Decision details

That:

a)    the recommendations from the Joint Cross-Party working group attached in Appendix 1 be noted and considered prior to making a new substantive decision.

b)   the comments from Overview and Scrutiny Committee attached in Appendix 12 be noted and considered prior to making a new substantive decision.

c)    the responses from the public consultation as summarised in Appendix 2 be noted and considered prior to making a new substantive decision.

d)   a Competitive Dialogue procedure for the procurement of the Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing contract be approved.

e)    a joint project board to include the Executive Members for Finance as well as the Executive Member covering waste, recycling and street cleansing services for both EHC and NHC be approved to monitor the progress of the procurement project and for the delegation of powers to the Head of Operations (EHC)/Director of Place (NHDC) in consultation with Project Board, in relation to amendments to the specification or service design.

f)     a Contract length of 8 years with the possibility of up to an 8 year extension be approved.

g)    the provision of customer services and contact handling being delivered by the councils be approved, and for a future report detailing how this will be delivered be provided in 2023.

h)   the introduction of a new weekly separate food waste collection service in 23L caddies for houses and in wheeled bins for flats in East Hertfordshire from 2025 be approved. The implementation date confirmation to be delegated to the Head of Operations in consultation with the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability.

i)      To recommend to Full Council to approve the Capital and estimated revenue spend outlined in 3.16 in relation to recommendation h above.

j)      residual waste collections occurring on a three weekly collection cycle from 2025 be approved. The implementation date confirmation to be delegated to the Director of Place/Head of Operations in consultation with the project board.

k)    the standard receptacle for residual waste being 180L in size and that all new and replacement residual waste containers for houses will be 180l as soon as is reasonably practicable be approved and phased in commencing no later than from 1st April 2023 in East Hertfordshire.

l)      the transition to a standard bin colour across East and North Hertfordshire as outlined in paragraphs 3.47 to 3.56 as soon as is practicable and no later than 1^st April 2023 be approved.

m)the inclusion of plastic film in the mixed dry recycling collections from 2025 be approved and the implementation date confirmation to be delegated to the Project Board and subject to the outcomes of Resources & Waste Strategy consultation on consistency.

n)   the cessation of bring bank services for paper in East Hertfordshire as soon as is reasonably practicable and no later than the end of 2023 be approved.

o)   the cessation of bring bank services for textiles in East Hertfordshire and kerbside textiles collections in North Hertfordshire with the shared waste service proactively engaging with the charity-sector to promote alternative outlets for used textiles by the end of 2024 be approved.

p)   the cessation of kerbside battery collections in North Hertfordshire be noted. The implementation date confirmation to be delegated to the Project Board but no later than May 2025, with the shared waste service proactively promoting alternative recycling outlets.

q)   the cessation of Parish litter picking grants and for street litter bins currently maintained under this scheme to be serviced under the waste and recycling contract from 1^st April 2023 be approved.

r)     the service policy statements as outlined in Appendix 3 be approved and for these to be further updated in advance of the contract start in May 2025 and be delegated to Head of Operations/Director of Place in consultation with the Executive Members.

s)    the principle of aligning the garden waste collection charge from 2025 be agreed.

t)     the service design described in paragraphs 3.94 to 3.103 be agreed in principle, should the outcomes from the Resources and Waste Strategy Consistency consultation mandate the separate collection of fibre, subject to the constitutional requirements for decision making; and

u)   the procurement of the contract will include evaluation of options to reduce the carbon emissions of the waste service to contribute to achieving the Council’s net zero target be noted.