Archived decisions

Contact: Adrian Lee, ext 7004

1. Summary

1.1 This report summarises the 2003/04 Business Plans for Project Integra (PI) the Hampshire Natural Resources Initiative (HNRI) and the Waste Management section. Its primary purpose is to seek approval of the PI Business Plan, but the other Business Plans are included to set the wider context of Waste and Natural Resources Planning. A full copy of each plan is available in the Members' Room.

1.2 The report outlines the distinctive objectives and scope of each initiative, and demonstrates how they work together to improve recycling and the better management of natural resources within the county.

1.3 This is the second formal Annual Business Plan (ABP) for PI. Annual plans have been produced since 1996 and used as target setting and monitoring documents. However, until the formation of the PI Board in 2001 there was no formal collective accountability for meeting the annual objectives. The draft plan was submitted to the PI Board on 3 April 2003 and is now presented to each local authority of PI for approval. Once approved, the Executive Member will make decisions at PI Board meetings for the year within the agreed parameters proposed by the plan, including financial, without the need for further formal decisions.

2. Background

The History and Role of Project Integra

2.1 PI was set up in the early 1990s to establish a joint approach to waste management in Hampshire. PI has had many successes in this time, including reaching a recycling rate of 25% in 2001 and being awarded Beacon Council Status in 2000/01. The Government's Strategy Unit report of November 2002 "Waste not, Want not" highlighted PI as an example of how added value can be achieved through collaborative working.

2.2 Nevertheless, PI has not achieved all the challenges which it set itself. Domestic waste has continued to grow at about 3% per year and has considerably exceeded the original target of maintaining 1995 waste levels. The partnership has also had to keep pace with a continual stream of new directives and targets from both European and national Government levels.

The History and Development of the Hampshire National Resources Initiative

2.3 The HNRI is based on the principle that society's consumption of natural resources is unsustainable in the long term and that action at a local level - Agenda 21 - can play an important role in achieving change.

2.4 The approach has its origin in the Bruntland Commission report of 1989, produced in response to the unsustainable activities of global society. Bruntland developed a definition of sustainable development as "development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

2.5 The HNRI seeks to promote this concept in a practical way, engaging the public through the community planning system. The community programme is now steered through an advisory group which has representatives from a range of 13 organisations drawn from business, community and public sectors in Hampshire. Six members of the advisory group are also trustees of a `not for profit' company, the HNRI Trust, set up to secure external funding not directly available to public and private sectors.

2.6 Within this framework the County Council has two roles to play, to:

(i) influence, lead and facilitate action and outcomes with others for the Hampshire community; and

(ii) ensure its own activities fulfil sustainable principles.

2.7 The current focus of work within HNRI is on `waste' issues, but deals with it in a way which views waste as a resource to be re-used, minimising the need for new materials. The work being undertaken by the HNRI will be taken into account in the preparation by the County Council of the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework. This plan will provide the long term policy for the land use, environmental and natural resource objectives and the strategy and principles for minerals and waste management developments.

Role of the Waste Management Section

2.8 The Waste Management section is responsible for discharging the County Council's role as a Waste Disposal Authority (WDA). It does this by managing the primary waste disposal contract (with Hampshire Waste Services (HWS)), in partnership with the two City Councils, and managing the contracts for running the network of 23 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the county. It also manages former landfill sites and other waste management assets to ensure public health and safety and to minimise their impact on the environment.

2.9 The work of the section is complementary to that of PI and the HNRI, and its officers work closely with their counterparts in the PI partnership and the HNRI team. It has specific service level agreements for the delivery of research and communication functions to PI and with the HNRI for delivery of certain development projects to progress the HNRI strategy. It is concerned with much of the research and development work for PI, including establishing future infrastructure needs and the role of new technology in providing best value and progressing the PI strategy. It also handles the communications needs of the WDAs, including the targeted communications necessary to support new collection services and encourage greater recycling.

