Meeting documents

This is the first meeting of the Committee in the Municipal Year 2018/19. In accordance with the Constitution, the Committee is asked to elect a Chairman for the year 2018 – 2019.

RESOLVED: That M Smith continue to serve as Chairman for the 2018/19 municipal year. 

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the year 2018 - 2019

RESOLVED: That L Sullivan continue to serve as Vice – Chairman for the 2018/19 municipal year.

To approve the minutes of the Chiltern, South Bucks & Wycombe Joint Waste Collection Committee held on 23 April 2018.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the last meeting held on 23 April 2018 be agreed as a correct record, subject to the insertion of WDC beside the names of E Jewell, C Hughes and S Bolter under the list of those present.

There were no declarations of interest.

A list of headline service statistics were presented for the Joint Waste Collection Committee covering the period between April and June 2018.

              Attention was drawn to a number of areas, including the continued growth in total number of properties, and in the number of assisted collections, for which a review of customer lists were currently ongoing.

Members were informed that the previous figures for bulk bin properties may have been inaccurate and that a validation process was expected to be introduced.

In terms of the current tasks, milestones and outcomes, it was reported that the Contract Monitoring Officer post had become vacant and that an internal candidate had been promoted into this position. The team now sought to fill the vacancy left by this member of staff. The presenting officer also gave mention to the positive results achieved from the DCLG funded project which had seen a 50% increase in food waste collected between January 2017- January 2018. It was confirmed that the project continued to seek new work streams which could be identified for progression.

The presenting officer informed the meeting that in terms of the customer experience strategy, a new contract had been awarded to enhance customer contact handling and to encourage self-service and thereby achieve greater efficiencies. It was confirmed that phase 1 including waste contacts would be launched in May 2019 and that Members would be kept fully informed of progress.

In discussing complaints and compliments between the period April to June 2018, a Member pointed out that SERCO had performed exceptionally well in the area of Amersham, and had built up very good relations with the Town Council, which had been recognised by the Mayor. Another Member concurred, praising the cleanliness level within the old town. It was also reported that in relation to the budget there was an under spend on salaries due to existing vacancies and the length of time being taken to fill them. Green waste subscriptions were currently above target.          

The rates of recycling were also discussed by the Committee, which acknowledged that garden waste collection had increased considerably during the summer period but that these rates were subject to seasonal fluctuations.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

The meeting was informed that there was a consultation currently underway on recycling which was due to end on 22 October 2018. BCC aimed to reduce spending by £1.2 million from April 2019, out of service costs of £3 million. The online survey was geared towards the individual householder.

A Member suggested that charging residents outside of Bucks for disposing of all waste types (rubble, soil and car tyres) should be considered. It was also suggested that an ID card displaying the residents address could also be a way forward.  Another Member expressed the view that in closing recycling centres, consideration needed to be given to ensure that the areas within the district were not too far away from the nearest centre.

RESOLVED: that

(i)                 An individual response to the consultation be prepared by this Committee via letter outlining the concerns about possible increases in the carbon footprint and fly tipping. Also to suggest that residents have a formal process of registration in order to have access to the service.  

(ii)                The draft response be circulated to Members of the Committee, co- ordinated by S Gordon.

A report was submitted which requested that consideration be given to the future provision of recycling centres provided by the authorities. Recommendations had been previously made for the closure of many of the facilities for reasons of misuse, health and safety concerns and being under used. It was felt that it would be timely to consider the matter due to the new Joint Waste Collection contract for the three southern districts being implemented.

In highlighting the current position the meeting was informed that residents continued to make use of the easy and convenient domestic collection services available. The team was confident that the vast majority of residents now had access to domestic waste collections that included recycling. In addition, consultation on planning applications to ensure waste facilities were in place for new build developments continued to take place.

The report stated that, following a recent review undertaken by Serco, current resource levels to collect waste from flats were close to saturation and this would be exacerbated by the planned property growth in Princes Risborough and elsewhere. As a consequence the proposal to replace the FEL vehicle that served the recycling centres with an additional RCV to collect waste from flats should be considered.

Members highlighted concerns about trade waste issues and how the system was sometimes abused. It was suggested that a programme of education should take place to inform people how to better dispose of waste to ensure that it was collected by the contractor.   

It was also suggested that the decision in favour of closure should be based upon an analysis of site-specific evidence and that each site should be considered on an individual basis.

Members expressed concern that there are some areas where it is difficult for residents to put out significant quantities or items for recycling. Terraced houses whose doors open directly onto the pavement were given as an example. It was agreed that solutions for these areas would need to be implemented on a case by case basis.

RESOLVED: That

(i)                  Subject to a review of residents living in particular types of properties, the Committee support in principle the closure of recycling centres provided by the relevant authorities

(ii)                The team take a more proactive approach in better educating communities as to how to dispose of waste responsibly.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

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

To receive a presentation on the results of soft market testing

Soft market testing had been undertaken to establish the market`s appetite in relation to the procurement opportunity and its design. The results of the testing were shared with the Committee via a presentation. Essentially the results of the testing provided useful information to enable an attractive opportunity to be advertised to the market, with a focus on best use of resources.

Representatives from the authorities had met with six potential providers; questions asked centred around services in scope, award criteria, contract term, provision of capital finance for vehicles and performance management.

             RESOLVED: That the presentation received be noted 

To receive a presentation on the progress on the waste contract procurement

A presentation was conducted on the waste contract procurement. Officers took Members through the proposed procurement route, which would be a negotiated route, with 3 firms being invited to tender and negotiate following the selection questionnaire stage. There would be no mid negotiation de-selection and the price/ quality ratio would be 40/ 60. Such a procurement would be attractive to the market and be in compliance with the feedback received at the soft market testing process.

At the previous officers’ meeting the benefits of extending the Serco contract by 2-3 months had been explained. It was noted that the Chief Executive had used his urgency powers to authorise further negotiations for an extension to the contract. Discussions were now ongoing with a planned meeting with Serco at the end of the month to take forward the heads of terms.

             RESOLVED: That the presentation received be noted.