Issue - meetings

Recommendations - That the Executive recommends to Council to:

i.     Accept the DEFRA transitional arrangement to implement separately collected food waste across North Yorkshire from 1 February 2043; and

ii.    Explore options for NYC to implement separately collected food waste at an earlier implementation date and to engage with DEFRA and Government to ensure that an earlier implementation date does not negatively affect our eligibility for funding.

Considered – Report of the Corporate Director – Environment seeking member approval of the DEFRA transitional arrangement to implement separately collected food waste across North Yorkshire from 1 February 2043 and to explore options for an earlier implementation date by engaging with DEFRA and the Government, whist ensuring that an earlier date does not negatively affect funding eligibility.

Michael Leah, Assistant Director for Environmental Services and Climate Change introduced the report, setting out the context around the issue, with three consultations published by Government in 2021, concerning ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’, ‘Introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme’ and ‘Consistency in Household and Business Recycling Collections’. Of these, the outcome of the ‘Consistency in Household and Business Recycling Collections’ consultation is still awaited from Government.

In December 2022, a letter from DEFRA to North Yorkshire County Council indicated that in the ‘Consistency in Household and Business Recycling Collections’ consultation they would be looking to mandate separate weekly food waste collection from 31 March 2025 for the country. However, within that letter to North Yorkshire County Council as the waste disposal authority at that time, given the contractual arrangements at Allerton Waste Recovery Park (AWRP) and the long-term nature of the contract, the difficulties with how this would fit with the proposals were noted.

Therefore, the DEFRA letter asked if the county council would be minded to defer the implementation of separate food waste collections through transitional arrangements to the end of the contract at AWRP in February 2043. Following receipt of the letter, clarity was sought from Government on the financial impact on New Burdens funding in order to help inform a decision, but this has not been received.

There are two options available, the first is to seek an implementation date ahead of 2043, with an option to go live in line with the rest of the country at the end of March 2025. However, as the council is shortly expected to consider options for waste collection harmonisation in North Yorkshire following the move to a unitary council, 2025 is not seen as practical and a date between 2027 and 2030 is seen as more suitable if this option is preferred by members.

The other option is to take advantage of the dispensation offered by DEFRA and go live with separate food waste collections at the end of the Allerton Park Waste Recovery Park contract in 2043. It was highlighted that it has been difficult to model the situation given the lack of clarity over New Burdens funding, but additional costs of approximately £5m could be incurred in the provision of a new food waste collection service.

Councillor Greg White set out that the report recommendation is to go with the 2043 date, however to work with Government around the funding clarity required and to also monitor the implementation of separate food waste collection service by other councils in 2025.

It was highlighted that there are carbon emissions savings associated with separately collecting food waste of between approximately 2 to 3  ...  view the full minutes text for item 237