3. Summary of Each Business Plan

A: The Project Integra Annual Business Plan 2003/04

3.1 The PI Annual Business Plan (ABP) sets out the current mission, vision and objectives, but notes the need for a renewed vision to be developed. This will take place through consultation and consensus building to identify key issues facing the partnership in the period up to 2020 and plan for meeting future needs.

3.2 The ABP sets out a process for building the new vision. Its scope is to identify:

(i) issues facing the community;

(ii) options for disposal and collection systems; and

(iii) options for involving the community on a continuing basis.

The process will work alongside the PI Best Value Review and the HNRI and support County and District Council Comprehensive Performance Assessment objectives.

3.3 Aside from these key strategic issues, PI's main objective for the year is to maximise recycling to help authorities meet their statutory Best Value Performance Indicator (BVPI) standards and deal with the infrastructure requirements needed to accomplish this. The first measurement year is 2003/04. Improving efficiency within the partnership is also a key objective.

3.4 The Plan sets out a number of topic areas and relevant key actions. These are described in the following paragraphs.

Waste Minimisation

3.5 This activity is at the top of the hierarchy for dealing with waste, but is often overlooked. The Plan proposes that PI will:

(i) investigate the potential for waste reduction including waste analysis, social/lifestyle forecasting and financial forecasting;

(ii) as a result of (i) develop a wider area community-based programme with specific reduction targets; and

(iii) develop a longer term consumption/lifestyle awareness programme (linking with other PI work on awareness, eg for recycling) in conjunction with the Education Department to forge strong links with all levels of the education system.

Materials Marketing

3.6 The main aim with this is to continue and expand the opportunities for developing suitable and ethical markets for recyclable materials, which are essential if PI's recycling effort is to continue and improve. The main objectives for the year are to:

(i) conclude a long-term agreement for the supply of paper and card from PI, including supply of liveried paper banks county-wide;

(ii) explore the opportunities to develop a long term agreement for supply of recycled plastics, linked to the potential for the purchase of products made from plastics recycled by PI partners;

(iii) maximise links with the Natural Resources Initiative to ensure `best value' solutions for market development; and

(iv) explore opportunities for joint marketing with neighbouring local authorities.

Collection, Processing and Disposal

3.7 PI manages the balance of matching the supply of infrastructure against demand through the Waste Volume Service Plan (WVSP). This is a five year rolling programme of the demands which individual authorities expect to make on PI infrastructure. The WVSP process has generally been successful in identifying accurately the capacity needs of PI, but in recent months demand has exceeded supply. Efforts have been made to ensure that this situation does not continue through 2003/04 by revising the forecast demand and sourcing additional processing capacity. The following paragraphs give a picture of the infrastructure provision being made and the new or expanded collections proposed.

Materials Recovery Facility Capacity

3.8 Within Hampshire the capacity available for processing dry mixed recyclables is currently around 61,000 tonnes per annum. The disposal contract with HWS requires capacity of 72,000 tonnes and the balance is made up by sourcing private Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) capacity in Essex. The expected demand for 2003/04 is for 91,000 tonnes. The balance is expected to be made up by sourcing private MRFs in Reading and London, and continued use of the existing MRF in Essex. Although this will result in considerable additional cost for PI, it is expected to maintain sufficient capacity for the year, but the situation will need to be reviewed regularly in response to variations from current collection authority forecasts. The need for these interim arrangements will cease when the new MRF at Alton is completed in the summer of 2004. This will bring the total capacity available within the county to 157,000 tonnes per annum and is likely to be sufficient until 2007.

Green Waste (Composting) Capacity

3.9 There is currently processing capacity to deal with 56,000 tonnes of green waste within Hampshire. The forecast demand for the year is 70,000- 75,000 tonnes and a package of measures is being developed to deal with this expected demand for the current year. The use of farm sites and out of county composting sites is being investigated to meet the shortfall. PI has received a grant of £2.4 million from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to increase composting capacity by 30,000 tonnes, and this is expected to be available in spring 2004.

