Archived decisions

Contact: Adrian Lee, ext 7004

1. Summary

1.1 This report suggests a framework of principles, aims and objectives that will assist with the future development of the service as part of Project Integra's Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) overall waste management strategy. It will also guide the formulation of a new tender and contract for operation of the service which is needed from 1 January 2003.

1.2 The report seeks endorsement of the following decisions made by the Executive Member for Environment on 12 March 2002, and agreement on the way forward for the preparation of the strategy.

(i) That the framework of a strategy for the County Council's Household Waste Recycling Centre service be approved, comprising:

(a) The purpose of the service be defined as:

`To fulfil the County Council's obligations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to provide facilities for the deposit of household waste and to ensure that, within affordable cost, the maximum amount of material is diverted for recycling'.

(b) The scope of the strategy be as set out in paragraph 11.1 of this report.

(c) The following five key objectives:

(i) The service should seek to meet County Council corporate aims for the environment and for accessible services.

(ii) The service should help achieve the County Council's Best Value Performance Indicators for recycling.

(iii) The service should be customer orientated.

(iv) The service should reflect and work in harmony with other collection services provided by the Project Integra partnership.

(v) The service should be innovative and inspire best practice.

(ii) That the issues raised in Section 12 of this report be developed for further consideration.

2. Background

2.1 The Environmental Protection Act 1990 establishes a responsibility on the County Council to provide "places ... at which persons resident in its area may deposit their household waste" and to dispose of that waste. In order to fulfil this function the County Council has developed a network of 24 sites across the county. These sites are managed by Hopkins Recycling Limited and by Onyx Hampshire Limited under a contract let in 1998. That contract expires at the end of December 2002. A schedule of the sites and their status is included as Appendix 1.

3. Performance

3.1 The network of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) is an important component of the recycling service in Hampshire, as it collects about half of the total household waste material recycled in the county. In 2000/01 the 26 sites (including those in Southampton and Portsmouth) collected a total of 202,000 tonnes, of which just over half was reused, recycled or composted. A detailed breakdown of the performance figures for each site is attached as Appendix 2. The sites also provide a facility for depositing some hazardous household wastes.

3.2 The cost of the service to the County Council amounts to about £6 million per annum, or £30 per tonne of material handled, including processing and disposal costs.

4. Purpose of the Service

4.1 It is suggested that the following statement defines the purpose of the service:

`To fulfil the County Council's obligations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to provide facilities for the deposit of household waste and to ensure that, within affordable cost, the maximum amount of material is diverted for recycling'.

5. Scope of the Strategy

5.1 The strategy will take account of and integrate with the Project Integra Strategy for Waste Management in Hampshire. It will specifically cover the HWRC service provided by Hampshire County Council within its administrative area. It will include objectives and policies that relate specifically to the County Council's legal obligations to provide the service, but will also consider how other powers may be used to deliver opportunities to widen its scope. It will be used to guide the management of the service and improvements to infrastructure related to delivering the service, eg dealing with commercial waste, customer care, health and safety, etc.

6. Main Policy Issues

6.1 This section proposes five key objectives on the purpose of the service and indicates some of the current issues relating to them. It then suggests some initial policy areas and actions which need to be explored to achieve the proposed strategy objectives. Debates on these issues will then enable further procedures and actions to be prepared to ensure effective delivery of the service.

6.2 Objective 1: The service should seek to meet County Council corporate aims for the environment and for accessible services

Customer surveys indicate that the HWRC service is very popular with residents. However, one cause of concern is the congestion which arises at peak times, particularly during summer weekends, which often results in queueing at sites. This is exacerbated by the fact that a number of sites have limited space available and at times have to be closed to the public to enable containers to be changed safely.

Service 'gaps' have been identified in a few areas of the county, particularly in Basingstoke, Hart, North West Hampshire and the southern Waterside Parishes in New Forest. Here the general level of accessibility to sites, ie households being within five miles of an HWRC, is not maintained. Without action, this situation will deteriorate as a number of sites (Winchester, Hayling Island, Casbrook and Netley) only have a temporary planning permission and may have to close. Whilst new sites are currently being developed at Alton and New Alresford further enhancements are limited by the lack of capital funding. New sites presently cost circa £0.75 million to provide, including land acquisition and construction costs. They may take up to two years to complete due to the land search and planning processes.

6.3 Policy areas and actions needed to achieve the objective:

(i) develop innovative means of funding infrastructure provision;

(ii) develop standards of accessibility, eg a maximum drive time or distance to an HWRC, a maximum catchment area in terms of population and set policies to achieve the objective;

(iii) site infrastructure and service to address requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act; and

(iv) review opening hours.

