BOROUGH OF POOLE – ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 9 JUNE 2011
BOROUGH OF POOLE
ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
9 JUNE 2011
The Meeting commenced at 7.00pm and concluded at 9.15pm
Present:
Councillor Trent (Chairman)
Councillor Chandler (Vice-Chairman)
Councillors Brooke, Mrs Clements, Mrs Le Poidevin, Rollo-Smith, Mrs Stribley and Wilkins.
Also in attendance:
Councillor Mrs Butt, Portfolio Holder with responsibilities for Public Engagement and Participation.
Councillor Mrs Dion, Portfolio Holder with responsibilities for Environment and Consumer Protection.
Councillor Sorton, Portfolio Holder with responsibilities for Resources.
Councillors Brown, Burden, Clements, Matthews, Mrs Moore and Mrs Slade
Members of the Public Present: 1
EOS05.11 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
There were no apologies for absence.
EOS06.11 MINUTES
RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meetings of the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 24 March 2011 and 16 May 2011, having been previously circulated, be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chairman, as a correct record.
EOS07.11 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillors Brooke, Chandler, Mrs Clements, Rollo-Smith, Mrs Stribley, Trent and Wilkins declared a personal interest in Agenda Item EOS10.11: Future of Garden Waste Collection Scheme as current Green Bin Owners and having been lobbied by interested residents.
Councillor Mrs Le Poidevin declared a personal interest in Agenda Item EOS10.11: Future of Garden Waste Collection Scheme as someone who had not got a green waste bin, but would be affected by any decision taken.
EOS08.11 TERMS OF REFERENCE
RESOLVED that the Terms of Reference be noted.
UNAMINOUS
EOS09.11 URGENT BUSINESS
None
EOS10.11 FUTURE OF GARDEN WASTE COLLECTION SCHEME
The Head of Environment and Consumer Protection Services (ECPS) advised the Committee that it was being asked to agree to a six week public consultation exercise for the introduction of a chargeable garden waste scheme and subsequent exclusion of garden waste in the black refuse bin throughout the Borough, with the implementation of the Proposed Scheme being subject to agreement ‘in principle’ pending a further report to Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8th September 2011.
The Council had provided a non chargeable garden waste collection service to 22,000 properties within the Borough between April to October. Following the Waste Strategy Consultation in 2008 there had been numerous requests from residents to extend the Green Bin Service; to include more properties and expand the collection period. A role out of 11,000 green bins was considered, however, due to financial constraints and lack of funding it had not been possible to extend the Scheme.
The introduction of a chargeable garden waste collection scheme was expected to raise the £540k net expenditure gap, which had been identified within the Service’s Medium Term Financial Plan 2011-2014. It was also hoped that the proposed Scheme would divert the majority of green waste from landfill and remove the inconvenience of residents having to use the Household Recycle Centre.
The Committee was referred to the Green Waste 2012 Business Case Document and the key points highlighted from this Document were as follows:
· 5 other local authorities had already progressed from offering a free green waste service to a chargeable scheme.
· In Poole 7 options had been identified and considered and of these the Officer’s preferred option was Option 6, which entailed ceasing the free Collection Service, the introduction of an opt-in chargeable garden waste scheme for 9 months (March – November) to all properties within the Borough of Poole and no garden waste in the Black Bins was to be rolled out across the Borough to everyone on and off the Scheme.
It was proposed that if Option 6 was to proceed the Scheme would be provided to those that requested the Service and that bins could be shared amongst neighbours, if desired. The proposed start and finish dates of March and November were in response to feedback regarding the current Scheme, which highlighted that it would be beneficial if collections started earlier and finished later due to pruning and leaf fall. It was also noted that an essential part of the Scheme would be the launch of the no green waste in black refuse bins. It was estimated that residents who wished to take up the Scheme would be charged £31per annum per green bin and receive approximately 20 collections during the March and November period. In the Officer’s option this would provide the best strategy of closing its Net Expenditure Gap of £540k, whilst enabling new properties to join the Scheme at a reasonable price.
The Green Waste Business Case would continue to be developed and consultation carried out between June and August 201, with a view to coming back to this Committee on 8 September 2011 for its Recommendation to Cabinet on 13 September. If the Scheme was approved the current Garden Waste Scheme would finish on 28 October 2011 and the start of the New Scheme would commence on 5 March 2012.
The Committee was reminded that Environment and Consumer Protection Services (ECPS) had to meet its Expenditure Gap and to meet the Residents’ requests for green bins. It was not expecting concerns from the Residents putting green waste in black bins, once the Scheme was operational and therefore would not initially be policing the black bins. This would be reviewed if residents abused the Scheme. Residents would continue to be encouraged and supported to use home composts or to dispose of green waste via the Household Recycling Centre and Green Bring Sites.
Some Members understood the difficult situation of the Council but felt there was a need to ensure residents were aware of the benefits of the Scheme. A number of concerns were raised about the Proposed Scheme; the key points noted were as follows:
· Why had this Committee been presented with one Option when 7 had been considered? It was felt that this Committee should have been presented all Options at an earlier stage.
· Some residents had already received a green waste collection service for free and would feel aggrieved at having to now pay for this Service.
· How would ECPS Collectors know which bins had been paid for on collection day?
· How and in what format would the Consultation be carried out? More details on the Consultation needed to be provided.
· The cost of collections would not be doubled should residents choose to purchase 2 green waste bins, therefore may need to review the proposed Pricing Strategy.