Energy Recovery Incineration

3.10 The first of PI's new energy recovery incinerators, at Chineham, is now available and has an annual capacity of 90,000 tonnes. The facilities at Marchwood and Portsmouth will be available in early 2005, bringing the total capacity available to 420,000 tonnes per annum at that time.

3.11 The following table summarises the overall forecast availability of processing and disposal capacity against demand. It shows a potential shortfall in green waste composting capacity which will be addressed during the year. It also shows the significant reduction in landfill resulting from the commissioning of the three new energy recovery incinerators by 2005.

Table 1 Project Integra Processing Capacity and Demand 2003/04 and 2005/06

* Includes `Out of County' capacity.

Collections

3.12 A number of Waste Collection Authorities are planning new or expanded collections within the next 12 months. Many of these have been assisted by grants from the DEFRA fund for Waste Minimisation and Higher Recycling. The following table summarises these proposals against performance for 2002/03, which highlight the infrastructure demand increases outlined above.

Table 2: Proposed new and expanded kerbside recycling collections 2003/04

Biowaste

3.13 It is essential to increase the recycling of green waste if PI authorities are to achieve BVPI standards, and in order to meet the EU landfill directive to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste being landfilled. The Biowaste Directive, however, places restrictions on the way that green waste is handled and processed for reasons of health and safety. The Biowaste working group is therefore preparing a strategy that will address issues of national and local policy, cost and environmental impact, material quality and contractual implications, including:

(i) current and anticipated legislation;

(ii) affordability to all PI authorities;

(iii) following the waste hierarchy principles by first encouraging waste minimisation;

(iv) providing equitable access to green waste collections; and

(v) observing `best environmental option' principles.

3.14 The key actions for the year are to:

(i) evaluate costs of adopting/not adopting the strategy to ensure best value for the general public and correct application of resources within PI;

(ii) agree the implementation of the revised input specifications for HWRC and kerbside collections of green waste for open windrow composting;

(iii) research into effectiveness of home composting, development of proposals to support sustainable garden practices and evaluation of community composting options;

(iv) evaluate options for improving the effectiveness of the HWRC service and other facilities for receiving green waste;

(v) carry out an evaluation of kerbside collection options, including joint collections and the impact on district councils;

(vi) coordinate and disseminate existing research on green waste collections and undertake further research; and

(vii) develop a communications/public consultation package, including a specific communications strategy related to a green waste ban, and its enforcement, identifying the economic case for the strategy.

Research

3.15 Research is vital to any organisation. The benefits include more effective targeting of resources, finding out about customers and the service they require, being able to anticipate changes, including legislative change, aid decision making and track trends and changes. Within PI, the research element supports a number of the projects identified elsewhere in this report. The action plan includes:

(i) developing a more strategic and coordinated role for research to ensure it meets PI's overall needs;

(ii) exploring biowaste processing systems to find the `best practicable option' to meet Hampshire's long term needs;

(iii) exploring the reasons for waste growth and opportunities to minimise waste;

(iv) providing support for the development of effective promotions and targeted campaigns;

(v) supporting and evaluating other community engagement initiatives; and

(vi) analysing the quality of material delivered to the MRF and the output from the MRF.

Communications

3.16 PI's targeted communications have continued to be an important part of the drive to increase recycling. Key actions for 2003/04 are to:

(i) support the implementation of new and pilot collection schemes;

(ii) manage communication campaigns, including HWRCs and Biowaste;

(iii) review and update PI's website;

(iv) conduct a full review of the branding of PI; and

(v) facilitate PI events, including the annual conference and member training.

Financial Matters

3.17 It is proposed that the executive and support functions be funded on a subscription basis, and that collective projects be funded through income share for the current year. Details of the proposed financial arrangements for the management of PI are shown in Appendix 1.

