Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL. View directions

Contact: Rachel Wilson  Democratic Services Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

12.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Gambba-Jones (South Holland District Council).

13.

Declaration of Interests

Minutes:

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

14.

Minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2021 pdf icon PDF 424 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

          That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2021 be agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

15.

Partner Updates pdf icon PDF 454 KB

(To receive a report which provides an opportunity for Partners to share any issues which may be of interest)

Minutes:

Partners received a report which provided an opportunity to share any information that may be of interest to the rest of the Partnership.  Written updates from each of the Partners had been provided.

 

It was noted that there were continuing difficulties in the retention of drivers, particularly in the private sector.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the update be noted.

16.

Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Annual Report 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 371 KB

(To receive a report by Matthew Michell, LCC Waste Strategy Manager, which provides an opportunity for the Partnership to discuss the LWP Annual Report for 2020/21)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which presented the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Annual Report which covered the year from April 2020 to March 2021.

 

Partners were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the contents of the Annual Report and the following points were noted:

 

·       It was commented that the recycling rates quoted on page 27 of the report were out of sync with the figures on page 36 of the report.  Partners were advised that the headline figures included composting, and so the figures reflected both figures added together.

·       It was confirmed that the figures relating to the carbon footprint, included the carbon footprint from the Energy from Waste (EfW) facility.  It was noted that the material that came out of the EfW was inert.

·       In relation to the separate collection of paper and card, which was being rolled out district by district, it was noted that there had been an issue in some areas of Boston with excess cardboard at the side of bins not being collected.  It was noted that this had not been seen in NKDC, although it was reported that there had been a lot of material for the first collection, but the bins were more than adequate on a normal basis.  It was important that any material in these bins was clean and dry.

·       It was important to maintain a consistent message about the materials which should be placed in the paper and card bins.

·       It was commented that there was a need to accept that each area would be different, and there would be a continued need for education in relation to recycling.

·       In terms of paper and card side waste not being collected, if this had been left out overnight, the added moisture content would take it over the threshold for the contractor.  It was vital that the paper and card collected was clean and dry.  It was also noted that contractors did not want plastic bags in the waste stream as it compromised the quality of the material. 

·       It was noted that providing engagement and education was good value for money, as if there was not a behavioural change from residents there would not be a reduction of contamination in recycling.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership note the publication of the 2020/21 Annual Report.

17.

Performance Measure Update pdf icon PDF 729 KB

(To receive a report by Matthew Michell, LCC Waste Strategy Manager, which provides the Partnership with an update on the suite of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) which measure progress against the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy)

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which updated the Partnership on the suite of Key Performance indicators (KPI’s) which measured progress against the vision and objectives set out in the LWP’s Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS).  The KPI’s related to four strategic themes:

·       Waste hierarchy

·       Contamination

·       Carbon

·       Customer friendly

 

Partners were advised that in relation to performance figures, it was not yet clear whether this was the ‘new normal’ or if performance would return to pre-covid levels.  Changes to the quantity of waste being processed had been seen, and there had not yet been a significant upturn of waste going through the HWRC’s, even following the removal of the booking system. 

 

It was noted that there had been an increase in quantity of kerbside collections, but this was smaller than the overall reduction in tonnage going through the HWRC’s, so the amount of waste had reduced.  A decrease in tonnage per household had also been seen.

 

It was also noted that composting appeared to be down as well, but this was something which was affected by weather and conditions throughout the year.  It was also highlighted that there was a suggestion that the government planned to change how green waste collections were funded and if they were free to all residents, there may be more green waste collected.

 

It was reported that contamination levels were looking like they were lower than previously, this was partly due to the introduction of the twin stream project, but a reduction in contamination was also being seen in areas without the twin stream collection.

 

It was commented that fly tipping was still one of the biggest issues, and it was queried whether this was measured separately.  A discussion took place regarding fly-tipping and it was highlighted that it was important to disconnect fly-tipping from HWRC’s as it was very hard to evidence an established correlation.  The average resident who would pack their car to take the material to an HWRC was unlikely to then fly-tip that material if the HWRC was closed.  It was believed that there was a particular type of person who would still fly-tip even if HWRC’s were available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It was reported that people had been turned away from an HWRC with mattresses and rubble, and it was clarified that this had been due to a delay in skips being emptied, due to the HGV driver shortage.  It was hoped that this issue was now resolved. Staff did try to get messages out as soon as possible if a HWRC was unable to accept a particular type of waste in order to prevent unnecessary journeys.  It was queried whether a free bulky waste collection would help to reduce fly-tipping, and one partner advised that when a free bulky waste collection service had been offered, this did not show a reduction in fly-tipping.

 

It was suggested that one of the weighbridges at the waste transfer station was available, if Boston wished to make  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Paper and Card Collection

(To receive a report which provides an update on the roll-out of the paper and card collections)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which updated the Partnership on the progress of the roll out of the twin stream project of the second Partner to deliver the project, North Kesteven District Council.

 

It was noted that some of the issues faced during this roll out were set out in the appendices to the report. 

