Agenda item

To review the performance of Waste Services and Street Cleansing, with an emphasis on headline data, statistics and performance indicators. 

The Committee considered a report which outlined the performance of Waste Services and Street Cleansing, with an emphasis on headline data, statistics and performance indicators. The report was introduced by Mr Blackledge, Director of Community and Environmental Services, who summarised the key areas of the report before responding to questions from the Committee.

Asked about the very precise collection figures that related to the mobile recycling unit (the Rover service) and how these were obtained, Mr Blackledge explained the importance of monitoring such information and that each item was carefully recorded, as well as the outcome also being measured. He added that there was a requirement for all recycling figures to be reported to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Committee asked about the Garden Waste Subscription Service, which currently had over 10,000 customers. Asked if the service was breaking even in terms of costs, Mr Blackledge explained that the service was comfortably delivering the costs of its running, and was helping to offset expenditure in other areas of waste collection.

Members discussed the section of the report which dealt with the review of the Veolia refuse and recycling contract. It was pointed out that Veolia was connected to the Environment Trust awards scheme for green projects and it had been noted that Veolia had been generous in its awards to apparently prosperous areas, such as the south coast and Alderley Edge in Cheshire, whilst Blackpool had been overlooked. Asked if it would be possible to insert a clause into a future contract which ensured there was some sort of return to be got back in the case of good performance, Mr Blackledge explained that social value was an important part of this type of contract, which would be examined carefully going forward.

The Committee asked about the success of weed killing within street cleansing and whether there were any plans to consider different methods next year in response to changing weather patterns. Mr Lovey, Waste Services Manager, explained that weather patterns were currently considered and would be subject to further review, taking into account the current resource pressures. He added that weeds tended to grow at the same time each year and that dry and sunny conditions needed to prevail for the treatments to be successful.

Responding to questions about the 3GS Environmental Solutions contract and the Council’s approach to litter enforcement, Mr Blackledge explained that the Council’s aim was to develop a more generic role for its enforcement staff in terms of littering and dog fouling, as well as looking at providing more resource to deal with the problem of fly tipping.

The Committee asked about the 900 fixed penalty notices that had been issued during the period of tenure undertaken by 3GS, with the report indicating that two thirds of those had been paid. Mr Blackledge acknowledged that there had been some notices issued in error and that there had been some issues relating to the quality of documentation in some cases. Asked if all outstanding fines had now been paid, Mr Blackledge explained that 31 cases were currently going through the prosecution process, together with a number of other cases in hand.

The Committee discussed the quantifiable benefits of an item of waste being recycled, taking into account the resources applied and asked whether figures were available. Mr Lovey explained that high level statistics regarding carbon studies did exist, although none were specific to Blackpool.

The Committee agreed to note the report.

Background papers: None.