Issue - meetings

Officers from Devon County Council will be in attendance to update Members on the progress of the Community Engagement Project and the new Waste Advisor Officers, who will start this year. 

The Group received a presentation * from officers from Devon County Council and Resource Futures.

The Officer from Devon County Council updated Members on the Waste and Recycling Advisor Contract.  This contract had been agreed by the Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee, of which Mid Devon was a member. The contract funded 3 advisors who worked in all districts within Devon and Torbay.  Approximately 10 weeks per year would be spent in Mid Devon, checking contamination, visiting low recycling households, running a social media campaign.

The Officer also outlined the Community Engagement Project which was based on an Oxfordshire initiative and was funded by Devon County Council.  Its aim was to identify new and innovative ways to reduce waste and increase levels of reuse, recycling and composting by targeted communities. Tiverton had been selected as a target community for this initiative and work had been undertaken to hold a number of community vents to promote sustainable waste management such as repair cafes, community swap events and group networking events.

The officer from Resource Futures outlined the work being undertaken with Community Action Groups in Tiverton and explained their aims.  A number of groups had been set up such as Grubs Up, the Tiverton Repair Cafe and Food Champions.

Discussion took place regarding:

·       Communal waste collection points and the difficulty in identifying offenders;

·       Areas to be targeted had been identified by crews and enforcement officers;

·       Houses of multiple occupation and how site visits by officers could help with storage issues;

·       The Waste Transfer Station at Carlu Close was due to open in September and from that date the amount of waste sent to Exeter for incineration would increase with waste to landfill ultimately ceasing;

·       An analysis of bin contents that had taken place in 2012 and would be undertaken again to indicate what materials should be focused on;

·       Tiverton was the main focus for the Community Engagement Project but good practice was being shared with neighbouring areas.

·       Educational work with schools was ongoing.

The Chairman thanked the visitors for their presentations.

Note: - * Presentations attached to Minutes.