Skip to content

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - County Hall

Contact: Fred Whitehouse, 01392 381362  Email: fred.whitehouse@devon.gov.uk

Note: To watch this meeting, copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NTk4ZTRlZWUtZTg0OS00M2M2LWJiNDYtY2IyMGE3MzgwMGZk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%228da13783-cb68-443f-bb4b-997f77fd5bfb%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227ffc13b3-e389-4444-a2a4-0d33b5aac803%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d&btype=a&role=a 

Items
Note No. Item

*

9.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 212 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2021, attached.

Decision:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2021 be signed as a correct record.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2021 be signed as a correct record.

*

10.

Items Requiring Urgent Attention

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

Minutes:

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

*

11.

Waste Performance Statistics 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/21/58), attached.

 

Decision:

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

 

RESOLVED that

 

(a)  the performance statistics for 2020/21 and the service continuity for residents through the Covid-19 pandemic be noted;

 

(b)  the Committee continued to support DASWC authorities to provide comprehensive waste services for residents in accordance with the objectives outlines in the Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay (2020-2030); and

 

(c)  congratulations be given for achieving the Best New Idea award at the 2021 LARAC Conference.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/21/58) which provided an overview of waste performance statistics for Devon and Torbay for 2020/21.

 

Highlights from the Report included a reduction in recycling rates across Devon from 56.6% to 55.3% which was attributed largely to the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic including the closure of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and subsequently reduced site capacities upon reopening, alongside changing waste behaviours, shopping habits and home working arrangements.

 

Despite reductions in recycling rates for some, Members were advised that Devon remained a high performing Waste Disposal Authority nationwide.

 

It was also explained that the Authority’s Shared Savings Scheme, whereby savings resulting from investments in improved services were shared back with district councils, had been awarded the Best New Idea at the LARAC Conference 2021.

 

Members’ discussion points included the need to address the reduction in recycling rates, particularly in areas such as textiles that had seen a large decrease; and the importance of ascertaining the publication timelines of Government waste schemes to meet proposed implementation dates.

 

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

 

RESOLVED that

 

(a) the performance statistics for 2020/21 and the service continuity for residents through the Covid-19 pandemic be noted;

 

(b) the Committee continued to support DASWC authorities to provide comprehensive waste services for residents in accordance with the objectives outlines in the Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay (2020-2030); and

 

(c) congratulations be given for achieving the Best New Idea award at the 2021 LARAC Conference.

*

12.

Budget Proposal for 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste (HIW/21/59), attached.

 

Decision:

It was MOVED by Councillor Slade, SECONDED by Councillor Atiya-Alla and

 

RESOLVED that

 

(a)  the proposed budget for 2022/23 be agreed; and

 

(b)  the 2021/22 budget position be noted.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure and Waste (HIW/21/59) which summarised the options for the proposed funding allocations for 2022/23 and updated on the current position regarding the 2021/22 budget.

 

Highlights from the Report included:

 

·         a £41,000 allocation to the Don’t Let Devon Go To Waste campaign;

 

·         the upcoming 2022 Waste Analysis which had been allocated a sum of £49,000. This money had been saved by the ending of Re-use Credits, which was agreed at the previous meeting of this Committee, and any underspend on Re-use Credits in 2021/22 could be allocated to this proposed sum; and

 

·         that a pilot of the Waste Prevention Pack, to which £21,239 had been allocated by agreement of the Committee at the previous meeting, was being carried out in September / October.

 

Members’ discussion points included:

 

·         the logistics of the Waste Analysis scheme; and

 

·         the importance of reducing litter, including how the general public could be incentivised to adopt a ‘take it home’ strategy, problems surrounding insurance and risk assessments for authority-backed litter picking groups, and other potential solutions such as targeted education at school-age children and intelligent bin placement.

 

It was MOVED by Councillor Slade, SECONDED by Councillor Atiya-Alla and

 

RESOLVED that

 

(a) the proposed budget for 2022/23 be agreed; and

 

(b) the 2021/22 budget position be noted.

*

13.

Waste Prevention Pack Update

Presentation by Waste Client Officer (Swisco), Torbay Council

Minutes:

Members received a presentation by the Waste Client Officer (SWISCo), Torbay Council which provided an update on the Waste Prevention Pack.

 

The creation of the countywide Waste Prevention Pack had been agreed at the previous meeting of this Committee, funded by underspend from other programs. It aimed to reduce waste produced by first-time buyers and people moving home.

 

Members were advised that Officers had been in contact with estate agents to recruit them into the scheme, and that the pilot area had been expanded to cover all of Torquay and Paignton.

 

Member discussion centred around potential strategies to disseminate the information pack, including placing PDF copies on property search websites.

*

14.

Government Consultation Responses pdf icon PDF 230 KB

Waste & Recycling Manager, East Devon District Council to report. Letters to Rebecca Pow MP and response attached.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received an update from the Waste and Recycling Manager, East Devon District Council, on correspondence between the Devon Authorities Strategic Waste Committee and Rebecca Pow MP. This was regarding the Consultation on Consistency in Household and Business Recycling in England.

 

The Committee was generally supportive of the proposals but expressed in strong terms their opposition to the proposed introduction of a free garden waste collection service. A response to the Committee’s second letter had yet to be received.

 

Member discussion centred around the potential financial ramifications on districts, Torbay Council and Devon County Council as a whole should this proposal be implemented.

 


Top