At North Kesteven, all members were being encouraged to get the ‘right thing, right bin’ message out to all residents.  It was also noted that one of the main contaminants was around soft plastics – bin bags, plastic bags etc.  It was noted that this issue was on the waste agenda nationally, and supermarkets were starting to tackle it.

 

The Partnership was thanked for its support in the roll out, as well as the members of NKDC who unanimously agreed to support the roll out, and the officers that supported this.  It had been an authority wide project.  It was also noted that the residents of North Kesteven had also embraced the changes, which could be seen in the figures of the final appendix, which showed 98% collection of target materials.  The Partnership was advised that the next steps would be to maintain the good results being seen, and waiting to see what would be required by the Environment Act.  It was noted that West Lindsey District Council was the next authority to roll out the project.

 

Partners 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:

·       The report and information from NKDC was welcomed, and members congratulated them on the successful rollout of the project.  It was believed that the vast majority of people wanted to do the right thing.

·       It was suggested that it was time to reinforce the ‘right thing, right bin’ message.  One member had been talking to their residents about the roll out of the purple bins, and concerns had been expressed about where households would put an additional bin.

·       It was noted that NKDC had learned a lot from Boston Borough with the roll out of this project, and it was hoped that West Lindsey would be able to learn from both North Kesteven and Boston.

·       Education was a key part of the project.  One of the main issues was the huge volume of items which state that they were recyclable but were not something which the districts could collect.

·       It was noted that this project was about behaviour change, and this would be the biggest change in how waste was collected in over 20 years.  The figured demonstrated that that contamination in the mixed dry recycling (MDR) had dropped. In Boston, contamination was at around 32%, since the roll out of the purple bins, this was now just under 20%, which was an amazing result.

·       The contractor had stated that the paper being collected 98.5% was of the correct quality.  It was noted that LCC were providing the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

HGV Drivers - Impacts or Responses

(A discussion item to enable partners to share their experiences of the recent HGV driver shortage and the impacts and responses on individual districts)

Minutes:

The Partnership discussed the recent HGV driver shortage and members shared their experiences on how it had impacted the individual districts.  During discussion the following points were noted:

 

·       One district noted that recruitment had been difficult for a while, and they had always taken the approach to have a ‘grow your own’ provision.  This work was continuing and so there was a business continuity option which ensured that services could continue to be provided.

·       It was noted that South Holland had recently concluded a consultation exercise on new working arrangements for the waste team which included the recruitment of HGV drivers, officers advised they would be happy to share the proposals with other partners if it would be helpful.

·       NKDC advised that they also had a similar policy to SKDC in relation to developing their own staff.  They had also produced some recruitment videos which were getting a good response through social media.  It was also noted that the district were managing to retain the drivers that they did have, as the pay was set at a level that was appropriate for the work.  It was also noted the work for districts was more regular hours, and no late hours, and also the importance of being part of a team were important factors in helping districts to retain drivers.

·       It was suggested whether the Officer Working Group should look at this in more detail.

·       It was noted that West Lindsey was about to move into their new operational services depot, and it had been a long held ambition of the district to provide facilities for their teams which were suitable and fit for purpose.

·       It was commented that when compliments were received from members of the public, it was important to be able to pass them back to the teams.

·       It was suggested whether the working group could be asked to explore the possibility of getting a trainer that all districts could make use of as many had a policy to develop their own staff.  This could help to bring inexperienced drivers up to standard.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the points raised during discussion be noted.

20.

Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy Update

(To receive a verbal update from Rachel Stamp, Waste Partnership and Projects Manager, on progress against the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy)

Minutes:

The Partnership received an update on the progress against the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy.  It was noted that in terms of working together, a number of key activities and elements had already been discussed during this meeting.

 

It was noted that a lot of work was taking place with partners’ communications officers in order to develop the messages and engagement work, and ensure that they were consistent around the county.  It was noted that the Christmas campaign would be county wide.

 

It was also reported that the performance and improvement team were building in a schools offer, and would be working with individual primary schools.

 

In terms of assets and infrastructure, it was reported that the replacement facility for Kirkby on Bain was moving forward and it was expected that it would be open in Spring 2022.

 

Work was underway to understand what would be required in delivering a food waste collection, and impacts on waste transfer stations.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the update be noted.

 

21.

Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Meeting Dates 2022 pdf icon PDF 357 KB

(To receive a report by Rachel Wilson, Democratic Services Officer, which asks the Partnership to agree the dates of meetings in 2022)

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the following dates be agreed for 2022:

·       3 March 2022

·       23 June 2022 (AGM)

·       22 September 2022

·       1 December 2022

 

22.

Lincolnshire Waste Partnership Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 348 KB

(To receive a report by Rachel Wilson, Democratic Services Officer, which presents the LWP Forward Plan for consideration, and invites Partners to suggest items for consideration at future meetings)

Minutes:

The Partnership considered its forward plan for the coming year, and it was suggested whether an item on the Environment Act should be added to the agenda for the March meeting.

 

The Head of Waste suggested that if any members of the Partnership would like to visit any disposal facilities, such as anaerobic digestion plants or Palm Paper, he could arrange a visit.

 

RESOLVED

 

          That the Forward Plan as presented be noted, and an item on the Environment Act be added to the agenda for the meeting on 3 March 2022.

 

 
 
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