Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2018, attached

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2018 be signed as a correct copy.

Items which in the opinion of the Chairman should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

In accordance with the agreed protocol the Chair shall be a District Council appointee with the Vice-Chair being a County Council or Torbay Council appointee.

RESOLVED that Councillor Harvey and Councillor Davis be elected Chair and Vice-Chair respectively for the ensuing year.

The Chair welcomed Mr Hodgins who was attending the meeting in his capacity as a Co-opted Member of the Council's Standards Committee to observe and monitor compliance with the Council’s ethical governance framework.

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/19/47), attached.

The Committee received the Report of the Head of Highways, Capital Development and Waste (HIW/19/47) which outlined, for the benefit of new Members, the work and history of the Committee and its operating rules and terms of reference.

The Report highlighted, in particular:-

·         that joint working had helped move Devon’s recycling rate from 2% to 54% and in 2010/11 Devon was the top recycling county in the country;

·         residual waste disposal in Devon had reduced from 292,295 tonnes in 2000/01 to 163,587 tonnes in 2017/18 (down 56%);

·         similarly, Torbay’s recycling rate had increased to 42.6%, with a reduction in residual waste from 49,570 tonnes in 2003/04 to 34,340 in 2017/18;

·         key progress made under the Committee had been the adoption of the ‘aligned’ waste collection scheme - a weekly collection of food waste, a weekly collection of a range of recycling materials, a fortnightly residual waste collection and charged for garden waste collection;

·         the main objective of the Committee for the coming year would be the development of a new Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon.

The Report also set out the major projects that the Councils were working together on in part or in full, which included joint procurement of e.g. vehicles, bins and in-cab technology; joint materials contracts; Waste Prevention and Reuse Strategy for Devon County Council; Clean Devon – Litter and Fly tipping Partnership proposal; and the Waste and recycling advisors’ contract.

RESOLVED that an update on the progress of the Clean Devon project be reported to a future Committee meeting.

Presentation by County Waste Manager to give an overview of the Government’s Resource and Waste Strategy and waste management in Devon

The Committee received a presentation from the County Waste Manager which gave an overview of the Government’s Resource and Waste Strategy and Waste Management in Devon. 

The presentation included information on waste statistics for Devon and Torbay, demand management measures, re-use, recycling, composting and residual waste management. It also highlighted key aspects of the Government Resources and Waste Strategy published in December 2018 and the four subsequent consultations.

The Committee noted the presentation and requested that copies be circulated to Members.

[N.B. a copy of the presentation is attached to these Minutes]

Presentation by Stuart Hayward-Higham, Technical Development Director, SUEZ Recycling & Recovery Ltd

The Committee received a presentation by Mr S Hayward-Higham, Technical Development Director of SUEZ Recycling and Recovery Ltd, which gave an overview of the Government’s Resource and Waste Strategy and tools, including:

·         Policy

·         Synchronised systems

·         Collaborative action/detailing

·         EPR Systems and DRS Systems

·         Targets

·         Recycling

·         Collection costs and funding

[N.B. a copy of the presentation is attached to these Minutes]

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/19/48), attached.

The Committee received the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure and Waste (HIW/19/48) summarising the 2018/19 budget outturn and the 2019/20 budget position.  Key areas of spend in 2018/19 included Reuse Credits, Don’t Let Devon go to Waste, and the Waste and Recycling Advisors Contract.

At its meeting on 17 October 2018 the Committee had approved a budget of £182,800 for 2019/20 and approval was now sought for the 2019/20 budget to be increased by £13,259 and for this sum to be allocated from the remaining 2018/19 underspend.

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

RESOLVED that the 2018/19 budget outturn be noted and that the revised 2019/20 budget be endorsed.

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/19/49), attached.

The Committee received the Report of the Head of Highways, Capital Development and Waste (HIW/19/47), summarising the joint contracts procured by the Council on behalf of Devon District Authorities, including the Glass, Paper and Textiles contracts, and the Waste and Recycling Advisors’ contract.

It was noted that the joint contracts continued to offer economies of scale and economic benefits to all local authorities using them.

Members however voiced concern at the distance of travel involved to other parts of the UK for the disposal of glass and paper.  Officers reported that this was due to the lack of facilities in the South West, where the nearest facility was Avonmouth.

RESOLVED that the Chair of the Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee write to Devon MPs and the Government concerning the long-distance travel involved to the nearest reprocessing plants across the UK due to lack of reprocessing facilities in the South West, and the impact this was having on climate change.

For discussion.

The Committee considered the draft Work Plan for future Committee meetings as follows:

October 2019    Reuse Credits Scheme

                        Budget setting 2020/21

                        Waste Data/Performance Review 2018/19

February 2020   Government Consultations Part II

                        Progress report Devon Resource & Waste Strategy

                        Clean Devon

June 2020         Draft Devon Resource & Waste Strategy for approval

                        Waste and Recycling Advisors’ contract update

The Chief Officer for Development, Infrastructure Development and Waste explained that the previous Strategy was last reviewed in 2013 and it was now considered appropriate to develop a new Strategy.  Any Member interested in joining a Strategy Working Group should contact the County Waste Manager directly. 

Any other additions to the Work Plan would be welcome.

17 October 2019 and 19 February 2020

The next Committee dates were 17 October 2019 and 19 February 2020.

Future dates for the Committee could be found here: https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=294&Year=0