Purpose of Report
1. To ask the
joint scrutiny committee for its views on the draft joint Waste
Resources and Street Cleansing strategy.
Strategic Objectives
2. The
efficient and effective provision of waste collection and street
cleansing services, as a waste collection and litter authority, are
statutory requirements on local authorities, and this strategy
supports the following corporate objectives.
3. South
Oxfordshire: 5. Homes and Infrastructure that meets local need and
3. Action on Climate emergency
4. Vale of
White Horse: 5. Working in Partnership and 2. Tackling the Climate
Emergency
Background
5. Both
councils, as second tier local authorities, have responsibilities
under the Environmental
Protection Act 1990 for the collection of household
waste. They also have responsibility to maintain the clean
nature of their streets. These are amongst the highest
profile services the councils provide as they affect all households
and have a significant impact upon the climate targets for the
councils. The councils provide these services through a joint
arrangement, and any strategic approach is also provided
jointly.
6. The
councils are consistently high performing in the recycling league
table, having achieved 61.6% for South, 60.9% Vale giving the
position of 1st and 3rd respectively in the
recycling league tables, out of a total of 343 Councils
(2022/23).
7. How the
services are currently provided was outlined in a confidential
report to the Cabinets on 9 and 10 March 2023. This report
also obtained permission to extend the current arrangement with
Biffa. This will conclude at the end of a two-year extension
period, ending 28 June 2026.
8. The
reasons for adopting a long-term strategic approach, and the
associated decisions on the mechanism for future service provision,
were informally outlined to each Cabinet in August 2023.
9. The
Cabinet briefings of August 2023 also outlined the process to be
used to develop a new Waste, Resources and Street Cleansing
Strategy.
10. There is not a statutory requirement
for the councils to have their own waste strategy, although they
are part of the county-wide Joint Municipal Waste Management
Strategy (JMWMS), which is a statutory document, and this strategy
aims to support that approach.
Creating the Waste Resources and Street
Cleansing Strategy
11. There is no common format for a
successful Waste Resources and Street Cleansing Strategy. This
provided an opportunity for officers to pick out the best elements
from a range of local authority strategies and to tailor the new
draft strategy in such a way as to meet the needs of the two
districts. Extensive work was undertaken at a national and regional
level to seek out best practice examples of work themes from other
local authorities (particularly seeking out comparable authorities
with similar geography, demographic and rurality) to inform work
themes.
12. Throughout the autumn of 2023,
consultation sessions took place with all councillors through
in-person and online sessions to discuss the key themes and the
desired strategic emphasis going forward. There was also a session
with the Climate Emergency Action Committee (CEAC) and Climate and
Environment Emergency Action Committee (CEEAC).
13. Consultations with focus groups of
residents were also completed, conducted by MEL Research, a
resident engagement consultancy. These focus groups provided
information from a resident’s perspective and this was
combined with results from the annual waste and street cleansing
surveys, to give a view on the thoughts of the population of the
districts.
14. The county council, as a key waste
partner, was involved in the consultation as well as being
consulted itself on the proposed strategy, to ensure a
‘fit’ with the disposal element of waste (food, garden
and residual), a function that rests with the county council. The
strategic waste group of the Oxfordshire Resources and Waste
Partnership (ORWP), which all the districts and county council are
members of, was consulted. The highways team was also
involved in consultation over the street cleansing elements within
the strategy.
15. Officers have maintained awareness
of the changing proposals of the Environment Act 2021, over recent
years. At the time of assembling the final Waste Resources and
Street Cleansing Strategy, May 2024, there was clarity on the
majority of the expectations on local government, and these have
been considered within the content, ambition and direction of
travel described within this new strategy.
Summary of content
16. The content of the strategy is shown
in Appendix 1 and is summarised below.
17. Our residents do a good job
supporting high levels of recycling and environmental activity in
the district, mainly as a result of high levels of garden waste
recycling. However, more is achievable, and everybody needs
to do more if we are going to continue to be the best and achieve
our goal to reduce the volume of waste produced, and when we do
produce it having as much as possible reused or recycled.
18. The strategy is looking beyond how
the councils provide the services and instead focusses on better
ways for the community to help deliver solutions. This will
only work if residents have a wide choice of well communicated
options so that unwanted household goods can be found other uses or
other homes and those wanting to improve their local environment
are supported in doing so.
19. The key thread running through the
strategy is the national, approved and recognised, Waste Hierarchy.
Already backed by a statutory requirement to account for how
actions move waste up the hierarchy, it provides a powerful
reference, underlining the main direction of travel described.
20. The councils also recognise the key
factors at play in guiding the strategy, namely:
a)
Legislative framework. The councils will continue to meet
their statutory obligations regarding the collection of household
waste and keeping streets clean. This also means that the
councils will not look to introduce waste collection systems that
are not in line with statutory guidelines set by government.
b) Commercial
factors, including model of service provision and constraints
placed on local authority finances.
c) Community
engagement. The needs and preferences of the residents and
stakeholders, including visitors or others who work within the
districts.
d) Wider
corporate and environmental aspirations, including the
councils’ Corporate Objectives and response to the climate
emergency.
21. There is no ‘end date’
on the strategy. Achieving movement of waste up the waste hierarchy
is not a single action that can be given a start and finish date.
