Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notices of appointment of substitute Members (if any).

Apologies were received from Cllr J Norton and Cllr D Coren attended via ZOOM.

Members to note the Hybrid Meetings Protocol.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, the *Hybrid Meetings Protocol.

Note: *Protocol previously circulated and attached to the minutes

Councillors are reminded of the requirement to declare any interest, including the type of interest, and reason for that interest, either at this stage of the meeting or as soon as they become aware of that interest.

Members were reminded of the need to make declarations where appropriate.

To receive any questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and replies thereto.

Note:   A maximum of 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

There were no questions from members of the public present

Members to consider whether to approve the minutes of the last meeting of the Group as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13^th July 2021 were agreed as a true record and were duly SIGNED by the Chairman

To receive any announcements that the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

Group to receive an update from the Cabinet Member for the Environment

The Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change explained that the waste and recycling strategy supported the Councils commitment to the environment and that the 3 week bin trial would last until mid-October.

He explained that the MDDC Litter Strategy before Members today aimed to change attitudes and practices of the public and the key aspects included:

·         An awareness Campaign

·         Education

·         Infrastructure

·         Effective Enforcement

He confirmed that the workforce was facing pressure on the front line services due to vacancies, especially HGV drivers and he wanted to thank the workforce for maintaining collections.

In response to questions asked the Operations Manager for Street Scene confirmed that due to the success of WEEE collections the introduction of collections for pot and pans had been delayed but it was still the intention to offer this service in the future.

The Cabinet Member confirmed that the 3 week bin trial was going well and that were there were issues with compliance they were offering customers 1 to 1 education to encourage greater recycling.

Members raised concerns with:

·         The shortage of HGV drivers and whether agency drivers were the solution

·         The unacceptable wait for bulky waste collections in some areas of the district

The Cabinet Member assured Members that officers would look into their concerns

To receive an update an update on the Climate Change Action Plan from the Climate and Sustainability Specialist.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, a *report of the Corporate Manager Property, Leisure and Climate change giving an update on the Climate Change Action Plan.

The officer outlined the contents of the report and summaries the actions and progress in achieving the Council’s Corporate Plan aims and Climate Strategy priorities.

In response to questions asked about the damage done by Anaerobic Digesters versus the benefits and the officer explained that the Council had fed their thoughts into the Devon Climate Change Plan via the citizens assemblies.

With regard to sustainable farming practices the Corporate Manager for Property, Leisure and Climate Change explained that the new Climate website would signpost farmers to experts who could help them achieve their goals.

Consideration was given to:

·         The focus of the work of the Scrutiny Committee with regard to Anaerobic Digesters and the bio energy industry and where environmental concerns fitted into this

·         The Devon Carbon Plan had introduced a blog which people could  contribute to

·         Retro fitting of older stone properties would concentrate on the reduction of carbon as far as reasonably practical

·         LED lighting on the sports pitches would be replaced when funding was available

·         There had been very positive feedback from the public on the ZED Pods and they had on the whole been very supportive

·         If the electricity supply network would be able to support the changes required, such as increased electric car charging, to reach the Council’s Net Zero targets

·         The current limited amount of suppliers of modular housing who were accredited to tender for Local Authority contracts

·         Additional electric car charging point had been approved in the 3 main towns

·         The need for the Council to look at progressive procurement to ensure that suppliers were local and used sustainable processes

Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

A report from the Operations Manager of Street Scene summerising the consultation response to the draft Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay and proposing amendments for inclusion in the final Strategy for RECOMMENDATION to the Cabinet.

The Group had before it a *report of the Operations Manager for Street Scene which summarized the consultation response to the draft Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay.

The officer outlined the contents of the report which contained the consultation response and a proposal to reduce the waste prevention target.

The Cabinet Member for the Environment and Climate Change explained that the strategy was to align the disposal processes for waste but the individual authorities were still free to be flexible in setting their own collection policies and targets.

It was therefore RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that:

a)    That the proposed amendment to reduce the waste prevention target to 400kg/head/year by 2030 be approved and;

b)    The final Strategy be approved

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the decision: The Authority has a duty to arrange collection for household waste

Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

To provide Members of the Environment PDG with an opportunity to review the proposed draft of the Litter Strategy and RECOMMEND it to the Cabinet

The Group had before it a *report of the Operations Manager for Street Scene which presented the MDDC Litter Strategy.

The officer explained that the strategy concentrated on the impacts of littering and education of the public, and looked to work with local charities and stakeholders. It looked at the infrastructure, of where bins were located and focused on the areas with frequent littering. The strategy concentrated on problems area’s with effective enforcement and a softer approach via education.

Consideration was given to Members views which included:

·         The cost charged to Parish Councils for the collection of waste from additional litter bins was not viable for the Parishes

·         That Fixed Penalty Notices fines were not high enough and were not a deterrent

·         That education of the public was not enough and that surveillance camera’s should be utilized to catch and fine people who litter

·         That there was a perception from some Members that senior officers did not want to make difficult decisions with regard to enforcement

·         Who was going to do the education of the public?

·         The Strategy did not deal with the litter on the roads into the District

·         Some Members supported the education and prevention approach, especially with the younger generation, rather than an enforcement approach

The Deputy Chief Executive (S151) explained that Members had before them the overarching strategy for litter but what he was hearing was that Members wanted to be involved in creating more detail around the operational processes and detailed guidance.

It was therefore AGREED that the MDDC Draft Litter Strategy be deferred to enable a Working Group to be formed where Members and officers could agree a final Strategy which could be recommended to the Cabinet.

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the decision: No decision was made

Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

To receive the current work plan for the Environment PDG.

Members to agree and discuss additional items that they would like added to the work plan.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, the Environment PDG *Work Plan.

The Chairman proposed that the following items be tasked to the Net Zero Advisory Group for further investigation and possible recommendations that the PDG could recommend to the Cabinet:

·         Sustainable Procurement

·         Planning Heritage Policy

The Chairman proposed the following items be added to the Work Plan for further investigation:

·         Recycling – defined plans to introduce recycling of pots and pans and reduce the wait time for bulky waste

·         Sustainable Farming Practices

·         Western Power Distribution capacity for increased renewal energy

In addition to the above the Chairman would investigate the work proposed by the Scrutiny Committee on Anaerobic Digesters to see if additional work looking at the effect on the environment would be required.

Note: *Work Plan previously circulated and attached to the minutes