Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual - Online Meeting via Microsoft Teams. View directions

Contact: Rachel Wilson  Democratic Services Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of Chairman

Minutes:

It was proposed, seconded and

 

RESOLVED

 

            That Councillor D McNally be elected as Chairman of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership for the year 2021 - 2022

2.

Election of Vice-Chairman

Minutes:

It was proposed, seconded and

 

RESOLVED

 

            That Councillor R A Wright be elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership for the year 2021 – 2022.

3.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D Evans (Boston Borough Council); Victoria Burgess (East Lindsey District Council) and Charlotte Paine (South Holland District Council).

 

4.

Declaration of Interests

Minutes:

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

5.

Minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2020 pdf icon PDF 481 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2020 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

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.

 

Partners expressed their thanks to the previous Chairman, Eddy Poll, for all of his work over the last four years, and the significant progress which had been made on behalf of the Partnership during this time.  The Partnership also thanked Councillor Gambba-Jones for his work as Vice-Chairman over the last four years.

 

The following was noted:

 

South Holland District Council

 

It was reported that the key issues for South Holland District Council, which was likely to be reflected in other districts, and nationally, were the challenges being experienced around Class 2 drivers, and the work to ensure that rounds were maintained.  This had had an impact on the service as a whole as it had required people to be taken away from supervisory roles to drive the collection vehicles.  This was concerning as it could mean that effective management would not be able to be carried out as time progressed, and this could impact on the delivery of the service.  There was need for a more long term view on how to 'grow our own' but it took time to be able to train new drivers.  There was a need to acknowledge this challenge and be prepared to deal with the public response in the short term.

 

South Kesteven District Council

 

It was reported that the district was fortunate to have acquired a new site for a depot, as space was running out at the Alexander Road site.

The comments and concerns regarding availability of drivers were echoed, and it was expected that a large amount of wage inflation would be seen in this sector in the coming years.  It was noted that whilst availability of drivers was the acute issue at the moment, availability of mechanics was a similar area of concern.

 

East Lindsey District Council

 

Further to the comments regarding drivers, it was noted that East Lindsey used bring sites for its glass collection, which were serviced by Glass Recycling UK, who had also experienced issues with recruitment of drivers.  With the increased volume of glass that has been going to these sites, it had been a struggle to meet demand.  Things were starting to return to normal, and it was believed that they had been able to recruit some new drivers.

 

Since the last meeting, the district had successfully introduced a maintenance workshop, and commercial opportunities were being explored, as well as the possibility of introducing mechanical apprenticeships. 

 

It was queried whether other districts were seeing an increase in bulky items, such as fridge freezers, washing machines etc. as extra resources had been required to deal with increase in East Lindsey.  South Holland reported that they had seen requests for collection of bulky items double, and it was commented that this could be in response to the changes at Household Waste Recycling Centre.  It was also noted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Governance - Review of LWP Terms of Reference and LWP Programme Delivery Manager Role pdf icon PDF 405 KB

(To receive a report which enables the Partnership to consider its Terms of Reference and also the role of the LWP Programme Delivery Manager)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which invited the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership to consider suggestions to changes to the Terms of Reference and also to review the requirements of the role of the Programme Delivery Manager which was put in place in 2019.

 

Partners were invited to discuss whether the term of office for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman should be extended to a period of two or four years, and also whether, in light of the upcoming challenges and potential changes that the Environment Bill may impose, to increase the regularity to four formal meetings per annum.

 

In relation to the role of the Programme Delivery Manager, Partners were invited to consider whether the post should be disestablished; to recruit to the exiting job role; or to review and amend the requirements if the role in light of the changing landscape of Waste Services across the Partnership.

 

During discussion of the above, the following was noted:

 

·         It would be sensible to move to four meetings per year due to the amount of changes which were expected;

·         The LWP Programme Delivery Manager role would be crucial with the amount of consultations coming forward and so it was suggested it would be sensible to retain the post;

·         It was suggested that there was a need for the Partnership to meet formally at least four times per year, however it was suggested that it should also continue to meet informally.

·         It was commented that the Programme Manager was an important role, as that person would act as a liaison between districts.

·         There was a suggestion that the Chairman of the Partnership should always be the LCC Portfolio Holder for Waste, and the Vice-Chairman could be rotated between the districts.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    That the frequency of meetings increase to four meetings per year;

2.    The continuation of the LWP Programme Manager role was supported, and would be referred to the Strategic Officers Group to explore options and review the requirements of the role, and a report brought to the next meeting of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.

 

8.

Performance Measures Update pdf icon PDF 765 KB

(To receive a report from Matthew Michell, Waste Strategy Manager (LCC) on the performance statistics to date)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which provided updates on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to the four strategic themes which were agreed by the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership to measure progress against the vision and objectives set out in the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS).  It was highlighted that the commentary on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on performance was included.  However, it was not yet clear how much of that impact was temporary or to what extent this was now the "new normal" which could continue in the longer term.

 

It was reported that the impact on performance from Covid-19 had been significant, as the tonnage collected at kerbside had increased by about 17%, there had also been a reduction of 66% across all the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs).

 

It was noted that the overall recycling rate of the Partnership was lower than target.  However, it was highly likely that this was due to the impact of Covid-19.

