Agenda item

To receive an update on the work programme and the matters requiring attention in the Waste and Recycling services.

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

The report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department and the Assistant Head.

The members were reminded that this service had transferred from the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department back in October 2022 and that major changes had been implemented to improve the running of the service within the Environment Department. It was acknowledged that several challenges had arisen during the transfer period, which had led to difficulties with collection on routes, but they believed that the service had now stabilised.

They referred to the Welsh Government targets of ensuring that Local Authorities recycled 70% of all waste by March 2025. They emphasised that this was an incredibly challenging target and that work was being carried out to try to reach this target. They explained that the Council was managing to reach the Government's current target of recycling 64% of waste and were confident that the Department's frameworks would lead to increasing this percentage. They highlighted the fact that discussions with the Welsh Government had suggested that Local Authorities could be penalised financially if they failed to reach the 70% target.

It was explained that two factors had led to overspending within the service recently. It was detailed that these included the workforce sickness levels as well as overtime. They explained that a combination of short-term and long-term sickness had led to this, and they ensured that the service worked with the Byw'n Iach company to promote employees' well-being. The workforce was thanked for their positive response to the call for change in the way of working to ensure that services were delivered within the budget. All service staff were also thanked for their positive attitude and their readiness to undertake work to a high standard for the benefit of the County's residents.

During the discussion, the following observations were noted:- 

In response to concerns surrounding the fines by the Welsh Government should we fail to recycle 70% of waste, the Assistant Head of Department assured the members that no Local Authority had been fined to date, despite some having failed to reach the targets. They stressed that no definite confirmation of this fine had been announced and believed that the Government would be looking at Local Authorities' targets over the years to see whether an effort had been made to reach the requested targets. It was pointed out that Gwynedd had consistently reached the Government's targets over the years and worked closely with officers, therefore they did not anticipate that Gwynedd would be fined if it failed to hit the 70% recycling target.

A member enquired about the Department's plans to charge for disposing of some waste items such as tyres, rubble and asbestos and whether this was likely to lead to more instances of fly-tipping. In response, the Assistant Head explained that around 80 tonnes of tyres reached the recycling centres annually, which costs around £20,000 to process. He emphasised that there were procedures in place within the Highways, Municipal and YGC Department to deal with cases of fly-tipping, and should these charges be introduced, work would be undertaken to monitor the effect they would have on those processes – recognising that an increase in fly-tipping numbers was an associated risk.

Reference was made to plans that had been discussed at a previous meeting, of introducing hessian sacks to hold recycling waste rather than the current plastic carts. In response, the Assistant Head of Department confirmed that the Department was keen to trial these sacks in some areas because they had a larger capacity whilst also taking up less space and were cleaner. It was confirmed that the Department had already considered trialling them, but this had not happened because of the recent general election. The Department was still keen to trial this and were in the process of finding a suitable area to do so.

It was explained that the report referred to new software that had recently been installed in the lorries, and the Department was asked what kind of response there had been from the workers to the use of cameras within the lorries. In response, the Assistant Head of Department confirmed that the workers had been focal to the conversation, and he noted that the cameras were a means of assisting the workers rather than monitoring them. He emphasised that the purpose of the cameras was to verify where the lorries had been during the routes. He added that the cameras could be re-examined if a query or complaint was made, in order to assess the situation – this enabled them to confirm whether a complainant had placed their recycling trolleys in a suitable location etc. He acknowledged that there had been a negative response to the cameras by the workers initially, but they now supported them because they could see the benefit of the cameras to the efficiency of the service and allowed them to deal with enquiries more easily.

In response to an enquiry about the recycling arrangements for businesses, it was acknowledged that more could have been done to raise awareness of the necessary recycling arrangements that the Welsh Government had introduced for businesses. It was explained that the Department had not been fully ready for these new regulations, but work was now underway to support businesses.

A member asked whether enough recyclables were being collected to make a profit to contribute towards the Council's costs? It was enquired whether green waste was composted and offered back to residents for their use? In response, the Assistant Head of Department confirmed that the Department relied on the market to see how much money was paid for the materials. Although, he noted that, in general, not enough was being collected to create adequate profit. He explained that the Department was investing in new processing centres in Ffridd Rasus, Harlech and Caergylchu, Caernarfon to improve the quality of the materials in the hope that they would be purchased by outside companies for more profit in future. Similarly, he confirmed that a partnership had been established with the Isle of Anglesey County Council for composting garden waste. It was also noted that a private provider received a portion of it. He explained that it was a matter for the provider regarding what was done with the compost.

It was confirmed that the cost of residual waste disposal was currently around £4 million. Attention was drawn to the fact that a new tax on carbon emissions was likely to be introduced by 2028 which would lead to an increase in costs of £0.6 million - £1.5 million to the Council. In response to an enquiry on how this cost increase would be met, the Assistant Head of Department explained that the Council was in a long-term partnership with Parc Adfer. He emphasised that the best approach to reducing this financial risk was to ensure that we had robust recycling arrangements in place to reduce the amount of residual waste in the green bins.

The Head of Department added that work needed to be done to change people's mindset and educate residents on recycling issues. It was reported that 57% of the waste seen in the green residual bin were materials that could be recycled.

In response to concerns that holiday homes, holiday lets and AirBnBs led to waste being left for days before the collection day, the Assistant Head of Department confirmed that these were charged fees as commercial waste. He encouraged any Member to get in touch with the service if there were such difficulties in their wards.

The service was congratulated for its work, and it was confirmed that the work was of high quality and that Local Members no longer received any negative comments about it. All the workers were thanked for their hard work. The office staff were also thanked for responding promptly and meaningfully to e-mails about concerns.

RESOLVED

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