Agenda item

The Environmental Services Manager presented a report concerning the introduction of a food waste collection service in Bromsgrove District.

Cabinet was advised that the Environment Act 2021 had introduced a new statutory duty for local authorities to provide a weekly food waste collection service.  Confirmation had not yet been provided to the Council on the new burdens funding that would be made available by the Government to the authority to help cover the costs of delivering this service.  However, it was anticipated that the Council would receive an additional circa £900,000 to cover the costs of new caddies and outdoor bins for household use for the food waste. 

At a local level, there were space issues at Bromsgrove depot in relation to accommodating a new vehicle or vehicles for the delivery of a food waste collection service.  These vehicles could not be accommodated alongside the existing fleet.  Officers had concluded that it would not be viable to purchase more land to accommodate the additional vehicles, so this was not considered to be a suitable option for the Council at this time.

Taking into account existing pressures and uncertainties, Officers were proposing that the Council should procure the food waste collection service through a private sector company.  Ideally, the Council would have aimed to deliver the service inhouse, but this was not considered to be feasible at this stage.  The proposal was to procure the service for a period of up to eight years.

To maximise interest in this opportunity within the private sector, Bromsgrove District Council would aim to procure this service jointly with Redditch Borough Council and Wyre Forest District Council.  There was no guarantee that the procurement exercise would be successful.  However, if the procurement process was unsuccessful, the Council could report back to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) highlighting the issues that had been experienced and a request would then be submitted to extend the deadline for the introduction of the service in the District.

Once the report had been presented, Members discussed the following matters in detail:

·             The procurement of an external provider for the food waste collection service and the implications for other waste collection services.  Cabinet was advised that existing services would be unaffected and would continue to be delivered inhouse.

·             The potential for the risks to the authority arising from the introduction of a food waste collection service to be reduced through procurement of a third party to deliver the service.  Officers explained that these risks would also be shared with Redditch Borough and Wyre Forest District Council by undertaking joint procurement.

·             The consultation that had already been undertaken with representatives of the Trades Unions and staff employed in the Waste Collection team to explain the rationale for the proposed way forward in this instance.

·             The soft market testing exercise that had been undertaken by five Worcestershire authorities, including Bromsgrove District Council, prior to this date and the extent to which the lack of interest expressed by private sector organisations at this time reflected the potential interest in the proposed contract with the public sector.  Officers explained that it was not unusual to not attract interest in soft market testing exercises because they were not guaranteed to result in contract work.  Therefore, this could not be regarded as representative of the likely outcome of the procurement exercise.

·             The dates when Redditch Borough and Wyre Forest District Councils were due to consider this issue.  Officers clarified that the Redditch Executive Committee was due to consider the matter at a meeting on 14^th January 2025 and it was anticipated that Wyre Forest District Council would discuss the matter in February 2025.

·             The timeframes for undertaking the procurement exercise.  Cabinet was advised that the aim was to go out to tender in spring 2025.

·             The forthcoming deadline, in spring 2026, for Councils to introduce a food waste collection service and the implications of possible non-compliance.  Members were advised that as long as the Council had a clear plan in place the authority would not be failing in terms of compliance.

·             The lack of anaerobic digestors in Worcestershire to dispose of the food waste and the implications of this situation.  Officers explained that Worcestershire County Council was responsible for disposal of the waste and once the food waste was loaded onto the vehicles, the County Council needed to direct District Councils on where this waste should be disposed.

·             The extent to which the Council would be able to meet the Government’s deadline to introduce the food waste collection service if this was not outsourced to the private sector.  Officers confirmed that the Council was unlikely to meet the deadline if a decision was taken to deliver this service inhouse at this stage.

·             The benefits arising from outsourcing this service, which would include the potential to share risks with other authorities, to gather data on service delivery and to use that data to inform decisions taken in eight years’ time.

·             The forthcoming requirement for an additional circa 9,000 houses to be developed in Bromsgrove District, under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the extent to which this had been taken into account when planning arrangements for the collection and disposal of food waste.

·             The extent to which there were risks associated with food collection, including pests, and how these risks would be addressed.

·             Long-haul disposal arrangements for food waste and the arrangements for use of transfer stations.

·             The smaller bins that had been suggested by DEFRA.  Members commented that this was unlikely to be welcomed by local residents.

