Agenda item

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

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 best quality material, and this quality had also been consistent.

The Chairman thanked both Boston Borough and North Kesteven for their work in rolling out this project in their districts.

RESOLVED

          That the report be noted.