Agenda item

To receive the report of the Chief Officer, Environmental Services which provides the Inner South Community Committee with an update on the development of the revised Leeds Waste Strategy and Recycling Plan, an update on current local refuse performance and an opportunity for Members to feedback on the existing issues/challenges faced in how kerbside collections are delivered and enable a discussion on local solutions.

The report of the Chief Officer, Environmental Services provided the Inner South Community Committee with an update on the development of the revised Leeds Waste Strategy and Recycling Plan, an update on current local refuse performance and an opportunity for Members to feedback on the existing issues/challenges faced in how kerbside collections are delivered and enable a discussion on local solutions.

The Chief Officer for Environmental Services outlined the following information to the Community Committee:

·  Refuse collection in Leeds covers an estimated 800,000 people and 360,000 households, with the largest garden waste collection in the UK.

·  National legislation regarding refuse collection was set to be revised to create consistency of collection across the country, allow greater responsibility for waste creation on the private sector and for Local Authorities to create additional waste streams for different waste types, including glass, food and garden.

·  The date for the new legislation to be implemented was yet to be confirmed by the Government due to the scale of required changes, however 2025 is a rough guideline.

·  Leeds uses a bottle bank system for glass with a facility in Knottingley recycling and creating new bottles and jars. Food waste goes into the black bin, not separated from general waste, as done so by some Local Authorities.

·  New legislation will impact Leeds’ process for separate food and glass kerbside collection.

·  Producers of packaging and retailers may face fees depending on type and weight of materials used which will feed back into Local Authority revenue streams. Some concerns noted were absorbing these fees, with costs passed onto consumers and potential greenwashing if fees are paid for green waste strategies conducted by Local Authorities.

·  A new deposit return scheme for plastic and cans, where packaging can be brought back to shops, or via reverse vending machines, for money back was proposed under the new legislation and may create incentives against littering and less waste in household bins.

·  Just 0.5% of waste in Leeds goes to landfill with the rest recycled, reused or incinerated, with the ash created being used for road aggregate.

·  Data analysis from 2022 showed 14% of black bin waste was recyclables and 7% was glass. Under new legislation, routes and contracts would be designed against available data with a predicted 50-60% decrease in overall black bin waste.

·  A carbon impact model has been developed for Leeds allowing assessment as to how much carbon refuse operations produce which can be used to inform future decisions that are best for the planet.

·  The current carbon position for the whole service has a net reduction (benefit) in CO2 to contribute towards the city’s Zero carbon ambitions of about 31,000 tonnes a year.

·  The view for the future was noted as, embracing new legislation, trial blue bin glass collection and consult with Councillors and the public on new processes.

·  Localised reliability of collection information was available at page 20 of the report, with 2.5 million bins covered across the three wards. The table for missed collections was based on complaints of non-collection, the main reason for missed collection was obstructions such as cars.

·  The Council offers an assisted collection service for those who have difficulty emptying bins independently with around 6000 of these collections across the city.

·  Poor collection services were noted to have arisen during the pandemic as workers had to cover unfamiliar routes, this can also apply during summer months with crew cover over holidays. Overall service level post pandemic was noted to be recovering.

The Community Committee discussions included:

·  At the last Committee meeting, residents raised concern during the Open Forum regarding missed collections in Cottingley and disputed the obstruction claims for non-collection.

·  Issues receiving the end of day report, sent to Ward Members, detailing bins missed for collection were noted. It was outlined this report is developed through reports of non-collection.

·  In response to a question regarding the deposit return scheme, it was outlined that the logistics were not clear, there were no pilot programmes run in England to date and an upturn in glass packaging was not anticipated in response to additional costs for plastic and cans on producers and consumers.

·  Promoting the use of correct waste bins is conducted through social media and advertising, developing new green bin stickers and improved public information on where waste goes, including the incineration process.

·  If reported, a missed bin collection will generally be re-arranged for the next day with a target to be no later than 3 days after being reported.

·  A request was made for Cottingley specific, robust data to be brought to a community meeting in Beeston on the 15^th of March 2023 along with the refuse process for bagged waste explained.

·  With the 2^nd main reason for missed collection being roadworks, particularly those done through utility companies, it was noted that changes to start and end dates for the roadworks are the main issue. The commission for granting permission and enforcement for non-compliance and nuisance was queried.

·  The fall in recycling rates were noted to be fractional, reflective of national trends and the denominator is there is more being put in black bins.

·  New routes for refuse collection were under consideration, despite national legislation proposals casting some uncertainty for future processes. A draft design will be brought back for Committee Members.

·  Aggressive crew members should be reported to management. The culture of refuse workers was noted to be changing through initiatives such as regular appraisals.

·  Information regarding turning waste into electrical power, and how it fits into the wider West Yorkshire region, will be brought back to Members.

·  The response time when contacting team leaders in the refuse department with queries or complaints, was noted to take longer than expected.

·  It was confirmed that all informative stickers produced by the refuse department were under review, with a scope to be localised to wards.

·  The Middleton Park ward was noted to have 372 households as part of the assisted collection scheme, around double the amount of the two other Inner South wards. Every two years those covered under the scheme are contacted to review their need; it was suggested a link to the Housing department may be beneficial as part of the review.

·  The carbon impact model was supported as part of the Council’s Climate Emergency Declaration. 

RESOLVED - That the content of the report, along with members comments be noted.