Agenda item

Following consideration of the policy at the last committee meeting, officers presented the proposed guidance on household recycling and waste collections.

Although much of the new guidance had already been harmonised across the county, there remained areas such as bin sizes, missed collection protocol, proof of assisted collection requirement and treatment of excess refuse waste where there are currently differences in the approach taken among the former legacy district and borough areas.

In considering the new guidance, committee members raised the following points:

·       The importance of working with property owners and residents where bin storage practices are inadequate and unacceptable, as once a routine is established it is difficult to break. It was noted in response that the use of education and enforcement was key in areas where bins were permanently left out on the street.

·       It was felt that enforcing a smaller refuse bin size of 180 litres as standard would ultimately encourage more recycling. It was also emphasised that new wheelie bins would not be introduced until the current bins had reached the end of their usable life.

·       Members then discussed the impact of the delayed food waste collections for North Yorkshire, which it is expected will drive down the amount of residual waste to be collected. It was commented in response that there was no government requirement to collect food waste until 2043, due to the Council’s contract with Allerton Waste Recovery Park.  Members also discussed the costings of offsetting the burning of waste.

·       Members were generally in agreement that 180 litre refuse bins should be introduced as the standard for households up to 4 people, and that a larger or additional bin could be requested for larger households.

·       Following a suggestion of providing a more bespoke service for households on the size of the wheelie bins they receive, officers raised concerns around the practicalities of swapping bin sizes, and the administrative challenges about tracking which type of bin would be left when residents move house. It was agreed that there was an operational advantage of having one bin size.

·       In response to a comment from a Member in the Selby locality, it was confirmed that the new bins that had been procured were a minimum of 4mm in thickness, so stronger than the bins currently used in the Selby locality.

·       The use of education to inform households around what should be placed in a residual bin was also noted.

·       Committee members felt that it was important that the assisted collections process was not too restrictive and onerous, to ensure that vulnerable residents were not deterred from requesting one.

·       Officers were also asked to review the presence of mini-recycling centres / bring sites, as in the past a number had been provided as an alternative to kerbside recycling services for properties with limited external storage space. It was noted that recycling centres would be looked at on their own merits individually, with no decisions made until the effects of new household collection policy can be seen, as it should reduce the amount of recycled waste.

Resolved – That the feedback received from TEEE O&S Committee be fed into the Executive report in March.