Agenda item

This Council calls for a comprehensive review of waste management services to ensure they are providing value for money for Leeds residents and meeting our climate goals.

 

Council regrets that the cost of the refuse collection service rose significantly in 2021/22 at the same time as residents saw a marked drop in performance. It is unacceptable that even now, as pandemic restrictions have eased, many areas are still experiencing an unreliable service with frequent missed collections causing significant disruption.

 

Council further regrets the length of time it took the administration to finally remove charges for bulky waste collections, something opposition groups have long called for as a way of helping to reduce fly-tipping. The refusal to act earlier undoubtedly had a financial and environmental impact that could have been avoided.

 

Council welcomes the government’s increased investment in Defra and its support for the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste by 2028. This includes government funding to implement free local authority food waste collections. But Council believes the Council administration must do more to improve the recycling offer in Leeds.

 

Council calls for an urgent report to Executive Board setting out the following:

 

• Development of an action plan to target and rapidly improve performance in areas that have suffered from repeated missed bin collections;
• The scrapping of inert waste charges, as part of wider efforts to reduce flytipping;

·  Implementation of an improved recycling offer for Leeds residents that includes: glass recycling, enhanced garden waste collections, and food waste collections.

It was moved by Councillor Wadsworth, seconded by Councillor Harrington that  this Council calls for a comprehensive review of waste management services to ensure they are providing value for money for Leeds residents and meeting our climate goals.

 

Council regrets that the cost of the refuse collection service rose significantly in 2021/22 at the same time as residents saw a marked drop in performance. It is unacceptable that even now, as pandemic restrictions have eased, many areas are still experiencing an unreliable service with frequent missed collections causing significant disruption.

 

Council further regrets the length of time it took the administration to finally remove charges for bulky waste collections, something opposition groups have long called for as a way of helping to reduce fly-tipping. The refusal to act earlier undoubtedly had a financial and environmental impact that could have been avoided.

 

Council welcomes the government’s increased investment in Defra and its support for the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste by 2028. This includes government funding to implement free local authority food waste collections. But Council believes the Council administration must do more to improve the recycling offer in Leeds.

 

Council calls for an urgent report to Executive Board setting out the following:

 

·  Development of an action plan to target and rapidly improve performance in areas that have suffered from repeated missed bin collections;

·  The scrapping of inert waste charges, as part of wider efforts to reduce flytipping;

Implementation of an improved recycling offer for Leeds residents that includes: glass recycling, enhanced garden waste collections, and food waste collections.

 

An amendment was moved by Councillor Hart-Brooke, seconded by Councillor Downes

 

After the final bullet point ending “and food waste collections”, add an additional bullet point to read:

 

·  Identify technical best practise, key industrial potential partners, suitable locations and provisional costings so that as funds become available Leeds can truly be “Best City” by having shovel ready projects scoped and ready to progress swiftly.

 

 

The amended White Paper would then read:

 

This Council calls for a comprehensive review of waste management services to ensure they are providing value for money for Leeds residents and meeting our climate goals.

 

Council regrets that the cost of the refuse collection service rose significantly in 2021/22 at the same time as residents saw a marked drop in performance. It is unacceptable that even now, as pandemic restrictions have eased, many areas are still experiencing an unreliable service with frequent missed collections causing significant disruption.

 

Council further regrets the length of time it took the administration to finally remove charges for bulky waste collections, something opposition groups have long called for as a way of helping to reduce fly-tipping. The refusal to act earlier undoubtedly had a financial and environmental impact that could have been avoided.

 

Council welcomes the government’s increased investment in Defra and its support for the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste by 2028. This includes government funding to implement free local authority food waste collections. But Council believes the Council administration must do more to improve the recycling offer in Leeds.

 

Council calls for an urgent report to Executive Board setting out the following:

 

·  Development of an action plan to target and rapidly improve performance in areas that have suffered from repeated missed bin collections;

·  The scrapping of inert waste charges, as part of wider efforts to reduce flytipping;

·  Implementation of an improved recycling offer for Leeds residents that includes: glass recycling, enhanced garden waste collections, and food waste collections.

