Agenda item

To receive an update from the Director of Communities and Environment about the progress made in relation to the recommendations of the 2018 scrutiny inquiry into waste management services.

The report of the Head of Democratic Services, sets out the progress made in responding to the recommendations arising from the Scrutiny Board’s earlier inquiry into Waste Management Services.

The following were in attendance for this item:

o  Councillor Rafique, Executive Member for Environment and Active Lifestyles

o  James Rogers, Director of Communities and Environment

o  Helen Freeman, Chief Officer, Environmental Services

o  John Woolmer, Deputy Chief Officer, Waste Management

o  Mandy Snaith, Civic Enterprise Leeds

The following Members were in attendance representing the signatories:

o  Councillor P Wadsworth (Scrutiny Referrer)

o  Councillor M Robinson

o  Councillor C Campbell

o  Councillor D Blackburn

The following information was appended to the report, and considered by Members:

o  Recommendation tracking flowchart (Appendix 1)

o  Recommendation tracking (Appendix 2)

o  Proposed End of Day Report Template & Glossary (Appendix 3)

o  Waste Strategy for Leeds

o  Community Committee report and its appendices

Further to the meeting held 17^th October 2019, the Chair invited the referrer and each of the signatories listed in attendance to provide the Board with their views behind the referral to Scrutiny, to help the Board’s consideration and it was highlighted that:

·  The missed bins have reduced per day, but still unclear on how many houses are missed per day; the ‘end of day’ report does show an accurate representation;

·  The 48 hour recovery time. Friday/Saturday missed bins aren’t recovered until Tuesday, this is longer than 48 hours – causing obstructions on roads;

·  The ‘end of day’ report is welcomed, however the codes put onto the report, should not be down to the driver and there are management issues surrounding that;

·  The ‘end of day’ report does not share information as such where there are specific access issues and further detail needs to be added in regard to this;

·  Daily loader limits;

·  Providing higher coverage in regard to climate change;

·  Consultation with Members prior to the ‘pick up points’ being considered;

·  The brown bins are continually missed due to different crews collecting on different days. It would be a benefit to understand how crews are supervised.

The report set out for Members the status of the recommendations that Members had previously considered at the Board meeting in July 2019.

The status of recommendations were agreed as follows:

Recommendation 1 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 2 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 3 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 4 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 5 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 6 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 7 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 8 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 9 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 10 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 11 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 12 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 13– 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

Recommendation 14 – 4 - Not fully implemented (Progress made acceptable. Continue monitoring.)

The Board discussed the following points:

·  Recommendation 1 – expansion of framework contracts. A Member sought clarity on the enforcement and statistics of fly-tipping. In responding, officers explained that the recommendation response looked at how waste could be collected in areas that had communal bins and it was confirmed further information in regard to this can be provided to Members.

·  Recommendation 3 – communication and social media engagement. A recent increase in the amount of materials households can include in their recycling bins was welcomed. However, a member queried why this had not been communicated to councillors.It was confirmed that this had been a quick contractual arrangement and had not yet been communicated to Members. However, the Executive Member for Environment and Active Lifestyles will be producing monthly updates for Members and this information is set to be included in the first of those.

·  Recommendation 7 – side waste policy. A Member queried whether the policy surrounding side waste would be revised. In responding, officers confirmed the work included looking at solutions in high density areas such as Harehills, Headingley and Hyde Park and why those issues are re-occurring; once that has been identified, behaviours can be influenced on green bin usage. Following those solutions, an updated side waste policy can be looked at to reflect the changes made.

·  Recommendation 8 – in-cab technology. Members queried whether the use of in-cab technology would be included in job specifications for staff. It was confirmed that this would be a requirement to ensure the effectiveness of the technology being used. In addition, the service are part way through the development programme for ensuring Crew Chargehands are in place and this would help identify where existing problems are.

·  Recommendation 9 – waste disposal facilities. Discussions focused on the collaboration with City Development in ensuring the appropriate bin store locations are implemented into the layout of planning applications. Officers informed the Board that practical conversations with planning colleagues are held in regard to street design and access. The Deputy Chief Officer, Waste Management, suggested that planning colleagues spend time with the crews to highlight the issues with access. It was suggested that members involved in the East Leeds Extension use this locality as a test case for collaboration between waste management and planning services.

·  Recommendation 10 – fleet upgrade. Members were provided with an update, and were informed 36 vehicles are in place and that 50% of the fleet has already been replaced. In addition to this, there are 18 spare vehicles within the fleet – the issue surrounding breakdowns will likely be improved when the fleet has been replaced with the new vehicles.

·  Recommendation 14 – provision of customer access information. In responding to when residents be able to access available information, Members heard that by summer 2020, the public would be able to view information at the end of every day.

In responding to the points raised, the Director of Communities and Environment explained that the refuse service collect an average of 70 thousand bins every working day of the week and have a collection rate of 99.94%, which is measured after 48 hours. It was reiterated that the service are undergoing a comprehensive review, with a re-design of routes across the city (implementation during 2020) – with the changes made, an improvement to the ‘end of day’ report was expected. Furthermore, the Chief Officer, Environmental Services added that improvements are already being made by the service in regard to recycling, social media improvements, expanding bottle banks and increasing electrical equipment.

Members acknowledged that the comments raised were covered under the recommendations that will be monitored further by the Scrutiny Board. On that basis, the Board agreed to not refer this matter again, and that a report on the progress of the recommendations, would be provided in six months.

RESOLVED – The Scrutiny Board (Environment, Housing and Communities): 

a)  Noted that the contents of the report, the appendices, along with members comments raised during the meeting;

b)  Agreed the position status of the recommendations as set out above;

c)  Agreed not to pursue an additional inquiry, on the basis that an update report on the status of the recommendations would be brought back to the Board in six months.