Agenda item

This Council recognises the importance that Leeds residents place on waste and recycling services and believes that a more ambitious strategy is called for to deliver long overdue improvements to these services.

Council therefore calls for the development of a waste and recycling strategy that will see:

·  An expansion to a 12 month brown bin collection service that is accessible to all those that need it;

·  Kerbside glass collections for all Leeds residents;

·  An expanded food waste service;

·  An increase on the current 38.5% recycling rate in Leeds to ensure that the 50% target is met by 2020.

This Council is also concerned about the hugely unpopular charges for inert waste introduced this year, especially given that a Council Tax increase of 4.99% has also been passed on to Leeds residents, and believes that these charges should be immediately reversed.

Council notes the report to Executive Board in November 2017 but believes that this strategy was lacking in ambition and should be revisited with renewed energy to ensure that Leeds residents can access a service that meets their needs in terms of commonly recycled items and also serves to increase the city’s recycling rate that has been in significant decline in recent years.

It was moved by Councillor B Anderson, seconded by Councillor Wadsworth that this Council recognises the importance that Leeds residents place on waste and recycling services and believes that a more ambitious strategy is called for to deliver long overdue improvements to these services.

Council therefore calls for the development of a waste and recycling strategy that will see:

·  An expansion to a 12 month brown bin collection service that is accessible to all those that need it;

·  Kerbside glass collections for all Leeds residents;

·  An expanded food waste service;

·  An increase on the current 38.5% recycling rate in Leeds to ensure that the 50% target is met by 2020.

This Council is also concerned about the hugely unpopular charges for inert waste introduced this year, especially given that a Council Tax increase of 4.99% has also been passed on to Leeds residents, and believes that these charges should be immediately reversed.

Council notes the report to Executive Board in November 2017 but believes that this strategy was lacking in ambition and should be revisited with renewed energy to ensure that Leeds residents can access a service that meets their needs in terms of commonly recycled items and also serves to increase the city’s recycling rate that has been in significant decline in recent years.

An amendment was moved by Councillor J Bentley, seconded by Councillor Golton

Insert before final paragraph:

“Council further regrets the administration’s failure to implement its plans to rationalise bin routes and urges it to complete this without delay thus achieving over £1 million of productivity savings that could be spent on service expansion and improvements”

A second amendment was moved by Councillor Yeadon, seconded by Councillor Garthwaite

Remove all after “This Council recognises the importance that Leeds residents place on waste and recycling services…” and replace with:

“…and notes the ambitious review of the City’s Waste Strategy that is currently underway.

Council notes that the Waste Strategy Review outlined at November’s Executive Board will fully assess the feasibility of a number of recycling opportunities including expanding our food waste collection service and introducing kerbside glass collections. Council supports the formation of a cross-party working group to help inform the review.

Council notes that despite significant budget pressures it has already been agreed that brown bin collections will be expanded to cover all suitable properties in the city over the coming months.

This Council recognises that pressures affecting the international market for recycling have resulted in a drop in the amount recycled both in Leeds and nationwide, evidencing the need for government to invest in local recycling infrastructure in order to make the UK more self-sufficient.

This Council calls on government to move from solely focussing on recycling rates towards a focus on the overall reduction of waste, by moving to more meaningful targets which include recycling, but also the overall level of waste arising per head of population.

Council also calls on government to put greater responsibility on the producers of waste to pay for the treatment and disposal of the products they create.”

The amendment in the name of Councillor J Bentley was declared lost.

The amendment in the name of Councillor Yeadon was carried and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED – This Council recognises the importance that Leeds residents place on waste and recycling services and notes the ambitious review of the City’s Waste Strategy that is currently underway.

Council notes that the Waste Strategy Review outlined at November’s Executive Board will fully assess the feasibility of a number of recycling opportunities including expanding our food waste collection service and introducing kerbside glass collections. Council supports the formation of a cross-party working group to help inform the review.

Council notes that despite significant budget pressures it has already been agreed that brown bin collections will be expanded to cover all suitable properties in the city over the coming months.

This Council recognises that pressures affecting the international market for recycling have resulted in a drop in the amount recycled both in Leeds and nationwide, evidencing the need for government to invest in local recycling infrastructure in order to make the UK more self-sufficient.

This Council calls on government to move from solely focussing on recycling rates towards a focus on the overall reduction of waste, by moving to more meaningful targets which include recycling, but also the overall level of waste arising per head of population.

Council also calls on government to put greater responsibility on the producers of waste to pay for the treatment and disposal of the products they create.

On the requisition of Councillors C Campbell and J Bentley the voting on Councillor J Bentley’s amendment was recorded as follows;

YES – 30

B Anderson, C Anderson, J Bentley, S Bentley, A Blackburn, D Blackburn, Buckley, Campbell, Amanda Carter, Cleasby, Cohen, Collins, Downes, Elliott, Finnigan, Flynn, Gettings, Golton, Harrand, Lamb, G Latty, P Latty, Leadley, J Procter, Robinson, Varley, Wadsworth, Wilford, Wilkinson and Wood.

NO – 51

 Akhtar, Blake, Bruce, Congreve, Coulson, Coupar, Dawson, Gabriel, Garthwaite, P Grahame, R Grahame, Groves, C Gruen,  P Gruen, Hamilton, Harland, Harper, Hayden, Heselwood, A Hussain, G Hussain, Hyde, Illingworth, Iqbal, Jarosz, Khan, J Lewis, R Lewis, Lowe, Lyons, Macniven, J McKenna, S McKenna, Mulherin, Nagle, Nash, Ogilvie, Pryor, Rafique, Ragan, Renshaw, Ritchie, Selby, Smart, E Taylor, Towler, Truswell, Venner, Wakefield, Walshaw and Yeadon.

ABSTAIN - 1

Dunn