Chris Fry, Assistant Director – Environment and Commercial Partnerships
Members to consider options for reviewing Waste Contracts, Recycling Services and Public Awareness based on the attached Waste Services Scoping report.
Minutes:
15.1 Members had before them the Waste Services Scoping Report JOS/17/8 and the Corporate Manager – Waste Services said in response to Members questions that the review currently undertaken by Serco was based on the present number of households and did not include future housing growth.
15.2 The Serco service contract was only for collecting the waste, however the contract represented the largest part of the expenditure for Waste Services. Members requested that a more detailed breakdown of this contract be provided to them.
15.3 It was established that the MRF contact was currently very beneficial to the Councils, and that it was likely that the MRF contract cost would increase when a new contract was negotiated in May 2019. It was possible to extend the contract for another two years with Viridor, but the contract would also be put out for tender on the open market.
15.4 Members requested clarification on the long term financial implication of the waste contracts, and if income from waste would increase based on the increasing number of household in Suffolk. Officers responded that that the waste market was difficult to predict, and that the international market changed all the time.
15.5 Members continued to discuss the possibilities of the financial impact on the Councils’ budgets in relation to waste contracts and asked if financial forecasts for improvement in profits generated from waste were possible. It was deemed necessary to allow the Councils to plan ahead and that that the risks involved also needed to be substantiated.
15.6 It was suggested that scrutiny of the Serco contract review and the Officer review of the waste contracts, were to be conducted in October or November 2018, before these reviews were being presented to Cabinet between October and December 2018.
15.7 Officers believed that it was likely that the formal sign off for the Serco Contract would be in April 2019.
15.8 It was clarified that there was more competition in the Babergh District for garden waste disposal sites. Members discussed the possibility of increasing waste collection but were informed that in general there were limits on the capacity at the waste processing plants, effecting the amount of waste which could be processed. It was therefore not possible to increase waste collection unless a there was a capacity for processing the waste.
15.9 It was suggested that the Councils could consider expansion of the Joint Waste Contract in the future but that this depended on a greater understanding of how waste collection and waste disposal was conducted in the Districts. This needed to be explained to Members, who could then take this information to their wards and Parish Councils.
15.10 Some Members felt that it would be beneficial to conduct a new campaign to make the public aware of what foods could be included in the compost recycling bins and the recycling of plastics. Officers responded that a leaflet campaign would cost approximately £25,000 countywide and had to be considered carefully to ensure that it would effective.
15.11 The Mid Suffolk Lead Member for Waste informed Members that the Joint waste budget was £1.4M covering 84,000 households, which in reality was an annual cost of £15.48 per house. Members agreed that this was a reasonable cost, however that it was important to ensure that the Councils received value for money, when negotiating the new waste contracts.
15.12 It was requested by the Committee that all Members to be informed about any future waste campaigns.
15.13 Three further recommendations were proposed Councillor Eburne and seconded by Councillor Osborne.
1. That the Overview and Scrutiny Committees received a report from SWP for food waste after April 2018.
2. That the cost and income be supplied to Members for the Waste services for the next five years.
3. That information for the Waste Services be supplied on a regular basis to all Members and to be included at Member briefings.
By a unanimous vote
It was RESOLVED: -
1.1 Officers to report to Joint Overview and Scrutiny in October, prior to the Cabinet report, on the outcomes of the review and possible extension of the Joint Waste Contract.
1.2 Officers to report to Joint Overview and Scrutiny in December on the outcome of the MRF procurement process.
1.3 That the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Overview and Scrutiny Committees to receive a report from Suffolk Waste Partnership for food waste after April 2018.
1.4 That the cost and income be supplied to Members for the Waste Services for the next five years.
1.5 That information for the Waste Services be supplied on a regular basis to all Members and to be included at Member briefings.
Supporting documents: