Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability presented the recommendation, which was referred to in the Executive report of 25 October 2022, regarding the Waste Service Contract Design.

Councillor McAndrew said that the Executive were asked to give authority to proceed with a competitive dialogue for the waste and street cleansing contract. He said that there were 21 recommendations for Executive with one needing agreement by Council. He said that the Council were being asked to approve the capital and estimated revenue spend in relation to the new contract. He thanked Officers who had spent a considerable amount of time on the project.

Councillor McAndrew proposed that the recommendation in the report be supported. Councillor Drake seconded the proposal.

Councillor Goldspink said she was delighted to see that there would be weekly food waste collections and was happy to support the recommendation.

Councillor Burmicz said that he had previously lived in Germany where they had food waste collections and there were massive problems with maggots and flies in the summer months. He said that he did not feel it was a good move.

Councillor McAndrew said that food waste collections would be weekly.

Councillor Townsend sought clarification on the 23 litre caddies and how they would be transported, as 23 litres roughly translated to 23 kilograms and could therefore be quite heavy to carry.

Councillor McAndrew said they were used across the country and  would almost never be full.

Councillor Curtis referred to paragraph 3.16 of the report and asked if the Executive Member would commit to having two separate options for the contract; have three weekly collections or remain at existing frequency. He said the council needed to make changes to its waste collection but wanted to make sure it had been thought through.

Councillor McAndrew said that the contract would be for a three weekly residual collection and weekly food waste.

Councillor E Buckmaster said there would be an educational element around the project. He said that a bin composition analysis had been undertaken across the county and it had found that 25-30% of waste in residual bins was food related. He said if the public disposed of waste correctly, it would mean less would be going into the black bins. He said that he was comfortable this was the correct route to go down.

Councillor Kemp said many other local authorities currently collect food waste separately and the results had been good.

Councillor Beckett said he supported the comments in favour of a separate food waste collection. He asked if the council would be providing  bin liners to residents.

Councillor McAndrew said he would ask Officers to look into that.

Councillor Haysey said that we should all be looking at what waste we were producing. She said that the council needed to note that the government would be bringing in legislation that food waste should be collected separately.

Councillor Kaye said that within East Herts, 43% of waste in the residual bins should not be in there and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 230

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  ...  view the full decision text for item 178

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability presented the Waste Service Contract Design report. He said the report sought to give authority to proceed with a competitive dialogue for the waste service contract which was due to expire in May 2025. The key drivers for service changes were set in the context of national resources, the waste strategy and the financial challenges exacerbated by inflationary pressures.

Councillor McAndrew said that the changes would make the service more efficient and sustainable by extending the frequency of collections for the majority of households, a transition to smaller bins and a separate weekly food waste collection.

Councillor McAndrew said that the North Herts Cabinet had agreed a further recommendation as follows “To note 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” and proposed that the Executive also approve this recommendation.

Councillor Haysey thanked Officers who had worked on the report and for their time spent with Members to help them understand the complexity of the project. She said that the joint working group with North Herts proved useful and was pleased to see both council’s aligned in the recommendations.

Councillor Buckmaster said that some residents may react to the proposed three weekly collections for residual waste but hoped that residents would understand the decision when the weekly food waste collections were explained to them. He said that across the Herts Waste Partnership, 43% of the contents of the residual bins was food waste which would be collected separately.

Councillor McAndrew said that behavioural change would be crucial in enabling and encouraging residents.

Councillor Pope referred to the possible county wide waste scheme. He asked how this would affect the waste contract if implemented. 

Councillor McAndrew said the Herts Waste Partnership had been encouraging the districts and boroughs to come together to create a county wide waste scheme. He said that it was a long process and not all councils were yet to be convinced of the benefits.

Councillor Buckmaster said there were very complex and unique issues preventing a whole shared service. He said there were some areas that could allow for closer co-operation and a study had been commissioned to look at these areas.

Councillor McAndrew assured Councillor Pope that work was ongoing in the background but was taking a long time.

Councillor McAndrew proposed and Councillor Goodeve seconded a motion supporting the recommendations in the report and the additional recommendation U. On being put to the meeting and a vote taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 178

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability submitted a report seeking the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the proposals due to be referred to the Executive in respect of the competitive dialogue procurement for the waste and recycling collection and street cleansing contract due to expire in May 2025. The report was based on outcomes from the Member lead joint working group between East Herts Council (EHC) and North Herts Council (NHC) and identified key service changes affecting the contract specification drafting.

Members were advised that the report covered details of both East Herts Council and North Herts Council changes so that the impacts across the shared service could be fully identified. The key drivers for the services changes were set in the context of the pending national Resources and Waste Strategy and the financial challenges authorities were facing which is exacerbated by inflationary pressures.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that it was anticipated that the proposed changes will secure a more financially and environmentally sustainable service as well as making the joint contract attractive to the market. Members were being asked to consider extended frequency residual waste collections, a transition to smaller 180 litre residual waste bins, weekly separate food waste collections for houses and flats and a cessation of bring site recycling services.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that the service proposals would be supported by a major communications plan and additional staff resources to ensure a smooth transition to the new services.

Councillor Rutland-Barsby asked what steps were being taken to ensure that all refuse trucks were sustainable to reduce their carbon footprint. The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that in addition to exploring a more sustainable fleet as part of the procurement process, the Council had also commissioned a report looking at the future fleet requirement for the service in terms of the viability of alternative technologies.

Councillor Devonshire asked if Officers had investigated what electronic refuse trucks were available and could be suitable for the Council. The Executive Member for Sustainability said that he was pleased to say that the council had an electric vehicle demonstration was attended in October 2021 and the East Herts Climate Change Strategy approved by Full Council on 27 July 2022 recognised the need to reduce the reliance on diesel powered refuse vehicles.

Members were advised that the although the use of electric refuse vehicles was increasing it was not yet a viable solution for the council’s refuse and recycling fleet. The pre-engagement work would include discussions in terms of what suitable options the council might be able to consider.

Councillor Goldspink said that, in terms of the new contract, eight years appeared to be a long time and the original contract was for seven years. She asked what had prompted the decision to change the length of the contract and what were the advantages and disadvantages of an eight-year contract.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that a seven-year contract length  ...  view the full minutes text for item 147