Issue - meetings

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Environment Department.

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 Heads of the Environment Department.

It was reported that the Department led on five projects in the Council's Plan 2023-2028, namely 'Management of second homes and short-term holiday accommodation' as part of the Homely Gwynedd priority as well as a 'New Local Development Plan', 'Waste and Recycling', 'Active Travel', and 'Public Transport' as part of the Green Gwynedd priority. It was elaborated that the information presented for this meeting set out the Department's progress against the project milestones for 2024-2025 as well as data on the Department's services' performance measures.

During the debate, the following comments were made by Members:

Waste and Recycling

It was pointed out that the Department did not meet the Welsh Government's national targets of recycling 70% of all waste in the County, stating that the Council's recycling percentage for 2024-25 was 65.3%. It was asked if the Department had considered adapting the frequency of waste collections to meet this target. In response, the Assistant Head confirmed that it was hoped to carry out a consultation to ensure that there was a clear pathway for the Council to recycle 70% of all waste. However, it was emphasised that no decisions had been taken to adapt the frequency of waste collection at this time.

It was asked if any financial fines would be imposed on the Council by the Government for failing to meet this target. The Assistant Head confirmed that a £200 fine was imposed for every tonne of waste below the 70% recycling target. It was explained that the Council was approximately 3,000 tonnes below the target in the year 2024-25. It was explained that the Council was in ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government to demonstrate that action was being taken to meet the target and that this would be reflected when determining the amount of any financial penalty imposed on the Council. 

In response to a further question about starting to recycle soft plastics, the Assistant Head confirmed that this was not happening now because there was no market for it. However, it was emphasised that the Welsh Government was currently piloting this type of collection in south Wales. It was added that there were plans to recycle more goods such as plastic bags and small electronic gadgets in the future. The Assistant Head elaborated that a tax was being imposed on companies on a scale that set out how easy it was to recycle any waste from their products or packaging, in the hope that this would encourage companies to ensure that their products could be recycled and to encourage buyers to do so.

Sickness levels among service staff were referenced and officers were asked how they dealt with these cases. In response, the Assistant Head confirmed that staff were more likely to be off sick as they get older due to the physical nature of the work. It was reported that sickness  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7