Agenda item

The Environmental Services Portfolio Holder

AGREED to reaffirm the following refuse and recycling policies and clarifications as they were applied to the reconfigured refuse and recycling service with effect from 11 October 2010:

(a)         As a general policy all households will be delivered a 240 litre blue wheeled bin and integral 40 litre inner caddy prior to the start of the new service at no additional charge to the householder.

(b)         The following types of properties, which are deemed unsuitable for wheeled bins, will be individually assessed and alternative storage and collection arrangements made at no additional cost to the householder:

i)                    Those properties where there is physically no room to store the blue bin within the cutilage, or

ii)                   Those properties where there is no alternative but to take the blue bin through the house from its storage point to the collection point, or

iii)                 Those properties where alternative storage and collection arrangements are required for the efficient and effective delivery of the service to residents e.g. Hard to Reach properties such as flats.

(c)         Only SCDC procured blue bins will be emptied.

(d)         The blue bins and inner caddies will remain the property of the council.

(e)         Householders should only mark the blue bin with their house number or house name to enable bins to be easily identified and returned to the correct collection point.

(f)           Blue bins and inner caddies damaged by the council will be replaced at no charge to the householder.

(g)         Stolen blue bins and inner caddies will be replaced at no charge to the householder if the theft is reported to the Police and an incident number obtained.

(h)         Lost or damaged blue bins and caddies (other than those damaged by the council) will be replaced but the council’s bin charging policy will be applied

(i)            Assisted collection arrangements will be made on the grounds of disability.

(j)            The ‘standard’ collection point for blue bins is the edge of the curtilage nearest the road.

(k)          Mixed dry recyclables will be collected in the blue bin, including cans and tins (steel and aluminium); aerosols; glass; plastic bottles; hard plastic (pots, tubs, and trays); cartons (tetra packs); cardboard and aluminium foil.

(l)            Paper, including telephone directories; newspapers & magazines; general paper, including shredded paper, unwrapped junk mail will be collected within the inner caddy of the blue bin.

(m)       If the inner paper caddy of the blue bin is full, any excess paper will be collected if placed along side the blue bin in a returnable container.

(n)         If the blue bin is full, any excess dry recyclable material will be collected if placed alongside the blue bin in a returnable container.

(o)         Requests for an additional blue or green bin will be individually assessed and any additional capacity required met by the most efficient and effective option e.g. provision of a suitably sized additional or upsized bin.

(p)         Additional paper caddies will not provided at this time.

(q)         All requests for additional black bins will be individually assessed and only those households who are using the blue and green bins to their full potential and are able to clearly demonstrate a need will qualify for additional capacity.

(r)           Additional black bin capacity will be met by the most efficient and effective option e.g. provision of a suitably sized additional or upsized black bin, or other suitable service provision.

(s)         The council’s bin charging policy will apply wherever additional black, blue or green bins capacity is provided at the resident’s request.

(t)           Downsizing or subsequently upsizing of the black, green or blue bins from the ‘standard service’ will not be permitted.

(u)         Contaminated bins i.e. those that would risk breaching contamination thresholds, will not be collected. 

The Corporate Manager for Health and Environmental Services presented this report, which detailed how the Council’s existing refuse and recycling policies would be applied to the two stream co-mingled dry recycling service (the blue bin service) to be operated alongside the existing alternate weekly green and black wheeled bins with effect from 11 October 2010. It was noted that this was not a key decision.

Tendering for the MRF Services (provision of bulking, sorting and onward sale of recyclable materials)

It was planned that the Council would go out to tender for the MRF Service imminently. The tender would be open to all bidders and satisfy EU and national procurement regulations. The annual contract price would be dependent on contractor processing costs, less a rebate for the value of a basket of recyclable materials collected, and would be structured and weighted to ensure an acceptable sharing of the risks associated with market volatility. The pricing element of the contract evaluation model had been designed, using predicted tonnages over the next three years and actual values of the basket of recyclable materials over the previous three years, to reflect this sharing of risk. The contract would stipulate that the drop off point for recycled materials collected by the Council had to be within 10 miles of the Waterbeach depot in order to minimise travelling.

Hard-to-reach project

The Corporate Manager for Health and Environmental Services stated that the above project was targeting those who currently did not use the recycling bins. Success was likely to vary from site-to-site.

