Agenda item

The Head of Environmental Services submitted an annual report on the performance of the Council’s two main environmental operations contracts, for Waste Services (Refuse and Recycling, Street Cleansing) and Grounds Maintenance, the detail of which was set out in the report now submitted and Essential Reference Paper “B”.

The Waste Services Officer provided updates on performance outturns in some key areas.  She explained that the number of missed collections had decreased and that the percentage of household waste recycled had decreased slightly to 47.99% (against the Council’s target of 50%).  It was noted that residual waste collected from households had dropped by 10kg per household and this represented a significant improvement in terms of waste minimisation.  Litter levels against the Council’s performance indicator in 2012/13 had also decreased from 2.3% to 1.78%.  There had also been a decrease in the number of “validated” complaints about litter received last year.  The number of fly tipping incidents had also decreased by 27%.  The Head of Environmental Services provided an update in relation to a number of “stop and search” events undertaken with partners to address the illegal transport of waste.

In response to a query from Councillor J Wyllie regarding commercial businesses and recycling, the Head of Environmental Services explained the issues associated with this and particularly the need to ensure that any commercial collection service “brakes even” from an accounting viewpoint.  He advised that opportunities to provide commercial recycling would be kept under review and may become financially viable in the future.  In response to a query from Councillor R Beeching concerning the collection of recycling from libraries, the Head of Environmental Service explained that this would fall within the category of Hertfordshire County Council’s commercial waste, and East Herts did not currently provide a commercial recycling collection service. 

In response to a query concerning the damage done by some machines in relation to hedge pruning and how hedges were pruned, the Environment Manager – Parks and Open Spaces explained the rationale behind how hedges were trimmed and pruned along highways and rural roads.  The Head of Environmental Services explained that hedges on highway verges were the responsibility of the County Council which the District Council cut under contract and to the County’s specification.  Any additional pruning would be at a cost to this Council.  It was noted that many of these hedges were on private land and the tops were cut by the land owner or local farmers.

In response to a query from Councillor C Rowley regarding the reduction in household waste, the Waste Services Officer explained that as a result of the economic downturn, people were not buying as many newspapers and magazines.  Councillor E Buckmaster added that the availability of digital information was also a contributing factor.  In response to a further query from Councillor C Rowley regarding the Council’s future focus in relation to supermarkets and extraneous packaging, the Head of Environmental Services explained that some producers had reduced their packaging with the support of Government organisations such as WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).  He advised that the Council had limited opportunities to influence packaging other than to lobby national organisations through the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership.

In response to a query from Councillor M Pope, concerning street cleansing, the Head of Environmental Services explained how the formula was applied.

In response to a query from Councillor J Wyllie regarding the cost and income implications of collecting commercial waste, the Head of Environmental Services explained the factors which affected the viability of commercial waste recycling.  He stated that it cost £95 a ton to send waste to landfill and if that continued to increase, then it could become viable for the Council to run separate collection services for recyclables.  The possibility of operating a shared service with another Authority was considered.

Councillor D Andrews referred to the amount of litter signage at junctions and suggested that some of these should be relocated to just short of and after lay-bys.  The Head of Environmental Services undertook to identify locations where this could be implemented in consultation with Hertfordshire Highways.

The Committee received and noted the report.

RESOLVED – that the performance of the Council’s main environmental terms contracts be noted.