Agenda item

Judy Holmes, Assistant Chief Executive, introduced the report which provided an update on the Council’s work to introduce a weekly food waste collection service alongside a restructured residual waste collection frequency in Mid Sussex.

A Member suggested that the Council should encourage people to compost which would save money. He noted the triple type collection that they have in Bristol where they collect three varieties on a weekly basis by a multiple-type collection lorry which he presumed was not an option in Mid Sussex.

The Chairman highlighted that not every household has the opportunity to compost.

Rob Anderton, Divisional Leader for Commercial Services and Contracts, explained that the Council was proposing to bring in a separate food waste vehicle specifically to service the properties on the trial. In respect of composting, the Council endeavours to encourage residents not to produce waste in the first place and, where they do, to compost it before it enters the waste stream.

A Member outlined that it is hard to see the finer detail given the movable position the pilot is in. She acknowledged that everyone wants to be much greener and much cleaner in their living and is certain that attitudes on the topic are changing. She asked whether there is a contribution from the packing manufacturers to help with the disposal.

The Divisional Leader for Commercial Services and Contracts confirmed that the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme which is being proposed by government  will require producers who produce certain materials to foot the bill for their collection and disposal; the expectation would be that the Council would receive compensation as a waste collection authority for dealing with the waste. He added that by virtue of being charged for the collection and disposal of the material they send to consumers, the expectation would be that the amount of material consumers receive would reduce over time.

A Member drew attention to an apparent consensus of Members who want the pilot to go ahead whilst acknowledging the challenging landscape. He also drew attention to the risk of waiting to decide until the landscape is more settled and asked what could be done in the immediate term. He felt that making a commitment to put something in place so that the Council is committing by a certain point to have a more formal plan for the long term would show other district and borough Councils that Mid Sussex is serious about creating a unified system that works for everyone.

Steve Read, Director of Environment and Public Protection at West Sussex County Council, stated that the County Council is keen to move the food waste agenda forward as swiftly as possible and some time ago proposed to support authorities who wanted to move into a trial with the three, two, one collection system as very few counties are using the system. He noted that they are supporting Arun in trailing the three, two, one system and are keen to support Mid Sussex in their trials.

A Member asked whether those who would not be included in the pilot would be encouraged to compost.

The Divisional Leader for Commercial Services and Contracts replied that the Council already does a lot of encouragement for composting and highlighted that a number of ‘hot bins’ have been delivered which will enable people to dispose of their compostable waste. These would be trailed on a small number of residents alongside the three, two, one collection trial.

A Member believed it would be interesting to see the results of the trial. He expressed concerns on behalf of residents that the landfill bin would be nearly full after two weeks and certainly by three weeks so asked how that surplus waste would be dealt with.

The Divisional Leader for Commercial Services and Contracts explained that a number of residual waste analyses that the Council has carried out over the last few years have indicated that 40% (by weight) of residual waste is food waste. Therefore, if the food waste were to be collected on a weekly basis across the District, then it would leave a very small amount of non-recyclable materials. He advised that if residents were struggling with their capacity, the Council would work with those residents to understand their options with disposing what is left.

A Member expressed her support for the trail and believed it would be beneficial for residents to have hand-in-hand education about the benefits of the trial to the environment. She added the trial is the only way forward to get a better understanding and evidence base on how it would work.

The Vice-Chairman also expressed her support for the trial.

A Member sought clarification on the provisions made for flat dwellers as he had assumed the food waste would need to be kept indoors which would be challenging should they reside in a small property. He also noted that the food waste bin would be half the size of the other bins and sought assurances that the bin wouldn’t reach capacity.

The Assistant Chief Executive outlined that the Council has selected the trial carefully with advice from the County Council and Serco to trial as many different types of properties as possible including flatted properties. She also confirmed that there will be a small caddy that residents can keep in their kitchen to transport the waste and that the Council will help any resident who generates more food waste than the weekly collection capacity.

A Member asked whether the Council could use Mid Sussex Matters as a way of educating residents that don’t recycle.

The Assistant Chief Executive said that the Council issues regular recycling-related articles in Mid Sussex Matters as well and using social media platforms to push the message.

A Member questioned if the Council could put more information out to the public as well as making it easily findable as he finds some of the current information on the website tucked-away.

The Chairman noted the stickers that are affixed to recycling bins as well as noting the great number of differing products which would make it difficult to hand out leaflets to every resident where the website is the easiest resource to access.

A Member drew attention to the direction of the debate which generated general support for the trial. He asked whether an additional recommendation could be made that Cabinet commit to a permanent food waste recycling system in  the longer-term and to come back with a plan to carry it out when it is appropriate.

The Chairman concurred as she too felt there was general support for proceeding with the trial. She confirmed she was happy to include a recommendation to make a firm commitment in the longer-term whilst awaiting the Government’s final strategy to come through. She moved to the vote to confirm agreement with the recommendation which was approved unanimously.

RESOLVED

That the Committee recommend Cabinet make a firm commitment to proceed with Food Waste collections in the longer-term whilst acknowledging that current circumstances do not permit an effective wider roll-out of the trial.