B: The Hampshire Natural Resources Initiative Business Plan

3.18 Fundamentally, the HNRI is a change management process which focuses on improving performance in dealing with waste by changing the emphasis from waste management to resource management in both the wider community and internally within the County Council. Whilst HNRI is a topic-related initiative (in the same way as initiatives on water, renewable energy, biodiversity and soil), it is also a pilot for a different generic way of working to achieve sustainability objectives, albeit initially in the waste/resource management area. It aims to work across networks and boundaries to ensure that businesses and charities, community groups and local authorities work together to achieve more sustainable natural resource use.

3.19 The HNRI has been developed through an 18 month engagement programme with key stakeholders. This community programme has produced an aspirational vision; that within ten years Hampshire should be acclaimed for the efficient and effective use of natural resources. Whilst the County Council is one of a number of lead partners on the advisory group supporting the HNRI, it is important to note that the County Council does not `own' the programme, nor does it have control over the scope and objectives, although clearly it can seek to influence these issues.

3.20 A programme has been developed to translate the various issues and opportunities into key objectives and associated tasks for the County Council's contribution to HNRI over the period 2003/05. This programme was agreed by Cabinet on 28 April and is included as Appendix 2.

C: Waste Management Business Plan 2003/04 Issues

3.21 The main focus of activity for the section is to maximise recycling in the most efficient and effective way possible, consistent with PI and County Council policy. The following paragraphs set out some of the key issues which the section has dealt with over the past year.

Infrastructure Development

3.22 Progress in completing the waste handling and processing infrastructure ordered under the waste disposal contract has continued this year with the completion of the energy recovery incinerator (ERI) at Chineham. The remaining two ERIs, at Marchwood and Portsmouth, are expected in late 2004 and mid 2005 respectively. The East Hampshire disposal point will be provided as part of the Alton MRF proposal, which should be available by mid 2004. These developments will complete the original infrastructure programme, but with the growth in waste arisings and the need to maximise recycling, further MRF and green waste capacity (composting and in vessel) will be required. Work is in hand to calculate the additional tonnages required and the timescale for its provision.

Performance and Recycling Targets

3.23 The table (to follow) sets out relevant performance data for the years 2002/03 (estimated) and 2003/04 (predicted). Whilst these figures are important measures of the authority's performance, the Business Plan includes a number of other key performance indicators reflecting other parts of the service.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Award

3.24 The PI partnership was successful in obtaining a grant of £2.4 million from the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund towards the provision of an additional 30,000 tonnes composting capacity for the partnership. The County Council is acting as `banker' and project manager for this development, which will be progressed in partnership with HWS. The funding has to be spent by 31 March 2004, so this will be a key project for the section in the coming year. Other PI partners won awards totalling £2.7 million from the same fund to develop or extend kerbside collection services across the county.

Renewal of the HWRC Management Contract

3.25 The County Council is responsible for a network of 23 HWRCs across the county. These sites are managed on behalf of the County Council by contractors. The contract for the service was renewed on 1 January 2003 and includes new incentive payments to encourage higher recycling, particularly for wood, metals, and cardboard. A network of nine sites has been developed to enable them to accept hazardous household waste from 1 April 2003.

Targeted Communication Campaigns

3.26 One of the major successes for the communications team was the campaign to encourage home composting. Over 7,000 new compost containers were sold at a reduced price and 210,000 leaflets were distributed. The team also worked with the National Waste Initiative "Rethink Rubbish" campaign to improve the awareness of kerbside recycling throughout the county. A campaign `toolkit' was provided to all PI partners to deliver this project. A similar campaign was also undertaken to promote awareness of recycling banks across the county. Surveys to monitor the impact of both campaigns are under way.

