Agenda item

To receive a report from the Operations Manager for Street Scene and Open Spaces setting out future options regarding the provision of the Waste and Recycling service to the residents of Mid Devon.

The Group had before it a report * from the Operations Manager for Street Scene and Open Spaces and the Head of People, Performance and Waste setting out options regarding the provision of the Waste and Recycling service to the residents of Mid Devon.

The contents of the report were outlined with particular reference to the following:

·           The raft of Government legislation on the horizon which the Council would need to comply with.

·           The Group were asked to comment on what areas it wanted officers to focus on and eventually to recommend to the Cabinet.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·           The aspiration of being able to recycle soft plastics.

·           Possible trials of re-useable nappies.

·           The practicalities involved in residents wanting to recycle pots and pans. A suggestion that Mid Devon could be pioneers in trialling something new regarding this and the recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEE).

·           The Waste and Recycling team were already doing a great job for the residents of Mid Devon and their feedback supported this view.

·           It took many hundreds of years for a nappy (or other sanitary products) to biodegrade. Some countries in Europe had found a way to recycle used nappies and incorporate the incinerated by-product into asphalt used to repair roads. Further investigations were needed and the Group were keen that this be treated as a priority in addition to the pots and pans recycling.

·           The overall ambition was to increase recycling wherever possible and as much as possible.

·           Officers needed to bring a report back to the Group, regarding the priority areas the Group had identified, showing costs, logistics, practicalities, possible trials, what other authorities were doing both nationally and internationally.

·           There was still considerable work to be done on encouraging more recycling of food waste.

·           Black bags still contained too much waste that could have been recycled.

·           Whilst the priority areas had been identified, it would be worth investigating the other suggested areas within the report to ascertain whether some could be achieved quickly and cheaply, for example, education around using instant coffee from a recyclable jar rather than using coffee pods.

RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that the financial and practical feasibility of the following areas be further investigated to ascertain whether they could be introduced as practices within the District:

·           Nappy waste collections

·           Collecting unwanted metal pots and pans

(Proposed by the Chair)

Reason for the decision

It should be noted that an increase in recycling tonnages for each material would increase our recycling credits for that material. This increase also had an effect on the income received from each product. At present this was difficult to determine due to the constant variations in market values. Shared savings through the DCC Shared Savings Scheme would potentially increase as the Council decreased waste and increased recycling.

An increase in recycling would further enable the Council to reduce its carbon footprint and hit its carbon net zero commitment. Recycling was one of the most ‘mainstream’ concepts of addressing overarching sustainability goals, therefore it was vital to make sure that the Council was maximising the effectiveness of both its scheme design, but also its operational implementation.

Note: * Report previously circulated.