Agenda item

To receive the report of the Strategic Streetcare Partnership which includes key performance indicators for the Partnership and a Service Delivery Plan.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Porter, Cabinet Member for Environment, Mr Malcolm Cox, Operations Manager, Amey, and Mr Lloyd Griffiths, Head of Neighbourhood Services, to the meeting.

Members were presented with the annual report for the Streetcare Strategic Partnership for the year 2014-15 which incorporated key performance indicators for the service, and Amey’s service delivery plan to March 2018.

Mr Cox outlined the challenges for the service and current initiatives being instigated, and stated that going forward Amey was committed to providing a high standard of service whilst increasing recycling rates and achieving further savings.

Members discussed the following matters:-

1.          A Member referred to Amey’s target for reclaiming unused garden waste bins and queried how the bins would be identified. Mr Cox responded that bins without stickers (indicating that that the service had been paid for) would be found and returned by the green waste crews.  The Member went on to enquire if the revenue collected met the full cost of the garden waste service.  Councillor Porter commented that he believed this was the case and that a small profit was being made, but that he was awaiting a review of the service before confirming the financial position and that there were no plans to increase the cost of the service.  A Member queried if there were any plans to reduce the cost of the green waste service.  Councillor Porter replied that this could not be considered until he had reviewed figures for the service. 

2.          A Member asked if there were any proposals to extend the green waste service to those areas of the City that were harder to reach.  Councillor Porter responded that this would be considered if there was evidence from consultation that there was sufficient interest in the scheme to justify its extension.

3.          A Member asked if green bins were ‘stockpiled’ in the City.  Councillor Porter commented that the initial stock which was stored at the Eastern Avenue Depot was now diminished.

4.          A Member pointed out a misspelling of the word ‘Saintbridge’ and an incorrect phone number in the report.

5.          A Member queried the number of prosecutions for fly tipping.  Councillor Porter referred the Member to the Environmental Protection Team for this information.  Another Member queried fly tipping statistics for the month of December.  Mr Cox confirmed that there had been an increase in some parts of the City.  Arising from the debate there was a discussion on the ‘closed bin’ policy operated by Amey.

6.          A Member expressed concern that mixing recyclates with newspapers would reduce the value of the paper.  Mr Cox explained the criteria for assessing the quality of the newspapers and stated that currently the moisture content was not resulting in a lower value for the product.  Another Member remarked that in Stroud Road many residents did not have lids for their recycling boxes as they had been removed for tobogganing during a previous winter’s snowfall.

7.          A Member complimented Amey for the detailed information in the report and presentation to Members and added that it would have been useful to have information on how long it took to deliver recycling boxes.  Mr Cox recognised that that there had been delays with delivery, but that this would be addressed now that a second vehicle was available.

8.          A Member sought clarification on reasons why the 2 recent projects carried out as part of the review of recycling had not resulted in any budget savings.  Councillor Porter acknowledged that savings had not accrued from the projects and said that he would be reviewing with Amey how savings could still be achieved from the exercise.

9.          A Member asked how Amey communicated with the public to inform them of which items could be recycled.  The Member displayed a ‘bin hanger’.  Councillor Porter stated that he encouraged Officers to communicate with residents and that he was disappointed with the results of publicity for the two extra recyclates which were added in March.  Councillor Porter said that he was committed to putting a message into every recycling box.  Another Member commented that a label should be affixed to every box illustrating what could be recycled. One Member suggested providing a fridge magnet with this information as bin hangers were not robust. Mr Cox added that promoting the service to residents by knocking on doors and informing them of what could be recycled was the best way to engage with residents, although he acknowledged that this was resource intensive.  Councillor Porter agreed that a recent initiative in the White City involving sifting through the contents of bins with residents had been invaluable.  A Member queried the legitimacy of this practice.  Councillor Porter responded that it was lawful and that he intended to extend the examination to other areas in the City.  Another Member commented that Ward Councillors should have been made aware of this initiative as residents who were out or unwilling to take part in the exercise had broached complaints.  Councillor Porter agreed with this remark.

10.       A Member sought clarification on which ‘bring sites’ at City supermarkets were operated by Amey and gave an example of one site which was overflowing with cardboard and appeared to have not been emptied.  Councillor Porter expressed frustration that residents often failed to flatten down the cardboard and left it outside the bin whilst the bin itself was half empty and that this gave the impression that the site was not being regularly serviced.

11.       During the discussion Councillor Porter informed the Committee that residents could contact the City Council to request up to 4 recycling boxes.  Members were unaware of this fact and stated that this information should be advertised more widely to residents.

12.       A Member highlighted Mr Cox’s remarks about the crews having pride in their work and suggested that this could be better achieved by allocating operatives to specific areas of the City so that they built up local knowledge and forged links with the community.  Mr Cox agreed with this comment, but said that this would not be possible because of reduced resources.  The Member went on to say that it was important that crews recognised the work they did was important and that litter picking was a key element of the service.

The Chair brought the discussion to a close by thanking Councillor Porter and Mr Cox for their presentation.  All Members were pleased with the level of detail provided in the report.  The Chair added that the Committee wished to recommend that there should be more publicity to make residents aware of which items could be recycled.

RESOLVED:

1. That the report be noted.
2. That the Cabinet Member and Officers should explore ways of publicising to residents those items that could be recycled.