Management of Closed Landfill Sites

3.27 The focus for managing the former landfill sites in the county is to deal with counter pollution and remediation issues and then to develop a plan for beneficial after-use. A major scheme to deal with such issues at the Efford landfill site commenced last year, with a scheme to contain and cover the closed landfill sections to prevent water ingress. This was assisted by a £3 million Government loan, and work on this site will continue through the coming year to complete remediation and habitat creation works. A pilot scheme for a site at Sleaford is being developed and work on this will also continue this year.

3.28 The weather has proved to be problematic in the management of some sites, with heavy winter rainfall causing problems at the Casbrook site (drainage and gas management systems) and at Buriton, where some slippage has occurred. The extent of this problem is still being assessed, before a remediation plan is formulated. Again Government funding support is expected for some of these, but it may require support from local funds.

3.29 Another important project being progressed is to utilise landfill gas for power generation on some of the smaller closed landfill sites (schemes already operate on the larger sites). New technology and changing fiscal measures have meant that smaller sites such as Westwood and Casbrook may now be viable schemes and are currently being investigated.

Legislative Change and Its Implications

3.30 Much work has been undertaken during the year in response to legislative changes. The section was involved in attempting to develop a scheme to encourage major retailers to recommence their `take back' of old refrigerators and freezers. To date the scheme has not commenced, but efforts continue to be made. The section also assisted the Government's Strategy Unit in giving evidence during the preparation of its report "Waste not, Want not". Research has also been undertaken into the impact of other current and future legislation, including the Landfill Directive, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, the Hazardous Household Waste Directive and the Biowaste Directive.

3.31 The section's action plan for 2003/04 is summarised in Appendix 3.

4. Conclusions

4.1 The above demonstrates the breadth of activities proposed to deal with waste and natural resources management for 2003/04. The programme is an extensive one, but it is to be developed with a number of partners who will add their resources to its implementation.

4.2 The three key elements of PI, the HNRI and the Waste Management Section each has a distinctive role to play, yet the overall programmes are complementary.

4.3 The key focus for waste management is to maximise recycling performance by encouraging participation in the range of recycling schemes available in Hampshire and by ensuring that sufficient capacity is available to process material segregated for recycling. It will be important that performance is monitored closely and reported regularly. Key to controlling costs of waste management will be getting to grips with waste growth.

Recommendation

That the Executive Member for Environment be informed of any comments on the Project Integra Annual Business Plan 2003/04.

7972/AWL

APPENDIX 2

Hampshire Natural Resources Initiative Work Programme 2003/05

1 Maximise the role of commerce and industry in driving forward the more efficient and costs effective use of natural resources.

The aim is to assist Hampshire businesses in gaining a commercial edge through the adoption of best practice in integrated product design, efficient raw material use, best waste management practice, and in harnessing new opportunities and technologies.

Key tasks are to:

(i) seek South East England Development Agency recognition of Hampshire as an economic hub for natural resource best practice;

(ii) establish effective channels of communication with businesses via the Business Environment Forum, Hampshire Economic Partnership and other means;

(iii) work with the Economic Development Unit and other business support agencies to develop an approach to supporting entrepreneurs in the NRI area; and

(iv) develop an approach to developing local markets for recyclables.

2 Promote the concept of consumer responsibility by ensuring that people have the opportunity to make informed lifestyle choices.

As noted above, it is proposed this objective be progressed as part of an integrated lifestyle change programme. The key task is to:

(i) work with the Performance and Innovation Branch to explore options for including NRI issues in an integrated lifestyle change programme.