Dry waste recycling

The Environmental Services Manager explained that the blue bins would be able to take a range of new materials that could not currently be recycled including plastic packaging such as food pots, tubs and trays as well as cartons such as tetra packs. It was also hoped that plastic film such as cling film and food wrappers and batteries could be included. Research was continuing into theses materials and if they could be included at the outset of the service they would be added to the communications and publicity plan.

Bins owners and purchasing

It was noted that the bins, once delivered, remained the property of the Council. Whether the tenant or landlord was responsible for the bin delivery charge would depend on the tenancy agreement in place. It was understood that any bins taken in a house move could be traced using the serial number and returned to the original house of issue. Any bins stolen would be replaced free of charge providing the resident had reported the theft to the Police and obtained an incident number.

Side waste

The Environmental Services Manager explained that side-waste could not be left by green and black bins, primarily for health and safety reasons. However, because of the vehicles used on the blue bin service, it would be permissible to leave side-waste by the blue bins, providing it was left alongside the bin in a returnable container. As in the blue bin, paper should be kept separate from other materials.

It was agreed that reference to the black, green and blue bins charging policy could be included on paragraph (s) of the recommendations and removed from paragraph (o).

The Environmental Services Portfolio Holder

AGREED to reaffirm the following refuse and recycling policies and clarifications as they were applied to the reconfigured refuse and recycling service with effect from 11 October 2010:

(a)         As a general policy all households will be delivered a 240 litre blue wheeled bin and integral 40 litre inner caddy prior to the start of the new service at no additional charge to the householder.

(b)         The following types of properties, which are deemed unsuitable for wheeled bins, will be individually assessed and alternative storage and collection arrangements made at no additional cost to the householder:

i)                    Those properties where there is physically no room to store the blue bin within the curtilage, or

ii)                   Those properties where there is no alternative but to take the blue bin through the house from its storage point to the collection point, or

iii)                 Those properties where alternative storage and collection arrangements are required for the efficient and effective delivery of the service to residents e.g. Hard to Reach properties such as flats.

(c)         Only SCDC procured blue bins will be emptied.

(d)         The blue bins and inner caddies will remain the property of the council.

(e)         Householders should only mark the blue bin with their house number or house name to enable bins to be easily identified and returned to the correct collection point.

(f)           Blue bins and inner caddies damaged by the Council will be replaced at no charge to the householder.

(g)         Stolen blue bins and inner caddies will be replaced at no charge to the householder if the theft is reported to the Police and an incident number obtained.

(h)         Lost or damaged blue bins and caddies (other than those damaged by the council) will be replaced but the council’s bin charging policy will be applied

(i)            Assisted collection arrangements will be made on the grounds of disability.

(j)            The ‘standard’ collection point for blue bins is the edge of the curtilage nearest the road.

(k)          Mixed dry recyclables will be collected in the blue bin, including cans and tins (steel and aluminium); aerosols; glass; plastic bottles; hard plastic (pots, tubs, and trays); cartons (tetra packs); cardboard and aluminium foil.

(l)            Paper, including telephone directories; newspapers & magazines; general paper, including shredded paper, unwrapped junk mail will be collected within the inner caddy of the blue bin.

(m)       If the inner paper caddy of the blue bin is full, any excess paper will be collected if placed along side the blue bin in a returnable container.

(n)         If the blue bin is full, any excess dry recyclable material will be collected if placed alongside the blue bin in a returnable container.

(o)         Requests for an additional blue or green bin will be individually assessed and any additional capacity required met by the most efficient and effective option e.g. provision of a suitably sized additional or upsized bin.

(p)         Additional paper caddies will not provided at this time.

(q)         All requests for additional black bins will be individually assessed and only those households who are using the blue and green bins to their full potential and are able to clearly demonstrate a need will qualify for additional capacity.

(r)           Additional black bin capacity will be met by the most efficient and effective option e.g. provision of a suitably sized additional or upsized black bin, or other suitable service provision.

(s)         The council’s bin charging policy will apply wherever additional black, blue or green bins capacity is provided at the resident’s request.

(t)           Downsizing or subsequently upsizing of the black, green or blue bins from the ‘standard service’ will not be permitted.

(u)         Contaminated bins i.e. those that would risk breaching contamination thresholds, will not be collected.