·  Identify technical best practise, key industrial potential partners, suitable locations and provisional costings so that as funds become available Leeds can truly be “Best City” by having shovel ready projects scoped and ready to progress swiftly.

 

A second amendment was moved by Councillor Forsaith, seconded by Councillor A Blackburn

 

Delete all after the first paragraph and insert:

 

“Council acknowledges the significant challenges that the refuse collection service has been under since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.  With the lifting of pandemic restrictions Council expects the return of a reliable service without frequent missed collections causing disruption.

 

Council is aware of the significant impact that increasing amounts of waste have on the environment, and that tackling waste creation and management must be part of its Climate and Ecological Emergency response. The reduction of the amount of waste produced by residents in Leeds would have significant and positive financial benefits for individuals, families, businesses, organisations and the Council. 

 

Council calls for a report to the Executive Board to be submitted by December 2022 setting out an action plan based on the principles of reduce first, then reuse, repurpose, recycle before discard, together with the development of local neighbourhood sharing facilities such as free book, toy and tool libraries, and repair cafes, linked to job creation and training.”

 

 

So that the motion reads:

 

“This Council calls for a comprehensive review of waste management services to ensure they are providing value for money for Leeds residents and meeting our climate goals.

 

Council acknowledges the significant challenges that the refuse collection service has been under since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.  With the lifting of pandemic restrictions Council expects the return of a reliable service without frequent missed collections causing disruption.

 

Council is aware of the significant impact that increasing amounts of waste have on the environment, and that tackling waste creation and management must be part of its Climate and Ecological Emergency response. The reduction of the amount of waste produced by residents in Leeds would have significant and positive financial benefits for individuals, families, businesses, organisations and the Council. 

 

Council calls for a report to the Executive Board to be submitted by December 2022 setting out an action plan based on the principles of reduce first, then reuse, repurpose, recycle before discard, together with the development of local neighbourhood sharing facilities such as free book, toy and tool libraries, and repair cafes, linked to job creation and training.”

 

A third amendment was moved by Councillor Rafique, seconded by Councillor Bithell

 

Delete all and replace with:

 

“This Council thanks all staff in the waste management service who worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure the city’s bins were collected despite the challenge of multiple lockdowns, restrictions, the significant increase in household waste, and pressures caused by Covid-19.

 

Council welcomes additional measures to support the waste management service agreed by Executive Board in December, including the new Serious Environmental Crime Team to target organised environmental crime in the city.

 

Council is however concerned by whistleblowing reports that national efforts to deter polluters have been held back by Government cuts to the Environment Agency’s funding for environmental protection work, from £170m in 2010 to £94m last year.

 

Council notes that in Leeds, unlike many Conservative run councils elsewhere in Yorkshire, residents benefit from free bulky waste and free garden waste collections.

 

Council welcomes that the review of refuse collection routes delayed by the pandemic has now restarted and is expected to complete later this year, and commits to continued collaborative engagement with trade unions and staff to ensure the redesigned routes are as efficient and effective as possible.”

 

The amendments in the name of Councillor Hart-Brooke and Councillor Forsaith were declared lost the amendment in the name of Councillor Rafique was carried and upon being put to the vote it was

 

RESOLVED –That this Council thanks all staff in the waste management service who worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure the city’s bins were collected despite the challenge of multiple lockdowns, restrictions, the significant increase in household waste, and pressures caused by Covid-19.

 

Council welcomes additional measures to support the waste management service agreed by Executive Board in December, including the new Serious Environmental Crime Team to target organised environmental crime in the city.

 

Council is however concerned by whistleblowing reports that national efforts to deter polluters have been held back by Government cuts to the Environment Agency’s funding for environmental protection work, from £170m in 2010 to £94m last year.

 

Council notes that in Leeds, unlike many Conservative run councils elsewhere in Yorkshire, residents benefit from free bulky waste and free garden waste collections.

 

Council welcomes that the review of refuse collection routes delayed by the pandemic has now restarted and is expected to complete later this year, and commits to continued collaborative engagement with trade unions and staff to ensure the redesigned routes are as efficient and effective as possible.”