Agenda item

The Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services presented the Expansion of Commercial Waste Collection Service report for Members’ consideration.

The report detailed the requirements of the Environment Act 2021 which required businesses with more than 10 employees to separate food waste. This would expand to micro-businesses (with fewer than 10 employees) by 2027.

As detailed in the report, during 2021 and 2024 the Commercial Waste Service had delivered a surplus each year but had seen increased costs in 2023/24 as a result of wider fleet and maintenance issues that had impacted on the resilience of the service and the need for the increased use of hire vehicles.

Having recently successfully recruited into vacant positions within the workshop, and delivery of a new Domestic Waste Fleet in late 2025,these expenses were expected to reduce considerably and see a return to the Council’s previous financial performance levels. The Council was also now compliant with the Environment Act 2021.

With the unexpected exit of Dudley Metropolitan Council from the commercial waste market, this had created an immediate opportunity as well as a pressure on the Council’s service. Businesses were keen to work with a Local Authority, and a number of the authority’s peers had actively sought the Council’s support as a nearby waste provider.

This was seen as a potential to further increase the Council’s customer base in this area to maximise the efficiency of operating the service in a high-density area for businesses. With over £135,000 of new enquiries and 50+ new customers signed by April 2025, this had left the existing service with little to no capacity to take on additional customers.

The Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services highlighted that service failures could quickly result in complaints or lost contracts, and compliance failures could result in significant penalties or even the loss of the authority to operate a vehicle fleet, which would impact on all services.

By appointing a new Commercial Waste Coordinator this would address these daily risks ensuring that services were delivered to schedule and any issues were identified quickly and acted upon.

Members briefly discussed the recent communications on the Council’s social media with regards to leaving bins out until 5pm and the letters that had been sent to all residents on the ‘Changes to your wheeled bins’.

The Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services reassured Members that Officers were working with the Council’s Communications Team in order to get the message out and to make everyone aware of the new wheeled bins and the collection days / times in specific roads.

The Leader took the opportunity to thank the Assistant Director of Environmental and Housing Property Services.

RECOMMENDED that

1)     Capital Funding of £489,760 be added to the Capital Programme for 2026/27 to purchase two Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCV’s)

2)     the Council allocate Capital funding of £35,000 annually in the Medium-Term Financial Plan from the 2025/26 financial year to fund wheeled bins for Commercial Services.

3)     the Council allocate £334,342 Revenue Funding in the Medium-Term Financial Plan to fund operational costs of providing the expanded service from 2025/26.