Issue - meetings

a)    That the Executive agrees to North Herts District Council awarding the waste, recycling and street cleansing contract to the preferred bidder, on behalf of East Herts Council, as identified in Appendix 1 Part 2 of this report;

b)   That the Executive agrees to approve the formation of a joint mobilisation project board to include the Executive Members responsible for digital transformation as well as the Executive Member covering waste, recycling and street cleansing services for both EHC and North Herts to monitor the progress of the mobilisation of the waste, recycling and street cleansing contract;

c)    That Executive has regard for the draft statutory guidance in Appendix 6 and taking into account the matters set out in this Part 2 report and any Part 2 clarifications, reconfirms the decision on the 3-weekly collection frequency of residual waste collections made by Executive as per 2.5 and provides clear reasons for the decision;

d)   The Executive agrees to the commencement of a procurement exercise for the provision of a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and haulage.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability presented the report for the Award of the Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Contract. He said that the report sought the Executive’s approval to allow North Hertfordshire District Council, as the lead authority, to award the contract.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that the waste service was the largest spend each year for East Herts, and it was a high-profile service that had a significant impact and influence on the council’s ability to achieve its carbon reduction aims. He said that the Executive agreed the service design in December 2023 and officers have been involved in a competitive dialogue to award the contract to the preferred bidder.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that the government had undertaken a consultation on proposed statutory guidance relating to recycling proposals. He said that some of the elements of the guidance were not aligned with the service changes in the proposed contract, especially the frequency of waste collections. He said that the council had received independent legal advice contained in the part 2 appendix but said it was not prudent for the council to delay this decision.

Councillor Hoskin proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Goldspink seconded the proposal.

Councillor Brittain referred to the Letchworth depot and asked for the latest update.

Councillor Hoskin said the depot was not available as of the 9^th July. He said the recommendation remained the same and North Herts would award the contract, if agreed, on the immediate arrival of the documentation.

Councillor Daar referred to page 19 and the data from Wales about three weekly waste collections which showed that two councils were able to increase their recycling rates. She referred to page 17 and asked for more details about the soft plastic collections and the survival bags.

The Waste Shared Service Manager said that the new contract would allow residents to put soft plastics in loose in the mixed recycling bin. She said the team were still consulting with various material recovery facilities to understand the sorting technology available to sort the materials. She said that the survival bags were a backup plan if the technology was not sufficient so residents would put their soft recycling into these bags in their recycling bin.

Councillor Hoskin said the council were part of a trial that was running nationally.

The Waste Shared Service Manager said that this was part of the Flex Collect trial funded by the Flexible Plastics Fund. She said that the government have indicated that all councils would be expected to collect soft plastics by 2027 and the trial was looking at the types of soft plastics being recycled and how it could be recycled and processed. The trial would be expanded into East Herts when the survival bags had been delivered.

Councillor E Buckmaster spoke on behalf of the Herts Waste Partnership and said that they felt three weekly collections were the way to go and there was enough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability submitted a report inviting Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider the awarding of the new Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Contract. He said that North Hertfordshire District Council were the lead authority and would be considering a similar report with similar recommendations.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that the waste, recycling and street cleansing service represented the largest spend on services contracts each financial year, and it was a high-profile service that impacted on residents every week. He talked about the impact of the contract on the council’s ability to achieve carbon reduction and sustainability aims for the District.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability summarised the decision-making timeline to date and invited the Overview and Scrutiny Committee comment on and ask questions in respect of the recommendations. He referred to a statutory guidance consultation paper issued in October 2023 to support the simpler recycling proposals that were detailed in the resources and waste strategy 2018. He said that some elements of the draft guidance were not in line with the service changes due to implement by this contract in 2025.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that it would not be prudent to further delay a decision on awarding the contract in the hope that a final clarification was forthcoming in respect of residual waste collections.

Councillor Buckmaster said that he was broadly in agreement with the approach and the design and the proposals. He said that there were variances in respect of recycling across the county and the council needed to move forward.

Councillor Buckmaster referred to the absence of food waste in the East Herts collections, which would be addressed within the next two years. He said that he appreciated the sentiments around three weekly residual waste collections, and he believed that there were good reasons to do that. He said that the change in design would help to increase recycling rates and reduce carbon content.

Councillor Buckmaster said that the additional fibre bin would be a challenge for some people, and he noted that there would be an app available with a push system to remind people what bin to put out on that particular week.

Councillor Nicholls said that local engagement and educating people about the new system was key in the first few weeks and months of the contract rolling out. Councillor Watson talked about the unknowns and potential risks in respect of IT, and asked if these elements had been risk assessed. He referred to the use of different systems at East Herts and North Herts.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability said that any risks had to be thought through in terms of how they could be mitigated, and this had been incorporated into the recommendations in terms of how risks could be mitigated. He referred to the strengthening of the project board in overseeing the implementation by having the digital transformation executive on that board.

The Shared Service Manager (Waste) said that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70