Agenda item

The Committee considered the report presented by the Business Manager Transport & Waste Services which provided a progress update for bringing the Garden Waste service back to Newark and Sherwood District Council from properties currently served by Rushcliffe Borough Council and Mansfield District Council.

The report provided an update on bringing the garden waste service ‘in-house’, the financials provided within the Business Case, the service pricing and the expansion of the service.

The Business Manager Transport & Waste Services informed Committee that the expected numbers from the business case for brown bins was to date 8,262 a decrease of 36 bins from when the report had been written.  If the Council were to hold the current price of £35 per bin then the net income would be reduced by £10,500 from the figures quoted in the original business case.

A Member requested that some residents in the district had large gardens and required two brown bins and asked the Council to consider a reduction in the cost for a second bin, this would also encourage the recycling of green waste. The Business Manager Transport & Waste Services confirmed that a study was being undertaken regarding the green waste service, part of which would be a viability study into the use of Garden Sacks for smaller properties. The reduction for additional bins would be reviewed as some residents in the district had multiple bins.

A Member commented that some residents in the district had unused brown bins sat in their gardens as they had stopped paying for the service and asked when those bins would be collected.  The Business Manager Transport & Waste Services confirmed that those residents would be contacted to try and persuade them to renew the service as there was a high cost for collection.  A project however would be put together to establish where the unused bins were located and a group collection would be undertaken.

A Member sought clarification regarding the recycling of sweet tubs and plastic takeaway tubs and which bin they should be disposed in.  It was confirmed that a group meeting had taken place regarding plastic packaging.  It had been confirmed that the polymer contained within a confectionary plastic tub was the same as a margarine tub, Veolia had confirmed that it was the size of the tub that affected recycling.  Work was being undertaken to try and resolve this matter.

A Member commented that one hundred Christmas trees had been dumped in the district and asked how the Council could encourage residents to recycle their Christmas trees.  The Business Manager Transport & Waste Services confirmed that there was a recycling programme in place.  Officers considered that it was likely that the dumped trees were from a company that had overstocked and subsequently dumped them rather than ones collected from domestic properties.  The Council offered a recycling scheme every year for the collection of Christmas trees, 272 residents used the scheme in 2018 and 353 to date in 2019 to recycle their trees.

AGREED           (unanimously) that:

(a)           Members note the updates within the report;

(b)         Recommendation to the Policy & Finance Committee, the   removal of the £280,590 no longer required for the RCV’s from          the capital programme in order to reallocate the capital receipts      to other projects; and

(c)                Members endorse amendment of the Garden Waste Service          charge from £37 to £35 for 2020/21 and recommend to the       Policy and Finance Committee.