Agenda item

(James Warwick) To note the report detailing the Epping Forest District Council Litter Strategy as approved by Cabinet and the next steps for the Litter Strategy.

J Warwick (Acting Service Director (Contracts)

The Epping Forest District Council Litter Strategy as approved by Cabinet was presented to the Select Committee by James Warwick (Acting Service Director (Contracts). The three aims of the Litter Strategy were highlighted as:

• Change the behaviour of people who felt it was acceptable to drop litter through education and social media campaigns,
• Make it easy to dispose of litter, provide the appropriate facilities in the right places, and collect litter in a timely fashion, and
• improve enforcement by exercising council powers to deal with anyone who drops litter.

He advised that the waste management team had started to implement a variety of actions to achieve the aims of the litter strategy. These included:

• Development of a waste communications plan with regular social media posts, in conjunction Essex CC & Love Essex,
• Delivering recycling and anti-litter workshops at local primary and secondary schools, working with the Youth Council,
• Assessment of the current contractual arrangements for weed spraying,
• Improved monitoring of gum clearance from Streets by Area Waste Officers,
• Extending the trade waste collection service, and
• The development of QR codes for street litter bins

The Committee

• Commended the revisions made to the Draft Litter Strategy that had been brought to the Select Committee on 5 July 2022.
• Noted the value of Community litter picks, J Warwick advised that the importance of these groups had been recognised with litter picking awards, that there would be continued  support with the supply of equipment and risk assessments, and the litter campaigns would recognised the importance of the voluntary groups and Town and Parish Councils.
• Queried the level of fines and enforcement for fly tipping.  Mandy Thompson (Acting Service Director (Technical) advised the Committee that the £400 fine was for a fixed penalty notice (FPN) which could be issued without going to Court. The fines that could be issued by the Courts were unlimited, but those levied were not always substantial and taking a case to Court could be a lengthy process. There had been approximately 2000 report of fly tips in the last six months compared to 1,800 last year.  The number of FPNs issued had increased, 20 had been issued for the year to date in comparison to 13 for the full year in 2021/22. All reported fly tips were investigated, but the perpetrators were making it more difficult to find evidence within the fly tip. This year evidence had ad been found in 127 fly tips and investigations to follow the trail of where waste had originated were ongoing.
• Suggested that Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and targets could improve the Litter Strategy.
• Expressed frustration with litter from moving vehicles and stationary vehicles near food outlets. Mandy Thompson advised the Committee that littering offences could be reported to the Enforcement Team, a relevant vehicle registration number and a witness statement would be required before any further action could be taken.
• Expressed concerns over the delay of the removal of fly tip, which contained hazardous waste, but understood that the process required permission from Essex County Council, as the Waste Disposal Authority, to ensure costs were recovered.

The Committee received confirmation that

• CCTV could be installed in rural areas; a survey of the site would be required to identify if the camera would require a battery pack.  The location of sites of concern for fly tips should be provided to Mandy Thompson.
• Dog fouling would be covered by awareness campaigns and joint work with enforcement.
• Litter bins were monitored by Area Waste Officers and Biffa Operatives and emptied when they were three quarters full. In areas of high footfall would bins would be emptied more frequently.
• Builders waste was classified as trade waste, and under legislation this needed to be paid for. There had been no change in Essex County Council’s policy. Civic Amenity sites could be used by residents to dispose of their own repair and building materials.
• Litter on the slip roads of motorways was the responsibility of Highways England and roundabouts the responsibility of EFDC.  Highways England would be contacted to encourage clearance on the slip roads.
• A number of local residents, who were environmental champions, had requested that their recycling sacks be replaced with a wheeled bin. It was confirmed by David Marsh that a special collection would not be required as the vehicle could collect both wheeled bin and sacks.

Actions:

• James Warwick would provide Theydon Mount Parish Council with payment details for the collection of the litter bin.

• An update on the Litter Strategy was recommended to be included in the 2023/4 Stronger Place Work Programme.

 
Resolved:

The Committee noted and commended the Council’s Litter Strategy