The Chair welcomed those present.

Apologies were received from Councillor Ian Manders.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 January were agreed as an accurate record.

Item 8 on the agenda would be brought to the start of the meeting.

The Partenrship Director introduced the report, an update covering food and green waste, HRRCs and residual waste treatment services for the period 1 April 22 until 31 December 22. The Partnership Director outlined the current contracts and providers of those contracts.  Appendix B provided additional informaton on aerobic digestion facilities following the reqest form the previous meeting for futher dtails on this. 

There were no operational issues to report, all contracts were performing well.

There was a 16% reduction in green waste and an 11% drop in food waste from kerbside collections, seasonal fluctuations are normal, last year’s dry weather is likely to expalin the signfiicant drop.

The Partnership conitnues to undertake customer satisfaciton surveys in relation to HRRCs and a summary dashboard is available on the SLWP website, the HRRCs consistently achieve over 80% satisfaction rates.  Fruther analysis shows that all HRRCs have seen a drop in tonnage brought to the site, 22% reduction at Kimpton Park Way, 14% at Fishers, 2% at Garth Road and 1% at Factory Lane. 

There has been a significant drop in the amount of green waste brought to HRRCs since 2016, showing a move away form individuals driving to HRRCs and using kerbisde collections instead.

Veolia are working on a summer toy giveaway, over 100 games and toys donated and charities invited to sites to collect toys.

There have been 2 excedences of emissions at he ERF, though the Environment Agency is likely to consider this abnormal operation rather than a breach of permit.  The Environment Agency has received over 500 responses to a consultation on permit variation, and are expected to make a decision towards the end of the month.

In response to questions, the Partnership Director confirmed that:

-       Veolia provide a range of services, the HRRC contract also comes to an end in 2025, it is not expected to have an impact on HRRC service once the collection service expires, mobilisation and dmeobilisation plans will be in place.

-       SLWP have been doing a lot of campaigns and activities in relation to food waste, the first step is to encourage participation, the second is to highlight the amount of food waste and encourage a reduction in generation of waste. Surveys show that food waste is quite low in comparison to other areas.

-       Data suggests that there is no correlation between the introduction of rubble charging and levels of fly tipping

-       The trial in using AI to detect gas cannisters at Beddington has commenced, if the trial is successful it is hoped it will become a permanent facility.

-       There have been indications from the Environment Agency that the permit decision will be made before ethe end of April, but this is subject to change.

-       There is some correlation between policy changes and the reduction in at Kimpton around rubble charging as there is a clear reduction in soil, rubble and wood waste.  The same restrictions have not been brought in at Fishers, so the reduction does not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Partnership Director introduced the budget update.  The month 11 forecast outturn is just under the £12k against the 2022/23 budget, an underspend per borough of just under £3k.  Core budget overspend of £13k on staffing was due to interim staffing positions, there was a small underspend on document management systems.

There was an underspend on contact improvements and savings made against budget forecast on some communications projects.

The draft budget will be brought to the September meeting and agreed at the December committee meeting.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee noted the contents of the report.

The Communication Adviser presented an overview of the report, noting the new website is now built and in its final testing stage with plans to launch on 10 May 23.

The Communications Adviser shared videos about the reuse shop at Sutton and the garden waste service.

January brought phase 2 of Viridor’s ‘Leave it Out’ campaign, Sky News attended the Beddington site earlier in the year. Some school, community and industry group had visited the ERF.

Properties that repeatedly have contaminated waste are being visited to see what issues exist for them, and helping them to resolve them.

In response to questions, the Communication Adviser confirmed that:

-       There are 3 phases of monitoring food waste, the base line before the campaign, second phase at 3 weeks, so homes received a free roll of 12 liners, third phase at 6 weeks, to see if the liners have run out and if homes need to buy their own liners. 

-       The new website will provide an opportunity to add content such as the Sky News report. We are the front of seeking to resolve the gas bottle issue and if we can we will advertise our successes.

-       16-34 age group is a challenge in engaging with recycling, this may be lifestyle, they are busy, live in HMOs/flatshares, there is a study that shows they know they need to do better!  The Partnership does run campaigns with that age group in mind.

RESOLVED: That the Committee commented on and noted the contents of the report.

Councillor Woolmer proposed a deferal of this matter to a future meeting to allow members ot have more time to review the suggestions and for further discussion.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Sweeney.

RESOLVED:  That the item would be deferred to a future meeting.