·             The potential for a similar food waste disposal system to Norway to be introduced in Bromsgrove and the challenges involved in this.  Officers clarified that the system in the UK was less advanced than in parts of the continent and unfortunately not set up to be as progressive.

·             The extent to which householders were likely to continue to dispose of food waste in their grey bins.

·             The concerns that some residents might have about using slop buckets in their homes.

·             The potential for food waste to be comingled with other sources of waste and collected at the same time.  Cabinet was advised that the Environment Act placed a legal requirement for food waste to be collected separately on a weekly basis.

·             The patterns in terms of food waste collection that had emerged in parts of the country where this service had already been introduced.  Members were asked to note that some householders would not use the service every week whilst other residents would not use the service at all.

·             The likelihood that some residents would continue to dispose of food waste in their compost bins.

·             The potentially different food waste patterns that might emerge over time across the various districts in the county.

·             The need to encourage residents to reduce the amount of food that they wasted.

·             The arrangements that would be in place should the successful company through the procurement process go into administration.  Officers advised that there would be appropriate insurance arrangements in place to address this risk.  Working with other local authorities would also help to offset this risk.

·             The risk that some residents would leave caddies outside their properties creating an unsightly appearance.  Officers explained that communications would be issued in relation to this matter.

·             The reasons why the Council had opted for an eight-year length for the proposed contract.  Cabinet was advised that this would help to affray the financial costs involved.  For a shorter contract, a private sector company was likely to require the same financial investment from the authority but over a shorter period of time and this could be difficult for the Council to manage.

·             The vehicles that would be purchased for the delivery of the food waste collection service and whether the Council would own these vehicles.  Officers explained that the third-party company would own the vehicles.  There would be the option for the organisation to sell or transfer the asset to the Council’s ownership at the end of the eight years, however, the general lifespan of a vehicle such as this tended to be eight years.

·             The potential for the Council to purchase land to accommodate a food waste collection service.  Officers reiterated that this option was not considered to be viable as there was not sufficient time remaining to enable the Council to provide this service inhouse in time to meet the Government’s deadline.

·             The work that had been undertaken to date to highlight with DEFRA that the Council lacked capacity at the depot to accommodate a food waste collection service.  Officers confirmed that this issue had been raised with DEFRA but, like other authorities that had raised this issue, officers had been advised that this was the Council’s issue to resolve.

During consideration of this item, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, Councillor P. McDonald, was invited to address the Cabinet on behalf of the Board.  Members were advised that the report had been pre-scrutinised at a meeting of the Board held on 6^th January 2025.  Whilst the Committee had not proposed any specific recommendations on this subject, concerns had been raised about the extent to which it was likely that there would be interest within the private sector to deliver this service.  Cabinet was therefore asked to take into account the potential need for a “plan B” moving forward, in case initial plans could not be progressed.

Based on these concerns, Members discussed the potential to introduce an additional proposal as part of the decision making on this report.  This was worded in the following manner:

“Officers to consider arrangements should procurement of a food waste collection service be unsuccessful.”

Members commented that this additional proposal would help to ensure that the Council continued to take action, in light of the tight deadlines, even if the procurement process was unsuccessful.

RESOLVED that

1)          Subject to the outcome of negotiations, the Council approves the introduction of a joint Food Waste Collection Service, working with Redditch Borough Council and Wyre Forest District Council to deliver the authority’s statutory duties under the Environment Act 2021 regarding a Food Waste Collection service;

2)          Delegated authority be granted to the Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services following consultation with the Section 151 Officer, the Principal Solicitor (Contracts, Commercial and Procurement) and the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Environmental Services respectively to, subject to the agreement of recommendations 1 and 4:

a)          to negotiate and agree terms with Redditch Borough Council and Wyre Forest District Council to enter into a joint tender for a shared food waste collection service;

b)          tender and award a dedicated weekly food waste collection service through a third party for a period of 8 years commencing no later than 31 March 2026.

3)          Officers to consider arrangements should procurement of a food waste collection service be unsuccessful.

RECOMMENDED that

4)          The Council allocate £1,000,000 Revenue Funding in the Medium-Term Financial Plan as an operational budget from 2026/27 to fund the Food Waste Collection Service in the Borough, as accounted for within tranche 1 of the budget.