Issue - meetings

(Contracts Delivery – Cllr R Balcombe) To agree to the adoption of the Waste Strategy for Essex 2024-2054 in the form appended to this report (Appendix 1) (C-020-2024-25).

That the Cabinet agreed to the adoption of the Waste Strategy for Essex 2024-2054 in the form appended to the agenda report (Appendix 1).

The Leader introduced the report on the Waste Strategy for Essex that set a clear ambition and commitment to reduce the impact on our environment of dealing with the things we threw away. This 30-year strategy for Essex had been jointly developed by the Borough, City and District Councils with Essex County Council (ECC). It provided a framework for waste management informing the future design of waste services and our joined-up approach to waste treatment and disposal. This report presented the findings of the recent public consultation on the draft strategy prepared by the Essex Waste Partnership (EWP) and was seeking approval to adopt the Waste Strategy for Essex 2024-2054.The strategy identified the things we needed to do, the challenges we needed to address and would shape our future work.

Councillor S Murray asked if the waste strategy would end up with comprehensive waste policies at the Essex recycling centres. The Contracts Service Director (J Warwick) advised that the strategy would be looking at this, but he would clarify this with the EWP.

Councillor Jon Whitehouse queried where the strategy dealt with the balance in recycling and the convenience of separating waste? The Contracts Service Director replied that as this was a County strategy it was not proposing how individual local authorities collected their waste. EFDC was looking to simplify waste collections. A report on using a blue wheeled bin for all recycling would go to Place Scrutiny Committee, then to the Cabinet meeting on 11 November 2024. EFDC’s recycling credits might be less if the recycling was not of good quality. The frequency of our collections and the types of recycling that were going to be collected still had to be determined.

Councillor C Pond was concerned by the strategy as a lot of waste would be incinerated. Could the Council ensure the effects on residents were minimised as an extra wheelie bin was not ideal for smaller properties? This was also an opportunity for householders to buy into the process, but he did not agree with charging for collecting garden waste. The Leader advised that the next step was for EFDC to develop its own waste strategies. Members would be involved in this scrutiny as well as residents. EFDC’s new waste company was not currently charging for green waste collections.

The report set out the options considered, if any, and the reasons for the recommendation and the decision.

Decision:

That the Cabinet agreed to the adoption of the Waste Strategy for Essex 2024-2054 in the form appended to the agenda report (Appendix 1).