· Would those residents in receipt of full benefit entitlement receive free green waste bins, if so the impact this would have on those paying for the Service?
· Potential increase of fly tipping if a policy banning garden waste from the Black Bins and the implementation of a chargeable green waste scheme were to be adopted.
· Most Councils had only managed a take up of 20%, was a take up of 16,000+ of green waste bins realistic?
· Consultation to include a compulsory swap of the large Black Bin to a small Black Bin and a large Blue Bin.
· Issues now with communal bins, consultation would need to include private and local authority housing providers such as Poole Housing Partnership (PHP).
· Need to be careful how the Scheme was explained, it would not be a charge for recycling but a charge for a door to door service.
· If residents swapped to a smaller black bin would there be a discount on the cost of a green waste bin or a 1 year waiver?
· Was it possible to reduce the number of bins available and use colour banding instead?
The Head of Environment and Consumer Protection Services (ECPS) advised the Committee the collection of garden waste was not a statutory function, whereas refuse and recycling were. It was not possible to charge for the black refuse bin or blue recycling bin collections, but a charge could be made for a green waste collection. He agreed there needed to be consultation work conducted with housing providers such as Poole Housing Partnership (PHP).
It was critical that those residents that wished to opt into the Scheme paid for this Service. Some form of identification label would be required for the bins to ensure only those bins paid for were collected. Unlabelled bins would need to be collected at the last collection in October 2011, stored and then re-distributed at the start of the New Scheme in March 2012. Ensuring collection of the current Green Waste Bins back from non subscribers of the New Scheme would be a challenge and one which would need to be carefully managed.
On the current Scheme residents were only entitled to one bin, a chargeable scheme would allow properties to pay for as many bins as they required. Large flats had previously been unable to participate in the Scheme the proposed New Scheme would give them the opportunity to join the Green Waste Service. The Green Waste Scheme was not appropriate for those residents without a garden as it would only dispose of garden waste i.e. grass, and would not include food waste. Eco composting at home was therefore to be encouraged as food waste would otherwise continue to go in the Black Bins. It was also noted that there was currently no black bin sifting available.
The Committee had been presented a summary of all the 7 Options, within the Green Waste Business Case, for its consideration, with the Officer’s recommendation to support Option 6. There were other options that would offer better recycling opportunities but at an additional cost to the Council.
It was proposed that a policy banning garden waste from the residual waste stream (black bin) be adopted Borough wide. This Policy would be implemented by education and persuasion not enforcement. The Policy would be necessary to prevent green waste being diverted to landfill via the free Black Bin Collections. It was important to note that one could not be achieved without the other. If a chargeable scheme was implemented, there must be a no green waste in the Black Bin Policy. There were a number of constraining Policies already in place to deal with fly tipping and this was not expected to be a major issue.
The change from a free limited service to a chargeable comprehensive scheme provided the opportunity to potentially improve service whilst raising revenue to support the delivery of other essential Council Services. Several other Councils had successfully achieved such a switch; these were Bromsgrove District Council, Shepway District Council and Northumberland (Unitary) County Council.
Consultation was being developed with the Strategy Team along with the implementation of a recycling promotion campaign via the Household Recycling Centre and Borough of Poole Website. It was imperative that the scope of the Scheme, the benefits and why it was necessary to be outlined to residents as soon as possible. Customer First Advisors would need to be trained and a script provided for all aspects of the Scheme with frequently asked questions, ideally prior to any publicity starting about the Scheme.
Pricing would need to be transparent if the Service was expected to make a surplus to protect its other functions. It was anticipated that if residents perceived the price to be reasonable and could see the benefits to themselves that residents would pay for the Scheme. This had been identified by other local authorities and summarised within the Green Waste Business Case.
There was currently no consideration for the introduction of a free or discounted green waste collection service for those in receipt of state benefits. The implementation of a payment system was necessary and there needed to be a balance of environmental and financial issues.
It was noted that in respect of swapping a large black bin to a small black bin this was currently offered to residents on a voluntary basis. If a black bin however needed to be replaced it was compulsory swapped to the smaller sized bin, which had caused complaints. The implementation of a chargeable green waste scheme would be seen by residents as more favourable than a compulsory swap of the Large Bin.
Councillor Mrs Le Poidevin proposed an amendment to the Recommendation as follows, which was seconded:
“That Members agree a six week public consultation exercise for the introduction of a chargeable garden waste scheme and subsequent exclusion of garden waste from black refuse bins throughout the Borough, with the implementation of the Proposed Scheme being subject to the outcome of the Consultation and a further report to Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8th September 2011.”
On being put to the Vote the amendment was CARRIED unanimously.
RECOMMENDED that Cabinet agree a six week public consultation exercise for the introduction of a chargeable garden waste scheme and subsequent exclusion of garden waste from black refuse bins throughout the Borough, with the implementation of the Proposed Scheme being subject to the outcome of the Consultation and a further report to Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8 September 2011.
FOR – UNANIMOUS
EOS11.11 BEACH MASTER PLAN FOR POOLE’S SEAFRONT BEACHES
The Head of Leisure Services advised the Committee of the aims of the proposed Beach Master Plan Document and asked that Cabinet be recommended to approve the Seafront Beaches Strategy.
The aim of the Beaches Strategy was outlined. It was critical that Poole’s Beaches became self-financing and had a sustainable future and the ‘Must Do’s’ as outlined in Appendix A of the Report were noted.