3 Reduce the impact of natural resource consumption on Hampshire's environment.

It is vital to demonstrate the effectiveness of NRI by implementing projects that make a real difference in the short term. Projects fall into two categories:

(i) To achieve the PSA target for natural resources by diverting an additional 40,000 tonnes per annum from landfill. Given that this is over and above existing targets and challenging household waste BVPIs already exist, the additional tonnage will be secured through the commercial and industrial sector. Unlike most other PSA targets, this is a completely new target rather than an extension of an existing one. The task during 2002 has been to develop a plan to achieve the target, involving five key initiatives, largely under the County Council's sphere of influence, that will deliver significant tonnages. The key PSA objectives for 2003/05 are to:

(a) implement the plan to deliver the PSA tonnage;

(b) implement an auditing system and confirm this meets PSA requirements; and

(c) ensure delivery of 40,000 tonnes minimum in 2004/05;

(ii) To improve WDA performance in terms of recycling performance, cost savings and overall service provision by applying NRI principles. The following priority projects have been identified:

(a) extend the range of materials recycled through the HWRC network, eg wood, flat glass, fluorescent tubes;

(b) develop and implement an holistic approach to abandoned vehicles that achieves cost savings, environmental and community safety benefits, and local economic development activity;

(c) develop recycling and the services to businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, through the HWRC network; and

(d) demonstrate the maximum level of recycling achievement and an integrated NRI approach through a demonstration project with Eastleigh Borough Council.

4 Establish the public sector as an example of best practice.

It is vital that the County Council is able to demonstrate that it is `practising what it preaches' when seeking to influence the wider community, including the business sector, to adopt sustainable resource management. There is a trend of continuous improvement in the County Council's own environmental performance but the following are priority areas for further action:

(i) contribute to an internal County Council waste management plan and waste data recording system;

(ii) contribute to the development of a sustainable construction framework;

(iii) influence the development of a corporate approach to green procurement; and

(iv) influence other public sector organisations to follow lead with best practice.

5 Influence change at EU and UK Government and regional levels.

The County Council has established itself at European and national levels as a leader in local action to advance the resource management approach. This provides it with a unique opportunity to influence and shape what is an emerging agenda at the macro level. Within the local government network nationally and regionally, it is important that the County Council seeks to shape mainstream thinking rather than being `out of step' with it. The priorities are to:

(i) participate in EC and regional debates on resource management issues;

(ii) organise NRI reception being held in Brussels by the Leader in spring 2003;

(iii) seek Local Government Association endorsement of NRI concepts; and

(iv) support and develop the embryo regional County Council NRI network.

In addition to the five key objectives which stem directly from the vision, there are a number of supporting objectives which must also be completed to allow progress to be made on achieving the vision.

6 To facilitate and enable external projects that meet NRI objectives.

The task here is to identify third party projects where the County Council plays a facilitation or supportive role, possibly with the provision of modest top-up funding. The aim for 2003/04 is to:

(i) facilitate and enable an additional ten projects that meet NRI objectives.

7 Implement new infrastructure projects to facilitate reducing the impact of resource use.

A key part of the NRI jigsaw is the role the County Council itself can play in assembling land and making it available to `kick start' new projects. The key priorities are to:

(i) project manage the Bar End HWRC and Eco Centre development;

(ii) develop concept and project manage investigations into the feasibility of the Dummer site for NRI use;

(iii) investigate the scope for private sector investment/joint venture partnerships, prepare development brief for Dummer and invite and evaluate private sector proposals; and

(iv) investigate and identify other opportunities for NRI use on County Council land.

8 Develop and support the local HNRI network.

From the start of NRI it was recognised that the scale of the problem was bigger than any one organisation or sector had realised and concerted action by the whole community is needed to bring about a solution. The NRI concept is based, therefore, on establishing a widely owned community vision for natural resources and then taking appropriate action towards its achievement across the range of sectors. Establishing a wide NRI network is therefore an important priority and to date a local electronic network of 1,200 organisations and individuals has been established. The key tasks are to:

(i) support and expand the existing NRI network;

(ii) support and enhance the HNRI web-site;

(iii) produce regular electronic HNRI newsletters;

(iv) establish a network of NRI community champions;

(v) ensure the HNRI Advisory Group and HNRI Trust are properly supported and advised;

(vi) develop plans for making the HNRI Trust independent of the County Council; and

(vii) engage County Council Members, chief officers and departmental management teams on NRI.