It is also the case that this is a guide to waste-related decisions
and not a detailed programme of work. This will be achieved
through the annual action planning process, where the necessary
detail on intended activities and projects to support the work
areas identified in the strategy will be set out. Progress reports
on the annual action plans will be provided annually to Cabinet.
The strategy can therefore be reviewed at a suitable future date
when the councils feel it necessary to do so.
22. The key themes within the strategy
are as follows:
Household waste
collection:
a)
Support residents to reduce waste and move the waste they do
produce up the waste hierarchy.
b)
Maximise the visibility and clarity of education messages on
sustainability.
c)
Support residents to maximise the value and lifespan they get from
their goods.
d)
Where items must be disposed of, have the most appropriate
collection system, getting as many of the items that can be
recycled into the recycling stream.
e)
Recycle and process materials in the most cost effective and
sustainable way.
Street cleansing:
a)
Reduce litter through a localised, community-driven approach.
b)
Reduce fly tipping.
c)
Clean streets in partnership with and sensitive to, local
needs.
23. As the strategy is not proposing a
major shift in how it collects waste, other than through working
more closely on street cleansing and activities higher up the waste
hierarchy, it is considered low risk. Approval of the strategy is
not a key decision.
24. A good example of this is
investigating a 3:2:1 collection system which is explained on page
25 of the strategy. The government has recently indicated that
there would be statutory guidance to cap the minimum residual waste
collection frequency to every two weeks. A legal challenge over
whether statutory guidance is the same as a statutory requirement
is being considered by all authorities in England. This level of
detail is inappropriate for the strategy, which is primarily
setting out work that could be considered to deliver against the
waste hierarchy within a variety of thematically arranged work
areas, with all proposals subject to further scrutiny before
implementation.
25. There are no work areas within the
strategy that will require significant investment or cost. The core
service, especially for kerbside waste collection, is likely to
remain unchanged, at least in the medium term.
26. The strategy has been developed
using a wide range of supporting information which has been the
result of either desktop research or directly gathering
information. It is not proposed that this is presented for
decision but will be made available on the councils’ websites
along the strategy. However, a careful review of all of the
supporting information will be made by a range of officers to
ensure that information presented is correctly presented. The
summary list of supporting information is attached as Appendix
3.
Design and use of the strategy
27. As the final document will be a
public facing document, a graphic design company has been employed
to ensure the strategy is visually engaging. A graphically designed
early draft of the strategy accompanies this briefing note,
attached as Appendix 2. Under is how the waste hierarchy is
presented. These are not in a final, finished form, but indicative
of the style to be used and the emphasis within the public version.
Any inconsistencies and visual improvements considered necessary
will changed prior to presenting for final decision.
28. The graphic design company will also
produce a version of the strategy that fully adheres to
accessibility guidelines, and a short, 1-2 page, summary of the
strategy available for wider use and sharing.
Consultation
29. Extensive
consultation has been undertaken, with residents, Councillors,
partners, other authorities and stakeholders. It is not the
intention to further consult on the strategy itself, but there will
be annual feedback and engagement with Cabinet on the progress of
work areas within the strategy and the opportunity to enhance or
re-shape the content of work themes, in relation to the core
objective of moving waste up the waste hierarchy, to reflect the
developing street cleansing, resource and waste agenda.
Financial Implications
30. There are no financial implications
directly from this strategy.
Legal Implications
31. There are no legal implications
arising directly from this strategy.
Climate and ecological impact implications
32.As agreed
with the Climate team, the Climate Impact Assessment Tool has not
been used for the strategy as it covers too wide a range of work
areas to represent the impacts effectively. As individual actions
or projects from the strategy come forwards, these will be assessed
using the tool to ensure that carbon emissions and other
environmental impacts are mitigated against as much as
possible.
33. Overall, we expect the strategy to
have a positive impact on climate and ecology with work areas that
support greenhouse gas and air pollution reduction, improvements to
biodiversity and waste reduction. The guiding principle of the
strategy is the waste hierarchy, and this is reflected in the
themes and work areas identified. Residents will be supported to
reduce waste and maximise the lifespan that they get from their
goods, the councils will ensure that the collection systems enable
as much waste as possible to be recycled and processed in a
sustainable way, and litter will be reduced across the
Districts.
Equalities implications
34. An Equality Impact
Assessment has been completed and there are no implications
identified.
Risks
35. The strategy is not proposing a
major shift in how it collects waste, other than through working
more closely on street cleansing and activities higher up the waste
hierarchy, it is considered low risk.
Conclusion
36. The Waste Resources and Street
Cleansing Strategy will provide an exciting opportunity to build on
the success of the councils in operating a high-performing waste
and street cleansing service.
37. Publishing
a strategy in the coming months will act as a guide and a valuable
reference point for future decision-making in the area of waste and
street cleansing.
Background Papers
·
Cabinet report: Delivery of waste services (confidential)
9
March (South) and 10 March (Vale) 2023
·
Cabinet briefing paper: Approach to a report on waste and street
cleansing services beyond June 2026
4
August (South) and 18 August (Vale) 2023
Appendices
1 Draft Waste
Resources and Street Cleansing Strategy V8 (Content)
2 Strategy
graphic design
3 Supporting
information list
