Meeting documents

To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 August 2015.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 27 August 2015 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Joint Committee considered the Waste Service Highlight Report, as presented by the Senior Waste Officer and in particular noted the key elements of the report which were in relation to Bucks County Council changes to the Christmas Plan; the KOT’s were to be signed by SERCO and this was to be agreed at a meeting on 9 November 2015; the Waste Transfer Centre would be opened shortly and there was close working with Bucks County Council to achieve this and were agreeing changes with SERCO.  It was reported that Bucks County Council were purchasing a new shredder.

It was noted that discussions on budgets was to be discussed later in the agenda.  There was a focus on achieving targets with a focus on good quality recycling and avoiding contamination.

There were pleasing results in respect of cleansing and the call response times which was at 90% of calls answered and this included the period of increased calls due the roll out of garden waste programme.

Risk Register

The Committee received an overview of the current status of the risk register, which also included South Bucks figures.

The Committee received a presentation from the Waste & Recycling Officer on the Half Year Waste Communications Update, of which the key areas were:-

·       Recycling Guide and Collection Calendar

·       Contamination Project

·       Ongoing work streams

It was reported that the calendar was improved and provided clearer information this year and also there was a website postcode search available.  The key concerns in respect of the calendar was the cost of production which was in the region of £43K out of a total Communications Budget of £69K.  Therefore alternative options were being considered for the future production of the information that would reduce costs; such as

·       Email calendar to residents

·       Smaller print run

·       Collection information already available on the Councils’ websites

·       Look at further web options

·       Contender App

The Committee were advised that during August - October 2015, Envirocom had been commissioned to target problem areas of contaminated waste, particularly in High Wycombe.  The project had involved 9741 properties.  Bin tags had been put onto contaminated bins and the properties recorded.  The highest contaminators were plastic bags at 26.23% and paper & card at 18.32%. Further work to reduce contamination was being undertaken in respect of increased information to residents, via bin tags, to continue to educate people on correct disposal of waste.  The concern in relation to contamination was that increased contamination resulted in increase in costs to the delivery of service. 

It was reported that there may be an opportunity to bid for DCLG funding of over £800k through Waste Partnership for Bucks for food waste participation, and look to access some funds for contamination work.

It was suggested that it may be helpful to provide an awareness session for all Councillors on Recycling and avoiding contamination to increase the opportunity for information to be shared and actioned across the District.

The Committee considered a report which outlined the 2015/16 budget for the Joint Waste Service, and the budget position for Quarter 2. It highlighted three main areas a) Contracted Costs b) Joint Client Expenditure c) Joint Client Income.

The waste service budget for 2015/16 was estimated to outturn on budget at the end of the year. Areas of risk to income were based around IAA payments, recycling credit levels, and customer driven income. Areas of risk on expenditure included the rate of indexation which was to be applied from November 2015 and the upcoming change of tipping point for residual waste.

The waste contract budget for 2015/16 was predicted to outrun on budget. There was a risk in relation to contract expenditure included the rate of indexation which was to be applied from November 2015 and the upcoming change of tipping point for residual waste. Budget had been included for both of these areas to mitigate for the risk. Currently “increase in households” budget area, reflected the potential cost from an increase in property numbers and the change in tipping point. Although a standard budget split was applied to this area, indications were that the potential costs may be more significant in the CDC area.

The waste client budget for 2015/16 was currently estimated to outturn on

budget at the end of the year. The main areas of risk related to income, and

this would be monitoring closely in Q3, especially in regard to IAA and Recycling credits.

Consideration was given to the report which outlined the proposed 2016/17 budget for the Joint Waste Service, and the split between Chiltern and Wycombe. It highlighted three main areas a) Contracted Costs b) Joint Client Expenditure c) Joint Client Income. It also outlined the proposed fees and charges for 2016/17 which highlighted significant changes.

The waste service budget for 2016/17 had been adjusted to take into account, risks relating to recycling credit income, and an increase of 3% indexation on contract costs, increasing property numbers, and the imminent change in tipping point for residual waste.

The waste contract budget for 2016/17 had an estimated 3% indexation applied. Indexation was calculated each November based on:

• 55% NJC

• 35% CPI

• 10% DERV (fuel indices)

Based on the current information it is estimated that all the cost associated with the change to tipping point related to the Chiltern Area, and therefore  £150,000 had been allocated to the CDC budget to cover the change. The first initial cost from Serco had indicated that this figure may be up to £215,260, although further information was awaited.

Additional cost will also be incurred due to continued property growth across the two districts. Based on current trend it was estimated that this will be £50,000 in 2016/17. In addition green waste customers in Chiltern will cost an estimated £36,050, which is offset by income to the client budget.

The majority of the budget remained unchanged. The key areas of note were:

• 1% increase had been applied to salary related codes
• A reduction in recycling credit of 100,000 across the joint budget due to reductions in the weight of the recycling

• Holding the Communications budget at £69,200 - With the acceptance that a universal annual leaflet posted will be unachievable and other solutions (including some direct delivery) needed to be explored

The fees and charges had been reviewed to ensure that those proposed for 2016/17 cover the costs of the service, including charges from Serco, administration time and customer service time.

RESOLVED:

i)     That the Joint Waste Collection Committee noted the information in the report;

ii)    That the 2016-17 Budget; and the 2016-17 fees and charges be endorsed.

Note: the relevant paragraph number and description is indicated under the Minute heading.

Paragraph 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The Head of Environment presented the report which sought consideration to the Senior Officer (Waste) position and also to commence consideration of the waste team service review.

RESOLVED:

i)    That the content of the report be noted;

ii)   That the commencement of work on a potential joint team covering Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council and Wycombe District Council be agreed; and

iii)  That a joint Member Working Group be set up with Councillors from Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council and Wycombe District Council to progress work on this issue.

The Chairman thanked Kitt Eastman for her hard work during her employment with Chiltern and Wycombe District Councils and wished her well in her new job. The Chairman also congratulated Sally Gordon on her appointment to the role of Senior Officer for Waste for Chiltern and Wycombe District Councils.

Members are asked to agree the following schedule of meetings:

Thursday 17 December 2015 (WDC)

Thursday 11 February 2016 (CDC)

Thursday 7 April 2016 (WDC)

Thursday 2 June 2016 (CDC)

That the schedules of meetings were agreed, as follows:

• Thursday 17 December 2015 (WDC)
• Thursday 11 February 2016 (CDC)
• Thursday 7 April 2016 (WDC)

·       Thursday 2 June 2016 (CDC)