Agenda item

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/23/7)

RESOLVED that

(a) the results of the Waste Composition Analysis carried out in October 2022 be noted; and

(b) the proposed actions detailed in Section 6 of the report be approved.

Members considered the report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/23/7) on the results of the Residual Waste Compositional Analysis which was undertaken in October 2022 and consisted of the residual waste of 1800 houses across Devon and Torbay being collected and analysed.

Overall, results across Devon were mixed. Results around food waste were of particular note, with ‘kitchen organics’ consisting of a large proportion of residual waste in Devon (28.2%) and Torbay (23.2%) which was disappointing given the availability of food waste collection across the region. The vast majority of this food waste was considered ‘avoidable’ (79.31% average across Devon), namely that it could have been otherwise dealt with (for instance consumed). It was also observed that all of this food waste, both ‘avoidable’ and ‘unavoidable’ (the latter referring to food items such as peelings, eggshells, teabags and so on), should not have been disposed of in residual waste, where residents had food waste collections.

The analysis also demonstrated that a large amount of materials disposed of in residual waste were in fact recyclable. In Devon, the worst offender was card, with 61% of that disposed of in residual waste being recyclable. In Torbay, this figure was 73%, and Torbay also showed a high amount of recyclable textiles being put into residual waste (with 84% being recyclable). The overall figures for the amount of residual waste that could have been recycled was 41% in Devon and 58% in Torbay, with potential improvements being possible if both Devon districts and Torbay were to expand the range of recycling services to cover all materials.

On average, Devon had shown a decrease in recyclable materials being disposed of in residual waste (since the last analysis in 2017) in all categories except plastic film, with the results varying widely across Districts. The overall results for Torbay were more mixed, with reductions in areas such as glass and metals, but increases in food and garden waste.

Members and officers had received more specific analyses of their individual districts in advance of the meeting. The analyses included ACORN ratings (which is used to segment the population in socioeconomic classifications based on a number of factors) alongside waste disposal trends which could help inform targeted improvement actions.

Key areas of discussion included:

• Concern around the impact of low recycling of textiles, with textiles being a huge polluter per item, and its wider relationship with the changing culture around clothes, particularly considering ‘fast fashion’ and a culture of disposal;

• That there was clearly work to be done around increasing correct disposal of food waste and how this could be incentivised. Members and officers observed that there are likely to be a number of factors ranging from some residents not having knowledge of how to dispose of their food waste, some being too busy with other priorities and others finding themselves without a kitchen caddy for a variety of reasons.

• There was anecdotal confusion about what is recyclable and what is not, with one councillor reporting that they had spent time at a recycling plant separation line and had seen items such as used cat litter being disposed of in the recycling. There could therefore be opportunities for targeted education informed by the compositional analysis results as well as local intelligence that could be collected by waste collection staff.

It was MOVED by Councillor Croad, SECONDED by Councillor Leather and

RESOLVED that

(a) the results of the Waste Composition Analysis carried out in October 2022 be noted; and

(b) the proposed actions detailed in Section 6 of the report be approved.