Agenda item

(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 operators who allowed piles of waste to grow too high and then went out of business were highlighted.  It was queried whether there was any way to strengthen the process.  In relation to the Bowman's site, where this had occurred recently, it was reported that planning enforcement officers were taking action, but there was a due process to follow as well as a need to gather evidence.

Fire prevention guidance had recently been reviewed nationally, and the Environment Agency was in the process of going out to sites and updating their fire prevention plans. 

It was reported that a deregulation and downward turn in markets was starting to be seen, which was causing some of these issues, such as operators going out of business.  It was expected that there would be a 30% reduction in the grant in the Autumn Statement.  It was also noted that Defra had been granted new powers allowing the Environment Agency to be able to serve notice ordering an operator to take no further waste. 

There would be a risk based approach in which sites were examined, such as where they were located, what materials they handled and operator behaviour.  The Environment Agency worked very closely with the planners, and would be looking to undertake a joint case in regards to Mid-UK.

It was queried what safeguards were in place to safeguard against a Great Heck type situation.  There was a need for vigilance, on behalf of the public as well, as the budget for dealing with these things was reduced.  There was a large percentage of the waste industry had a criminal background.  It was commented that this could be where districts could help, as they could be the 'eyes and ears', and encourage residents to report it if they hear about something which concerns them.

All the mechanisms existed for operators to comply with permits, but the issues arise when people have no intention of complying with permits.  However, if people supplying the waste were aware of what legitimate operators should do, this would be a start.  There was need to work together to stop those with criminal intent.

East Lindsey District Council – the authority was constantly looking at the services it was providing, and there may be something to bring to the partnership in the coming year.

An update on the potential for a HWRC at Mablethorpe was requested.  It was reported there were three locations – Stamford, Long Sutton and Mablethorpe which were outside of a HWRC area, and were areas where the County Council had been examining the possibilities of a supplementary service.  It was emphasised that there was no money left in the capital fund to build any new HWRC's.  It was considered important that a situation where people had to travel more than 12 miles to a HWRC was not created.

The representative for East Lindsey District Council commented that they had believed that there was money available for a new HWRC.  The Group Manager Environmental Services offered to write to the District Council to explain the situation.  It was noted that there had been a capital fund of £15m available to all directorates of the Council to bid for, but money would only be released from this fund following the submission of business cases.  It was also noted that there was no definite site available in Mablethorpe for a HWRC at the moment.  It was queried whether if a suitable site could be identified, could the County Council look at putting together a business case.  It was commented that that was possible, but there was no guarantee it would be successful.

City of Lincoln Council – enforcement activity had been increased, with an initiative that had gone live this week.  There would be an enforcement officer walking the streets of Lincoln, who was able to issue on the spot fines and fixed penalty notices for littering and dog fouling.  This scheme would be evaluated after 6 months, it was hoped that it would be self-funding, and a report would be brought back to the Partnership at a later date.