Meeting: Cabinet	Date: 12th July 2022

Wards affected: All

Report Title: Kerbside Green Waste Collection Service

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Cabinet Member Contact Details: Cllr Mike Morey – Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Environment and Culture. mike.morey@torbay.gov.uk

Director/Divisional Director Contact Details: Alan Denby – Divisional Director Economy, Environment & Infrastructure. alan.denby@torbay.gov.uk

1.	Purpose of Report

1.1	To introduce an opt in, charged for kerbside green waste collection service to further increase the Torbay Council recycling rate.

2.	Reason for Proposal and its benefits

2.1	The Torbay Council recycling rate is currently 37% and below the target of 50%. A key element to increasing the recycling rate is to increase opportunities for the recycling of garden waste.

3.	Recommendation(s) / Proposed Decision

1.	That SWISCo are instructed to deliver an opt in, paid for kerbside garden waste collection service as soon as possible; and

2.	That the service be fortnightly, all year round and charged at £50 p/a (£40 for CTSS) per 240 litre bin.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Indicative Costings (EXEMPT)

Appendix 2: A summary of costs and income for 25,000 households (EXEMPT)

Background Documents

Community & Corporate Plan

Resource & Waste Management Strategy 2020-2023

Supporting Information

1.	Introduction

The only green waste recycling option (other than in garden composting) currently available to residents is the Household Waste and Recycling Centre in Paignton or seasonal remote collection points in Torquay and Brixham.

One of the impacts of the pandemic has been a reduction in recycling rates nationally and locally. Torbay’s waste flow data shows approx. 1500 tonne of garden waste is disposed of in the residual stream every year. Collecting and recycling this garden waste offers potential for improvements of Torbay’s recycling rate by up to 6%, therefore making an important contribution towards the Council’s climate emergency commitments.

A charged garden waste collection has been identified in the Resource and Waste Strategy for Torbay, by the target date of 2023. The Resource and Waste Strategy sets out that this collection will reduce the amount of green waste that is put into the residual bin and will lead to an improvement in Torbay’s recycling rates. To deliver the collection service there is a requirement to increase the staffing capacity in SWISCo and also to hire in the appropriate vehicles. The lead in time is anticipated to be 18 weeks and as such, whilst this will be introduced as quickly as possible, it is likely that this will begin to be rolled out from November of this year, estimated to support 15,000 customers intending to increase the number to 25,000.

The introduction of the collection will require further investment in vehicles and containers as currently, the fleet does not have the capacity to make these collections. Additional drivers will also be required to facilitate this service. This report summarises the justification for the collection and the appendix provides the anticipated costs and income for the collection service.

At the current time a charged for service will cover both the revenue and capital costs of the service and deliver a surplus for Torbay Council. This surplus would be intended to develop a reserve fund to meet any costs arising if Government introduce a requirement for local authorities to carry out free green waste collections in the future.

1.5	A charged garden waste collection is part of the Devon-aligned service, which Torbay Council has signed up to aspiring to meet through the Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay. The introduction of a kerbside garden waste collection service would align Torbay with other Devon district collection authorities who offer the service.

1.6	Feedback from community engagement by the Recycling Support Co-ordinators, shows that there is an appetite for this service within Torbay. It is intended that the green waste collection would be on the same day as residual waste collections but alternate weeks to the black bin.

1.7	For residents who do not wish to use the service the HWRC will continue to offer green waste recycling and there would be a transition period for one summer where limited seasonal remote green waste collection points will be offered pending review of the takeup.

2.	Options under consideration

2.1	The alternative option to an opt in charged for service is to offer a free service to all households with a garden (approx 45,000 properties).

2.2	Although this was promoted as the preferred option of Central Government, on the basis of new burdens funding this being a net nil cost to local authorities, DEFRA has not confirmed any further details. The results of the Government consultation are currently due to be published in July 2022, delayed from Autumn 2021, however any changes will then have to be included in new legislation relating to the Environment Bill, as is in reality a number of years away.

2.3	At the current time a free service would cost Torbay Council approx. £1.2 m p/a plus capital costs of approx. £1.6m

3.	Financial Opportunities and Implications

3.1	Using data from other Devon collection authorities it is assumed that there would be a take up of the service by between 15,000 and 25,000 households.

3.2	Due to the operational requirements of the collection service (vehicles and staff) costs are banded from 15,000 customers in 10,000 additional customer step changes.

3.3	A summary of costs and income for 25,000 households is set out in exempt Appendix 2.

3.4	As indicated at paragraph 1.5 any surplus that accrued from the green waste collection service would be retained as a reserve to support the introduction of a free service if this is required by national Government in future.

4.	Legal Implications

4.1	By Section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 the Council has the power to charge for discretionary services as long as the service user agrees to pay for the service

5.	Engagement and Consultation

5.1	Informal consultation has taken place through the work of the Recycling Support Co-ordinators and has demonstrated a positive appetite for the service.

5.2	The service would be in line with successful models delivered by other Devon collection authorities.

5.3	The service would be communicated to residents through the Council’s websites and social media, through communications direct to residents and through news releases.

6.	Purchasing or Hiring of Goods and/or Services

6.1	The required vehicles and bins would be procured through existing frameworks.

6.2	The proposed service would create nine new jobs in Torbay

7.	Tackling Climate Change

7.1	The introduction of the service to 25,000 households would reduce the amount of residual waste sent to MVV by approx. 433 tonnes p/a.

7.2	The additional mileage travelled in the collection of the garden waste would be offset by the reduction bulk haulage to MVV in Plymouth. It is assumed that recycling rates would improve by an estimated 4-6%, assuming 25,000 customers sign up, through introduction of this service making a direct and positive impact to the Council’s climate change commitments.

7.3	The collected garden waste would be recycled into compost.

8.	Associated Risks

8.1	Without the introduction of a garden waste collection service this limits the ability to make substantial increases in the recycling rate.

8.2	There is a risk that the Government introduces the requirement for Council’s to provide this service potentially offering funding to allow for the introduction however this appears not to be forthcoming in the short to medium term.

9.	Equality Impacts - Identify the potential positive and negative impacts on specific groups

Positive Impact	Negative Impact & Mitigating Actions	Neutral Impact
Older or younger people	X
People with caring Responsibilities	X
People with a disability	X
Women or men	X
People who are black or from a minority ethnic background (BME) (Please note Gypsies / Roma are within this community)	X
Religion or belief (including lack of belief)	X
People who are lesbian, gay or bisexual	X
People who are transgendered	X
People who are in a marriage or civil partnership	X
Women who are pregnant / on maternity leave	X
Socio-economic impacts (Including impact on child poverty issues and deprivation)	X
Public Health impacts (How will your proposal impact on the general health of the population of Torbay)	X

10.	Cumulative Council Impact

10.1	NONE

11.	Cumulative Community Impacts

11.1	NONE