9 Develop and maintain a strategic overview and manage delivery of objectives.

The need is to maintain the development of the NRI concept both externally and internally and to identify opportunities. The key tasks are to:

(i) maintain an overview of EU, UK and regional policy in relation to natural resources;

(ii) develop an action plan for achieving the community NRI vision developed in 2002;

(iii) develop NRI as a means of contributing solutions to issues identified by local strategic partnerships;

(iv) develop and maximise internal synergies between NRI and other service areas;

(v) ensure NRI concepts are reflected in minerals and waste local plan review;

(vi) develop and implement a strategy to maximise use of external funding;

(vii) review opportunities to advance NRI offered by PSA freedoms, Local Government Act 2000 and Comprehensive Performance Assessment, etc;

(viii) identify and where appropriate progress new opportunities and initiatives;

(ix) secure nominated financial adviser to work with NRI; and

(x) monitor achievement of this Business Plan.

10 Research and development to maximise resource management potential.

The need is to obtain information of potential resource streams, how they will change over time and the facilities needed to optimise recovery. The key tasks are to:

(i) engage industry and prepare an assessment of future trends in key resource streams;

(ii) implement project to quantify key resource streams in household, commercial and industrial waste and to achieve first iteration of infrastructure required to optimise performance (subject to external funding);

(iii) implement integrated research, development and demonstration programme to maximise use of secondary and recycled aggregates over a county geographic area (subject to external funding), and

(iv) support the HNRI Trust in implementing research and development projects, including the Pilot Electrical and Electronic Goods Demanufacturing facility.

APPENDIX 3

Waste Management Section Action Plan 2003/04

Management and Administration of Key Waste Services:

(i) manage the operation of services in accordance with contract conditions and within budget;

(ii) work to achieve customer satisfaction and other performance indicator targets;

(iii) monitor and manage new HWRC contracts; and

(iv) develop HWRC programme, including opening of new facility at New Alresford and progress Bar End, Winchester scheme to construction stage.

Forward planning and development:

(i) complete DEFRA funded compost plant;

(ii) manage completion of additional MRF capacity and transfer station at Alton;

(iii) undertake programme of HNRI project development work;

(iv) draft HWRC Service Review for public consultation;

(v) prepare and report monthly review of recycling performance;

(vi) plan for the achievement of waste minimisation and recycling targets;

(vii) work with retailers for re-introduction of fridge `take back' scheme;

(viii) work with PI partners to produce Greenwaste/Biowaste Strategy;

(ix) work with Eastleigh Borough Council on project to increase kerbside recycling and investigate synergies between commercial and household waste collection services;

(x) monitor progress and impact of HWRC hazardous household waste service; and

(xi) represent the County Council on PI and other groups.

Facilities Management:

(i) manage and safeguard the County Council's waste management assets;

(ii) establish Best Practice standards for management of closed landfill sites;

(iii) manage takeover of environmental responsibility at Bramshill and Somerley;

(iv) complete pollution control, remediation and habitat creation scheme at Efford;

(v) draft protocol for pilot after-use scheme at Sleaford;

(vi) install landfill gas utilisation scheme at Westwood; and

(vii) investigate and resolve slippage problem at Buriton.

Research:

(i) assess impacts of new legislation and policy guidance;

(ii) measure implications of lifestyle on waste stream and future waste management infrastructure needs;

(iii) undertake specific research into waste growth and means of controlling it; and

(iv) undertake research to support project development and information needs.

Communications:

(i) support implementation of new and pilot collection schemes in PI;

(ii) manage communications campaigns - kerbside collections and banks;

(iii) develop green waste campaign `toolkit';

(iv) review and update PI website;

(v) conduct full `branding' review of PI;

(vi) facilitate PI event management including Member training; and

(vii) support information dissemination, including Integra News.