Agenda item

To consider the report that is to go to Cabinet

The Assistant Director - StreetScene introduced this report which was a review of the StreetScene bin collection service.  The review arose due to Cranbrook Members requesting, through a question to Council, a review of equitable bin charging across the district, and also from the Service’s own planned work to review service delivery within operations tied to the recycling and waste contract work.

The review examines the council’s litter, recycling and dog collection service charges and operational model.  Members were asked to consider the overall policy and the findings of the review, and to discuss whether dog bin charges should be increased in line with the litter bin charges and whether this increase should be staged over two years as suggested, or come forward to one year. 

Discussion and clarification included the following:

·        Members asked direct questions concerning the content of the report, raised wider issues around the collection and disposal of waste and the town and parishes service charges, and highlighted concerns of particular relevance to their towns, parishes and wards.

·        The due date for this report, as set out in the Service Plan, was Spring 2024, however one Member expressed disappointment that the report was not prepared earlier.

·        The first occupation in Cranbrook was ten years ago and Cranbrook members were of the view that a strategic plan for the bin collection service should have been prepared alongside developer planning applications and delivery of dwellings.  It was noted that continued growth in Cranbrook and other areas required a fundamental review of the bin collection service, and the current report looks at the service holistically.

·        Towns and parishes will be looking at their costs, and will be less concerned with equity when compared to Cranbrook; it is Officers assessment that the increase to service charges risks wider reputational damage if those towns and parishes make complaints.

·        Whereas the review aims to bring about a more equitable scheme of charges for bin collections, it would not be appropriate to expect residents of resort towns to pay for all of their visitors’ rubbish to be collected.

·        The proposed new service charges will cover labour costs and on-costs.

·        Benchmarking with local district councils is being carried out in order to explore if the StreetScene Service is achieving best value, or if other services apply margins to their external charges.

·        Mixed waste bins containing dog waste have weighed up to 30kg and Cranbrook Town Council has worked with StreetScene to put in extra bins at extra cost to the town council, to make manual handling easier.

·        Bins on EDDC land or adopted public realm land are collected free of charge by the StreetScene service.  Bins on other relevant land owned by others, such as a Town Council, are chargeable.

·        This council adopted a policy some 10 years ago which set out that open spaces, and any public waste bins required in those spaces, would become the responsibility of a management company, with residents responsible for the management company’s fees.  Cranbrook Town Council took the decision to take these charges into their precept, and it is for this reason that bin collections in Cranbrook have become the responsibility of Cranbrook Town Council, and not EDDC. 

·        Some members expressed a view that the increased charges to town and parish councils should be implemented without delay, given that the Council is currently delivering the service at a loss.  It was clarified that the rationale for the proposed two-year roll out for the increase is to reduce the impact on customers and to enable parish and town councils to build the charges into their budgets from April 2024. 

·        The mapping of bins that has taken place will improve the reliability of dog bin collections.

·        It was suggested that if the government reinstate the Dog Licence at a suitable level, this could cover the costs involved in dog waste collection.

·        StreetScene Area Officers will work with town and parish councils regarding the locations for new bins.

·        Cabinet have agreed to set up a Portfolio Holder team to look at future services work for the recycling and waste contract, and the model of operation for StreetScene operations will be considered as part of this.  This work will need to be completed by 2026, when the waste and recycling contract renews.

·        StreetScene Operations is working with the Property, Assets and Commercialisation team to identify further depot locations in the district; one Member suggested this could be included in the S106 negotiations current taking place for the Cranbrook expansion areas, or for developments in Honiton or Ottery St Mary.

·        Under future services work, it would be appropriate to look into other models of operation, to bring innovation and future transformation into the service delivery.

·        The government is due to give some guidance around the Environment Act and the Deposit Return Scheme, and this Scheme will change the landscape of what recyclable materials there are in the materials stream; it is therefore not appropriate to invest heavily in recycling bins and associated logistics, at the present time.

Following the discussion, Members were invited to make suggestions for officers to consider incorporating into the policy, which would then go to Cabinet.  Members then voted in favour of the following recommendations.

RECOMMENDED:

1.     That the proposed increase to the litter bin collection rate should be applied to the dog bin collections.

2.     That the increase to all town and parish service charges should be spread over two years.