Issue - meetings

Matter for Decision

Cambridge City Council is required to achieve savings of £6.3M over the next four years.  The refuse and environment service has been looking at a whole range of options to:

 

·       Identify realisable savings.

·       Reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

·       Increase the percentage of waste re-used or recycled.

·       Improve or maintain the customer experience.

 

The City Council offers a chargeable large item / bulky waste service using in-house collection staff and two link-tip vehicles. These employees are also used to staff a commercial ‘skip’ type service, using the same vehicles.

 

There are a total of thirty one link-tip bodies for the combined bulky waste and commercial service.  It is felt that both vehicles need to be retained as, they are specialist vehicles and it is unlikely that a hire vehicle can be sourced when the other vehicle requires maintenance / servicing.

 

This bulky waste service collects items that are too big to fit in a wheeled bin or are unsuitable to be disposed of in this manner.  Under the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992, bulky waste is classed as household waste for which a charge for collection may be made. This is a service that the council has statutory obligations to provide, but it is a service that could be provided by a contractor or third party. 

 

The service review identified four alternative service delivery options for the bulky waste collection service.  These are set out in the table below.

 

 

Decision of Executive Councillor for Environmental & Waste Services

Approved the procurement of the collection and disposal of the bulky waste collection service to a suitably qualified social enterprise, charitable organisation or furniture re-use organisation in line with Option 3 of the Officer’s report.

 

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.

 

In response to Members’ questions the Head of Refuse and Environment said the following:

       i.          Different contractors were interested in taking different items eg furniture or electrical. Soft market testing would be undertaken prior to the start of the contracting process to see if contractors would take all types of items or just certain types, thus clarifying if one or more contractor would be needed for the Bulky Waste Service.

     ii.          The Council was legally obliged to check that contractors took waste to designated disposal points.

   iii.          The Council had good working relations with organisations around the city to reduce waste going to landfill.

   iv.          The Council was looking at how the bulky waste service could be brought back in-house as a contingency plan in case of possible difficulties with a future contractor(s). Risks and options would be reviewed over the next six months.

    v.          No staffing losses were expected through the proposal to change in-house bulky waste services to an external contractor(s).

   vi.          The Head of Refuse and Environment undertook to look at ways to get contractors to pass on items for recycling to another third party if the contractor making the collection were unable to recycle items.

 

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendation.

 

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendation.

 

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.