 

The Partnership discussed the report, and the following was noted:

 

·         It was noted that all districts had seen increases in bulky waste collections, and it was queried whether this was being included in these figures.  It was noted that the figures did include everything.

·         In terms of the thousands of tonnes that would have been expected to go through the HWRC's it was queried whether there had been any uplift in other waste streams such as fly tipping.  It was reported that whilst an increase in fly tipped waste had been seen, this was only a matter of a few hundred tonnes, and did not account for all the missing tonnage from HWRC's.  It was suggested that people may not have been replacing older items, or they may be being stored in garages.

·         It was also suggested that as people had been placed on furlough or were even out of work, they may not have been generating waste to the same level, as amounts of disposable income may have reduced.

·         It was noted that the authority did not have data in relation to commercial waste, so it was possible some waste was being disposed of as trade waste, or people could have hired skips.

·         Members commented that they were pleased to see a relaxation at HWRC's around the use of small trailers, and it was suggested that an increase in recycling may now be seen.

·         Data was now coming through in relation to the quality and quantity on the paper and cardboard being collected.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership:

 

1.    Notes the charts and commentary provided in relation to the Waste Hierarchy;

2.    Notes the charts and commentary provided on overall levels of contamination, and notes that data from the new sampling station would follow shortly

3.    Notes that it was hoped to resume work on the topics of Carbon and Customer Friendliness during 2021/22.

 

9.

Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Action Plan Update pdf icon PDF 417 KB

(To receive a report which updates the Partnership on the progress against the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Action Plan)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which provided Partners with an update on the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) action plan.  It was noted that the action plan detailed the actions and projects in place to deliver the objectives of the JMWMS adopted in January 2019.

 

It was reported that fly tipping remained high on the action plan, and it was suggested that this was added to the Partnership's forward plan and regular updates were received.  It was also noted that a draft of the Annual Report should be available for comment by the end of July 2021.

 

In relation to the paper and card collection roll out, it was noted that there was participation of around 99%, and the quality of the material being collected was very high.  The tonnage over the first three collections had continued to increase.

 

The sampling station was proving invaluable, and it was noted that first collection sampled was 35% contamination, since the introduction of the separate paper and card collections, the quality of material collected had increased, and contamination had reduced to 20% after four weeks.  Where a bin had not been collected, the residents had been advised why the bin was not collected.

 

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

 

·         Information was still awaited on the effects of composting on recycling rates;

·         It was noted that the largest amount of contamination was from soft plastics, plastic bags, films etc.

·         The Waste Partnership and Projects Manager and her team was congratulated for getting the paper and card collections up and running, and noted that the key to success in the long term would be education.  One of the Partners commented that they had been involved with the trial and had observed that the majority of people wanted to do the right thing.  Most of the confusion arose from when items were marked as recyclable, but could not be recycled by a particular office.  It was commented that it was the responsibility of all elected members to help to support the message of what could be recycled. 

·         In terms of the total tonnages, it was queried whether there was any comparison of what the tonnages would have been if there hadn't been the separation of paper and card.  It was queried whether this was encouraging people to recycle more or to recycle better.  Members were advised that this data was not available at this time, but there was a need to compare the impact on residual waste stream.  Initial data suggested that paper had been removed from the residual waste stream.  This would be next phase of data reconciliation.

·         There was still work for the Partnership to do in relation to how businesses package products with more people now buying online.

·         It was noted that tourism was a big part of the Lincolnshire economy, and it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Defra consultations and their potential impacts on LWP partners pdf icon PDF 443 KB

(To receive a report by Matthew Michell, Waste Strategy Manager (LCC), which sets out the waste policies proposed by Defra through their Resources and Waste Strategy and subsequent consultations)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which set out the waste policies which Defra had proposed through their Resources and Waste Strategy and subsequent consultations.  In addition to specific duties imposed by these policies, they would also result in a number of decisions which would need to be taken by Lincolnshire Waste Partnership partners.

 

It was highlighted that five policy themes had arisen from the Resources and Waste Strategy for England (RAWS) proposals, which were as follows:

·         Consistency of collections

·         Enhanced Producer Responsibility (EPR)

·         Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)

·         Plastic packaging tax

·         Waste prevention

 

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

 

·         Food waste would be a significant issue, and it was expensive to collect, if it was to be collected, it would need to be as efficient as possible.  During the food waste collection trial, participation was high, but a reduction in the volumes of waste presented was still observed.

·         In terms of garden waste, there was a need to encourage people to compost in their own gardens.

·         It was felt that there should be an emphasis on reducing waste and promoting the use of reusable containers for drinks.

·         In relation to the deposit return scheme for drinks containers, it was queried how this could be effective when some supermarkets sold a 2 litre bottle for 17p.

 

(Note: Councillor M Foster left the meeting at 12.46pm)

 

·         Following the food waste collection trial, feedback was received from residents that the bins did not need to be collected every two weeks.

 

RESOLVED

 

            That the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership partners continue, both jointly and individually, to respond to government consultations and seek

11.

Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 458 KB

(To provide the Partnership with an opportunity to identify any items they wish to consider at future meetings)

Minutes:

The Lincolnshire Waste Partnership considered its work programme for the remainder of the year. It was suggested that more informal meetings should be included as necessary, in order to respond to the Defra Consultations.

 

RESOLVED

 

            That the forward plan, as presented, be noted.

 

 
 
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