Agenda item

The Head of Environmental and Housing Property Services presented a report which set out proposals for Bromsgrove District Council to fund a joint Partnership Waste Strategy Officer for Herefordshire and Worcestershire. 

Cabinet was informed that all Councils in Herefordshire and Worcestershire had worked in partnership in recent years to ensure that there was a consistent approach to waste collection services in the area.  All of the Councils in the two counties had been approached about the potential to establish and fund this joint officer post.

The post had been proposed in a context in which the Government was proposing a number of changes to waste collection services nationally and a new Environment Bill was going through the Parliamentary process.  The final content of the legislation arising from this bill remained to be confirmed, however, the bill contained proposals for Councils to introduce a food waste collection service.  There were also proposals that garden waste collection services should become free nationally and other proposals designed to ensure that service delivery became more consistent across the country.

The introduction of a food waste collection service in Bromsgrove District would cost approximately £8 million across the whole of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire region.  There would be costs of approximately £800,000 for Bromsgrove District Council arising from the introduction of this service.  This included costs arising from the need to purchase new vehicles for the service as well as staff and bins, as containers for the food waste.  Should the Council be required to cease to charge for garden waste collection services, this would result in a loss of £900,000 income for the authority.  The Government had indicated that financial support would be provided to Councils in respect of the costs arising from changes to waste services, but it was uncertain how much funding would be received by Bromsgrove District Council.

The Partnership Waste Strategy Officer would be responsible for co-ordinating the partner authorities’ response to the Government legislation in respect of waste services.  There would be a particular focus on the response of the Councils in respect of the introduction of food waste and the removal of charges for garden waste, and the Officer would ensure that a consistent approach continued to be adopted across the region.

Following the presentation of the report Members discussed a number of points in detail:

·                The potential consequences of introducing a food waste collection service.  Concerns were raised that this could encourage residents to waste food.

·                The need to educate residents about the purpose of the service and the value in terms of keeping food waste to a minimum.

·                The financial costs involved in introducing a food waste collection service in the District.

·                The frequency with which the food waste collection service would operate.  Officers explained that the Government was proposing that this should be a weekly collection service.

·                The average weight of the food waste collected by local authorities where this service was already available.  Officers advised that the average yield at these authorities was 2.4 to 4.5 kilos per household per week.

·                The traditional approach to food waste that had been adopted in Worcestershire in the past, involving the ‘love food, hate waste’ campaign.

·                The potential risks arising from the use of bins to store food waste and the possibility that this would attract rats and other pests.

·                The options available in terms of the Council acquiring dual purpose vehicles to enable the authority to collect other forms of waste alongside food waste, thereby making the service more efficient.  Officers explained that this would be an area that could be investigated further by the post holder.

·                The potential for Bromsgrove District Council to invest in an anaerobic digestor and the financial costs of doing so.  Officers explained that an anaerobic digestor cost approximately £18 – 20 million.  This would be too expensive for the Council to purchase but it was possible that there might be opportunities to work in partnership with other local authorities in the region or an organisation from the private sector to introduce an anaerobic digestor.

·                The rate of return from an anaerobic digestor.  Cabinet was advised that the financial return would need to be reviewed but it was likely that there would be income as a result of the anaerobic digestor supplying gas to the national grid.

·                The higher costs in Bromsgrove in terms of delivering a food waste collection service, when compared to other authority areas, due to the large rural geographical area served by the Council.

·                The information in respect of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that had been prepared by Officers in relation to this subject and the need for this information to be shared with Members.

RECOMMENDED that

(1)       Bromsgrove District Council agree to the establishment of a Joint Waste Strategy Officer to work on behalf of the partnership of all 8 Local Authorities in Herefordshire and Worcestershire;

(2)      Bromsgrove District Council allocate £8,000 per annum from existing funds for a fixed term of three years; and

(3)      Bromsgrove District Council will consider requests for additional funding to support further work which has been identified and proposed via the partnership Senior Waste Officer Group.