Agenda item

(James Warwick - Acting Service Director (Contracts)) To consider and comment on the Litter Strategy.

J Warwick (Acting Service Director (Contracts) introduced the Litter Strategy and advised the Committee that the Strategy would support the commitment to Government’s Litter Strategy for England, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (2019), and reflected residents desire for a clean and healthy environment free from litter, fly-tipping and dog waste. The Litter Strategy set out the legal duty, accountability, and enforcement actions. The priority for the Litter Strategy was to prevent litter through education with partners. The Council would continue to work in partnership with a range of voluntary groups, other authorities and partners to prevent litter and would continue to support national initiatives. The Committee were informed that five litter picks had been completed and seventy-two bags of litter collected during the Great British Spring Clean.  There had also been sixteen applications for support for equipment for litter picks, fifteen of these had been completed.

Members of the Committee suggested:

·       that the strategy lacked specifics including specific aims and objectives

·       the document could be improved through the realignment and strengthening of sections. 

·       the enforcement section should be strengthened and could contain details of FPN, the use of mobile CCTV and other relevant actions.

·       a description of targeted enforcement days would be beneficial.

·       the document could have more detail on the education programme.

·       closer liaison with Town and Parish Councils and adjacent authorities.

·       an area wide impacts could be considered though a multi-agency approach.

·       proactive enforcement in prioritised areas should be used.

·       a balance between education and enforcement was required to ensure an effective strategy.

·       information relating to special bulky collections and other service provided could be included.

·       the litter strategy should be set in the wider context of the waste hierarchy.

·       that the Council could lobby for higher levels of fines for litter and fly-tipping offences.

·       proactive enforcement in known areas of high littering.

Members of the Committee also challenged:

·       why rural areas were not included in the street cleansing standards report, 

·       the appropriateness of overall volumes of waste as a KPI for littering and asked if alternative measures could be developed or used including number of fly tips and number of fixed penalty notices issued.

·       how this strategy aligned with the Essex Waste specifically in relation to the restrictions on civic amenity sites and commercial waste, which the committee felt exacerbated the number of flytips:

·       if fines for dog fouling would continue to be enforced

Members of Cabinet emphasised the need for a littler strategy and suggested that the comments made by the Select Committee would strengthen the Strategy, before being considered by Cabinet.

The Committee were advised by J Warwick that

·       waste collected in litter bins that contained dog waste could be separated and cleaned for recycling at the he Edmonton facilities

·       weeds formed part of the standards of street cleanliness, the responsibility fell to Essex CC who contracted EFDC to carry out weed spraying. The budget provided by Essex CC has been reduced and this has limited the number of sprays per year, the chemicals used for spraying had also been restricted.. A schedule of weed spraying could be supplied on request.

·       there was regular dialogue through the Essex Waste Partnership Board. Work had commenced on a new waste strategy for the county, and further details on what materials the tips would accept, including building waste, and the booking system in use would be clarified and circulated.

·       any fly tips that are reported would be cleared.

The Committee acknowledged and thanked Biffa for the regular street cleansing work.

Action: The Committee requested that the strategy was reviewed, strengthened, and refined. The revised strategy would be circulated to members of the Committee for direct feedback before presentation at the next Stronger Place Select Committee.

Resolved

The Committee recommended that the Litter Strategy should be reviewed and presented at the next meeting of the Select Committee,