Agenda item

To consider the contingency plan for recycling and waste collections (attached).  This document has been produced jointly with the council’s contractor, Biffa.  The Cabinet member responsible for this service offered to bring this paper to the committee. 

If any councillor has any detailed questions on this paper, they are advised to contact Ian Matten, the service manager, before the meeting (email ian.matten@southandvale.gov.uk). 

The committee considered the draft recycling and waste collection adverse weather plan.  The committee recalled that at its meeting in June 2011, the Cabinet member responsible for waste and recycling had offered to bring the draft adverse weather plan to the Scrutiny Committee in October.  He invited the committee to comment on the draft plan. 

Before opening the debate, the chair invited Councillor Dudley Hoddinott to address the committee and ask his questions.  Councillor Hoddinott welcomed the adverse weather plan but believed it did not take into account the varying number of days of disruption to different parts of the Vale.  In particular, there was a greater disruption to the service where hills were covered in snow.  He asked how the plan would differentiate between those areas where the disruption might be for one or two days, and areas and specific roads where the disruption was likely to be much longer?  He also asked how would the council communicate information on plans to collect waste from people living in these specific areas? 

The Cabinet member for waste, Councillor Reg Waite, accepted that the council’s communication systems had been poor during the worst weather before and after last Christmas and New Year.  The council must learn from this.  He hoped the plan would overcome the problems experienced last winter and that communications would be significantly better.  The plan was to improve communication to district councillors and parish councils.  There was also the text messaging service open to the public to register to receive text updates to their mobile telephones.  He urged all councillors to promote this scheme.  This should cut down on the emails and calls to the council during this time.  There were also plans to park refuse vehicles overnight in areas closer to the operator’s home during the worst weather, rather than requiring drivers and operators to travel to the vehicle depot each morning.  The County Council had offered each parish one tonne of road salt to clear local roads.  Parish Councils were co-ordinating this.  He was pleased that the contractor, Biffa, had shown a positive attitude to plan for any adverse weather this coming winter. 

The committee thanked the Cabinet member for inviting the committee to comment on the draft adverse weather plan.  The committee made the following suggestions:

• There should be an owner for the adverse weather plan, and a date and version number. 
• To further improve communication, information could be sent via local village or town newsletters, neighbourhood watch co-ordinators, local radio, local television news programmes, and advertisements in local newspapers. 
• Paragraph 1.1 should include district councillors in the list of people to alert to impending adverse weather. 
• Paragraph 3.2 should specify that the forms of communication set out in that paragraph would be used to communicate to those parts of the Vale where there specific problems, such as where there were roads on hillsides. 
• Paragraph 4.2 should include emptying dog waste bins. 
• Paragraph 4.3 in the second row of the table in the last column, clarify that the Biffa disposal site at Sutton Courtenay is not open to the public but if opened on Saturdays, it would allow Biffa to dispose of waste from collection vehicles. 
• Appendix 1 regarding the text alert system, ensure that text messages specify the day and date of the next collection. 
• Appendix 1, remind residents that the garden waste scheme will be suspended over the Christmas/New Year period. 
• During the worst weather, the council should promote the use of ‘bring sites’, the local recycling points near shops and community centres for recycling. 
• There should be communication to the public after the winter weather was over, detailing what happened and why. 

The committee noted that the communication and waste teams and their managers were now located in the same office space, which should improve communication while the adverse weather plan was in operation.  The committee welcomed this.  The Cabinet member reminded the committee that the plan was a living document, and he would welcome any further suggestions outside of the meeting. 

RESOLVED: To request that the officers and Cabinet member for waste take the committee’s suggestions into account before finalising the recycling and waste collection adverse weather plan.