Lincolnshire as a whole, particularly with how the LWP worked. 

 

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

·         It was commented that this trial had been a great success, and of all the new waste legislation which was proposed, it was food waste collection which would of the greatest benefit to the waste stream.

·         There would be a need to demonstrate how it would be commercially viable to collect food waste in rural areas.

·         It was understood that it year 2-3 where a steady reduction in food waste started to be seen, as residents adapted their behaviour.  It was often the most expensive foods which were wasted, and it was queried if an average cost had been calculated.  Partners were advised that a financial figure had been included in the marketing information, this had been calculated as £600-700 per year which could be saved per household by reducing food waste.

·         Of those invited to participate in the trial who did not take part, it was noted that 50% of them had their own composting bins.

·         One of the impacts of this trial was that the black (residual waste) bins were starting to smell less.

·         In relation to the technical specification of the caddy bags, partners were advised that they were fully biodegradable and did not contain micro plastics.

·         It was noted that if too much liquid was put into the containers, or they were not emptied often enough, the bags would start to break down.  Officers advised that they would share the specification of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Action Plan Update

(To receive an update from Rachel Stamp, Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Programme Manager, on the progress with the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Action Plan)

Minutes:

The Lincolnshire Waste Partnership received an update from Rachel Stamp, LWP Programme Manager) in relation to the progress of the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Action Plan.

 

The following was noted as part of the update:

·         The review of mixed dry recyclables was the next item of focus and was due to commence at the strategic officers working group the following week.

·         There would be a significant amount of work around communications and engagement.

·         As part of the LCC stand at the Lincolnshire Show, there was an opportunity for people to see if they could identify the correct recycling mix, and 70% of people got this right.  However, they were mainly children.

·         There was still a misconception by the public about what happened to their waste, with 76% still believing that residual waste went to landfill.

·         A set of metrics for the Partnership were being produced, however this was still a work in progress around understanding recycling.

·         Partners were working well across the action plan.

·         Nationally there would be a change to information on packaging, and it was likely that the 'widely recycled' label would be changed.

 

RESOLVED

 

            That the update be noted.

11.

Meeting Dates 2020 pdf icon PDF 72 KB

(For the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership to agree the meeting dates for 2020)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which set out the proposed meeting dates for the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership for 2020.  The Partnership was advised that electronic appointments would be sent out shortly.

 

RESOLVED

 

            That the following dates be agreed and electronic appointments      circulated:

·         21 November 2019

·         5 March 2020

·         9 July 2020 (AGM)

·         19 November 2020

 

 
 
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