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Decision details

Route Optimisation Project for Refuse and Recycling Collections - Options for Change

Decision Maker: Executive Councillor for Climate Action and Environment

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: No

Decision:

Matter for Decision:  

The Officer’s report set out options for change to the domestic waste service and a methodology for considering these options.

 

Consultation with staff would be carried out under the council’s Organisational Change Policy – October 2010.

 

The implementation of the agreed scenario would take place in July 2012, with an extensive resident communications campaign prior to this.

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Environmental & Waste Services:

(i)                Instructed the Director of Environment to undertake consultation with the staff and unions about a preferred option based on the scenarios set out in the foregoing report and subject to modelling data to be provided at the meeting of the Committee on 10 January 2012.

(ii)              Instructed the Director of Environment to implement the preferred option subject to the results of the staff and union consultation and also subject to consultation with the Executive Councillor, Chair and Opposition Spokespersons.

 

Reason for the Decision:

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any alternative options considered and rejected:

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations:

The committee received a report from the Head of Refuse and Environment regarding the Route Optimisation Project for Refuse and Recycling Collections - Options for Change.

 

The Officer also referred to an addendum document available as part of the fourth circulation agenda.

 

In response to Member’s questions the Executive Councillor for Environmental & Waste Services plus Head of Refuse and Environment confirmed the following:

 

(i)                Waste collections for new developments would be introduced wherever possible with the same collection methodology for existing houses. This will standardise the service wherever possible across the city, reducing the need for specific vehicles for specific material and increasing the efficiency of the service.

 

The Environment Committee authorised Executive Councillor, Chair and Spokes, in consultation with officers to take the decision to implement the above in March 2010. As it is a key decision affecting the whole City, it was decided to return it to scrutiny committee.

 

Informal consultation would be undertaken with refuse collection crews concerning the two options to seek views on which is the most efficient. Formal consultation would then be undertaken on the preferred option. The formal public consultation would reflect feedback from the public survey, and provide a steer if opinions were split in the crew's informal consultation. The aim was to ascertain route practicability as opposed to purely cost savings.

(ii)              Officers were in discussion with the contracted recycling company to ascertain if it was feasible to take plastic containers under the current contract. South Cambridgeshire District Council had different contract specifications with another company, which required them to take plastic containers.

(iii)            The introduction of in-cab technology aimed to provide information on when bins were either put out or not for collection by households.

(iv)            Planning plus Refuse and Environment Officers were undertaking joint work to model optimum routes for refuse collection services. The software modelled rounds to service properties on new and existing developments.

(v)              Information concerning waste collection rounds was being compiled from various sources into the model as part of the route optimisation review, to ensure that it would be available in a central resource in future.

(vi)            Comments from members of the public in the 2011 Waste & Recycling Strategy showed opposition to microchipping bins to monitor recycling. Officers stated there was no intention to microchip bins in future.

(vii)          A review of waste composition would feed into waste collection scenarios as part of the route optimisation review. This would be the basis of a strategy. For example, a weekly bin collection may not be required if the public favoured green bins (for food waste etc).

 

Recycling bank location and provision was also being considered as part of the route optimisation review.

 

The Chair decided that the recommendations highlighted in the Officer’s report should be voted on and recorded separately:

 

The committee approved recommendation (i) unanimously.

 

The committee approved recommendation (ii) by 5 votes to 0.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

 

Conflicts of interest declared by the Executive Councillor (and any dispensations granted)

Not applicable. 

Publication date: 07/02/2012

Date of decision: 10/01/2012