6.4 Objective 2: The service should help achieve the County Council's Best Value Performance Indicators for Recycling

There is a statutory need to meet recycling performance levels and, as the service is subject to a Best Value review in 2004, the service will need to be 'challenged' to ensure that it compares favourably with other counties. The HWRCs currently fulfil a significant role in achieving the overall levels of recycling within the county and the Project Integra partnership. Thus, any reduction in the number of sites will lead to a reduction in performance. Evidence from recent surveys indicates that even when residents have the choice of a free kerbside collection service for bulky goods, some still prefer to use the HWRC service. Another issue related to performance is the perceived limited success relating to excluding commercial waste from the sites and the lack of alternative services for small traders.

6.5 Policy areas and actions needed to achieve the objective:

(i) develop policies to maximise use of the existing network and a programme of selective site improvements to improve recycling levels;

(ii) seek continuous improvement of the service;

(iii) develop a policy for restricting free deposit of waste to those types for which the Council has a legal obligation to accept; and

(iv) ensure that the sites are playing a part in developing the Natural Resource Management Initiative, by developing policies for acceptance of some commercial wastes on a charged basis by providing a more comprehensive service, especially to small traders.

6.6 Objective 3: The service should be customer orientated

The service is a `front line' service by which the public form views of the performance of the County Council. It is therefore important that the sites are managed to provide an appropriate and consistent level of customer care and that the service as a whole continues to meet or exceed customer expectations.

6.7 Policy areas and actions needed to achieve the objective:

(i) undertake further research, including customer surveys and feedback, to define what customers seek from the service;

(ii) develop specific policies and standards of customer care, particularly for older or disabled customers, with appropriate training for front line staff;

(iii) consider appropriate opening hours;

(iv) introduce better signing and branding of sites and better information about recycling and household waste collection services;

(v) introduce incentives to cover these issues in the new management contract; and

(vi) undertake an analysis of funding issues, including alternative sources of funding, best value and management of service costs.

6.8 Objective 4: The service should reflect and work in harmony with other collection services provided by the Project Integra partnership

As indicated earlier the HWRC service plays a significant role in the overall achievement of high recycling in the county. Policies to restrict waste types need to be consistent with those applied by district councils to ensure that they support the overall Project Integra Strategy for Hampshire and do not present an opportunity to dispose of material which is not accepted elsewhere.

6.9 Policy areas and actions needed to achieve the objective:

(i) consider alternative services integrated with Waste Collection Authorities' services, for example bulky household waste collections, green garden waste collections; and

(ii) develop a Waste Acceptance Policy to identify what materials are best accepted at HWRCs that maximise recovery and environmental benefit.

6.10 Objective 5: The service should be innovative and inspire best practice

Changing legislation, lifestyles and the increasing demand for sustainable actions constantly bring new demands on the waste management and HWRC service. The service must be able to adapt to these new challenges, but manage costs at the same time.

6.11 Policy areas and actions needed to achieve the objective:

(i) develop policies to develop services to meet wider needs, including commercial needs, and a charging structure to support them;

(ii) develop links with district council or voluntary, community and charity group 'bring' schemes and coordinate action through the Natural Resource Management Initiative; and

(iii) consider the role of `mobile services', improved transport arrangements and new contract incentives to constantly review and improve services.

7. Development of the Strategy

7.1 It is proposed that the purpose of the service and its key policy objectives be endorsed now, and that officers should then develop more detailed strategies and procedures, together with cost estimates of their impact. The strategy should reflect and be in general accordance with the Project Integra Strategy and the Joint Interim Municipal Waste Management Strategy currently being developed within the Project Integra partnership. It is suggested that development should include input from the public, through focus groups and targeted market research. It is also recommended that Members of this Committee be involved in the process.

7.2 Implementation of revised policy or objectives will take place over a number of years so the new HWRC contracts commencing from January 2003 will need to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate developments over the contract period. A report with specific proposals for the contract arrangements will be presented to this committee prior to an Executive Member for Environment decision in the autumn. Whilst the precise developments are unknown at this stage it is evident that there is likely to be a greater link between the domestic service offered to meet statutory requirements and the wider commercial and industrial material recovery facilities that will be needed to meet EU and Government legislation in the next few years.

Recommendations

1. That the Committee notes the decision made by the Executive Member for Environment on 12 March 2002 regarding the framework of a strategy for the County Council's Household Waste Recycling Centre service.

2. That in order to progress the work to be undertaken, the Committee should provide advice and guidance on the development of objectives.

3. That a further report be submitted to the Committee on 16 October 2002.

4. That Members should consider how they wish to participate in the review process.

7103/AWL

APPENDIX 1

HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRES

SCHEDULE OF TENURE AND PLANNING CONSENT

1 FEBRUARY 2002

APPENDIX 2

HAMPSHIRE WASTE RECYCLING CENTRE PERFORMANCE 2000/01