Issue - meetings

1.     To outline the matters requiring attention in the areas of Waste and Recycling.

2.     To present a work programme for reviewing the matters requiring attention in the areas of Waste and Recycling.

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department and the Assistant Head of Environment Department. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was confirmed that the waste and recycling collection service had been transferred to the Environment Department since October 2022. The Head of Department had been learning more about the service and becoming familiar with the work by going on routes with some of the workforce.

-      It was explained that the service's workforce was very committed since they were providing a weekly service to around 63,400 dwellings across the county.

-      It was stated that the recycling percentages of Wales were very good in comparison with other countries. It was explained that a target had been set by Welsh Government to recycle 70% of all domestic waste by 2025. It was a challenge for every local authority.

-      Gratitude was expressed to the Highways and Municipal Department for the development of systems to ensure that the Gwynedd domestic recycling percentage was static at around 64%. Nevertheless, it was acknowledged that there was a need to do something major in order to meet the target of 70% by 2025. He noted that it was not possible to reach this by making minor changes to current procedures.

-      It was explained that the service's working arrangements had changed from 12-hour shifts (three days on, three days off), to be working the same hours over 5 days a week. This was challenging over the Covid-19 period but now the workforce had adapted to this and was working on the Task and Finish baseline. It was hoped that this would lead to savings within the service, but unfortunately the costs were more than anticipated. The department would revisit this arrangement to assess whether this optimised the service to its full potential.

-      It was reported that waste collection costed £232 per dwelling. It was explained that this was the second highest amount in Wales.
 It was considered that this was because Gwynedd was a very vast county. Nevertheless, the service's performance was very good in terms of the recycling percentage.

-      It was confirmed that there was a substantial overspend in the field of waste collection and treatment. Due to the physical nature of the work, staff sickness levels were high. It was acknowledged that this level was higher than some of the other authorities in Wales. This meant that some members of the workforce had to work additional hours. It was assumed that the overspend figures would be around £1.4 million this year on a budget of around £5 million.

-      It was emphasised that workforce health and safety was central to the service. The Council did not have an obvious waste and recycling strategy. The department was hoping to develop this in the future to ensure that staff health and safety was protected.

-      It was noted that the department received regular complaints that recycling boxes and bins  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8