Agenda item

Recycling and Garden Waste Service - Lessons Learned Report

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed the Portfolio Holder for Community Services, Head of Environmental Services and Street Scene and Community Manager to the meeting and invited the Portfolio Holder to introduce the report.

The Portfolio Holder for Community Services explained that neither he nor the Head of Environmental Services had been involved in the implementation of the changes to the Recycling and Garden Waste Collection Services. He summarised the Lessons Learned Report, drawing Members’ attention to the following points in particular:

The early launch of the service changes and involvement of Members, Parish Councils and the public.
The development of back office systems to assist implementation.
The adverse weather conditions which had delayed delivery of some bins, adding additional pressure to the workload.
The lack of a mechanism which “pinpointed” a bin to a particular property.
The underestimate of the number of additional green bins required.
The funding for purchase of new brown bins, which had been insufficient for 2010 applications, and required a further order to be submitted at a later date.

Members discussed how it might have been more appropriate for this report to have been submitted to the Scrutiny Board in order for them to carry out a more in depth investigation, as they were concerned that it was often the small things which could build up and lead to adverse publicity and be detrimental to residents’ perception of the Council and its services. However, it was agreed that overall the implementation of the new service had gone well and that a larger number of homes than expected had taken up the service.

The Board discussed in detail how the charge for the service was collected and how this would work in the future. Currently this was done by either cheque or cash and the Street Scene and Community Manager confirmed that a direct debit system was being considered, although this may prove to be to difficult. It was anticipated that households would be sent a letter/invoice 2-3 months before the service would resume, allowing them an opportunity to take up the service again.

Members discussed the calendar which had been provided to residents and it was confirmed that this had caused some difficulties and had been misleading. The Head of Environmental Services confirmed that the format would be revised and that a survey of residents would be carried out shortly, covering the service as a whole. A question and answer session at the Council House was also planned. Members asked if this session could be taken out to other areas of the district and the Head of Environmental Services confirmed that this would be possible where appropriate.

The Board was informed that the Council had the highest level of uptake of the garden waste service in the County. The charge made was in line with that of other councils in the area, although it was understood that Malvern charged around £60. The service had expanded by 8% this year, which it was felt, showed that residents were happy to pay for a good service.

RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet ensure that positive publicity is taken from the success of the garden waste service.

RESOLVED that the Lessons Learned – Recycling & Garden Waste Service Report be noted.

Supporting documents: