To consider any requests made by non-executive Members of the Council, and notified to the Monitoring Officer with seven clear working days’ notice, to include an item on the agenda of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee:
Cllr A Brown requested that the Committee consider the viability of implementing a food waste collection service across the District.
Minutes:
At the meeting held on 13th January 2020, Cllr A Brown requested that the Committee consider the viability of implementing a food waste collection service across the District. The DFC attended to provide an update on the process and implications of implementing a food waste collection service:
The DFC stated that during procurement of the current waste contract, a costed option for food waste collections had been included, which could be implemented at any point during the contract, provided reasonable notice was given. He added that there would be an additional cost to deliver this service, and at the time that the contract was agreed, it was not considered that the benefits would outweigh the costs. It was reported that the Government’s Environment Bill was passing through the parliamentary process, and was likely to include a number of provisions included in the Waste and Related Services Strategy, such as the mandatory collection of food waste. It was noted that the Government were likely to introduce food waste collections in 2023, though this could be subject to change. The DFC stated that it was normal for the Government to provide additional burdens funding when introducing legislation of this kind, and it was therefore prudent to wait until the exact requirements were known prior to implementation.
Questions and Discussion
i. Cllr A Brown asked whether any preparations or discussions had taken place with the Contractors, or whether this would be delayed until the outcome of the Environment Bill was known. He added that he wished to place on record his thanks to the Waste Collection Team for their continued hard work under difficult circumstances. The DFC replied that conversations with the contractor on the introduction of a food waste collection service had taken place, and would likely resume once the outcome of the Environment Bill was known, though no discussions had taken place on the potential for an earlier introduction. It was noted that there would be significant costs involved in implementing food waste collections, and these would not be covered by new burdens funding if implemented prior to becoming mandatory. As a result, the DFC advised Members that it would be prudent to wait until the outcome of the Environment Bill was known, before implementing the service. He added that an independent review of a countywide food waste collection scheme had been completed, which included consideration of cost mitigation by County Council returning the benefit of avoided disposals to Districts as recycling credits. It was noted that this would only be viable if all avoided disposal costs were returned to Districts, and would also require residual waste to move to three or four weekly collections, which could be challenging for residents.
ii. Cllr A Brown noted that food waste collection had been well received elsewhere, and noted that he was happy with the response at the current time. The Chairman suggested that it could be useful to request a report to consider the full implications of food waste collections at a more appropriate time, once the outcome of the Environment Bill was known. Cllr A Brown agreed and stated that he was happy to propose it be added to the Work Programme.
iii. Cllr G Mancini Boyle suggested that it could be possible to move residual waste collections to three weekly, if food waste collections adequately reduced the amount of residual waste produced. The Chairman suggested that this could be considered as part of the report in the future.
iv. Cllr P Heinrich noted that he would be very reluctant to see residual waste collections extended beyond the current two weeks.
v. It was proposed by Cllr W Fredericks and seconded by Cllr A Brown to add review of the implementation of a food waste collection service to the Work Programme, at a time to be agreed, once the outcome of the Environment Bill was known.
RESOLVED
To request that the Director of Communities provide a report outlining the process and associated costs of implementing a food waste collection service in North Norfolk.