Agenda and minutes

To note the attached terms of reference for the Panel that were agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 16 July 2019.

The Panel noted its terms of reference, which had been agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 16 July 2019.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 20 August 2019.

The notes of the meeting of the Task and Finish Panel held on 20 August 2019 were agreed as a correct record.

(Service Director (Contracts & Technical Services)) To consider the report (to follow).

The Service Director (Contracts & Technical Services) Q Durrani, introduced the report which detailed the work officers had undertaken to investigate further the options the Panel had focussed on at the first Panel meeting in August 2019.

(1)       Likely impact of any government decision following the recently concluded Resource and Waste Strategy Consultation

The Service Manager (Contracts), J Warwick, reported that the Government’s Resource and Waste Strategy consultations aimed to make the country a world leader in resource efficiency and waste reduction. There had been four consultations on reforming the UK packaging producer responsibility system, a plastic packaging tax, a deposit return scheme for drink containers, and consistency in household and business recycling. The Environment Bill 2019-20 had received its first reading in the House of Commons. The Government was also planning further waste strategy consultations during 2020 that would lead to new legislation being adopted. This would impact on local authorities by 2023, but officers would keep members informed of any potential changes.

Questions from the Panel included the following concerns.

·      That the Environment Bill was in abeyance as a General Election had been called for 12 December 2019;

·      That any preliminary decision by the Panel might need to be revisited in a couple of months because of the General Election;

·      That the Government had given a strong steer that garden waste should be collected and free of charge;

·      That it was a bit too early to be doing research into the collection of food waste separately;

·      That the report referred to flats not having gardens, but some did have communal gardens;

The Waste and Recycling Manager, D Marsh, replied that in flats, unless they had individual gardens, the green waste from communal gardens was commercial waste as the managing agents undertook the w ork. Food waste was defined as any type of food waste whether it was cooked or uncooked.

There were more questions around food waste and what the definition of food waste was because apple cores, for instance, could be composted. There was general consent that more effort could be made to encourage people to compost some of their food waste, i.e. vegetable food waste.

The Waste and Recycling Manager supported composting of vegetable food waste. However, the focus was on the removal of food waste from residual waste into the food waste caddy and likewise with recyclables. Therefore, the recycling of waste and correct disposal of food waste by households was being encouraged.

Councillor C C Pond commented on the further processing of waste by the residual waste further materials recovery plant at Basildon, also known as Dirty MRF, and that this recycling was a matter for discussion. Could an Essex County Council (ECC) waste disposal officer be invited to attend the next Panel meeting? The Service Director (Contract & Technical Services) replied that an invitation would be extended to the ECC Waste Disposal Team, but also our Waste and Recycling Manager would delve into past research that had been carried out by officers on this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The consider the attached work programme for the Panel that was agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 16 July 2019.

The work programme was noted.

There was no other business reported.

To note that the final meeting of the Panel will be held on 16 December 2019 at 7.00pm.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Panel would be held on 16 December 2019 at 7.00pm.