Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Andrew Fear and Sandra Hambleton.

There were no declarations of interest.

Held on 30 January 2013, to be signed as a correct record.

Resolved:     That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2013 be approved as a correct record and signed by the chair.

The panel reviewed the visits held on 6 March to the council’s current treatment sites.  These had included Hot Lane Depot (dry recycling), Four Ashes and Lower Reule (food waste treatment), and Acton (composting of garden waste).

The visits had been informative and assisted members greatly with insight into the current processes and provision, which would assist the panel going forward in formulating recommendations in relation to future strategy.

The operators of all the facilities had been most helpful and welcoming on the occasions of the visits, and it was noted in particular that Hot Lane had displayed an impressive level of cleanliness considering it was a waste treatment facility.

Resolved:

(1)               That the operators of the facilities visited be thanked for their assistance and hospitality; and

(2)               That the information and knowledge gleaned from the visits be taken forward by the panel in formulating its recommendations.

A variety of information was submitted in relation to current service and treatment provision.  This included:-

• Customer Charter and background information
• Integrated Waste Management Service Standards and Policies – Waste Containers Policy
• Residual Waste Process via Hanford Energy from Waste Plant
• Garden Waste Process via TEG Open Windrow Process
• Dry Recycling Waste Process via Kerbside Collections
• Food Waste Process via Lower Reule Anaerobic Process
• Breakdown of Recycled Materials 2011/12 by mass
• Breakdown of Recycling Credit 2011/12 by value and proportion
• Recycling Rates and National Ranking 2002/03 – 2011/12
• End Markets for Materials
• Breakdown of Budget 2012/13 by amount and proportion
• Glossary of Terms

The panel discussed the information provided and the current and future legislative framework relating to the service.

It was noted that there would be a requirement to collect four separate streams of dry recycling by 2015 and achieve 50% recycling by 2020.  It may be permissible for the separated streams to be co-mingled at the point of collection provided they could be sorted by processing.

There had also been a recent Judicial Review on the transposition of the EU Waste Framework Directive into the laws of England and Wales, the judgement in which had indicated that whether or not source segregated collection was practicable and necessary would depend on the particular local circumstances attributable to any local authority, the technology used and the methodology of collection.

Stockport had recently introduced a new system involving four bins and a food stream, and it was suggested that it may be possible to arrange a visit to that authority, and possibly also one to Stafford.

Further information would be provided to the panel in due course, including comparisons with other authorities and a breakdown of the better performing areas within the borough.

Resolved:     That the information provided and the outcomes of the panel’s discussions be taken forward to inform its future work and the eventual formulation of its recommendations.

There was no urgent business.