Issue - meetings

To recommend to Council the approval and adoption of the updated Waste Strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership.

AGREED to recommend to Council:

·         that the revised Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Joint Waste Strategy be approved, subject to any final drafting amendments to be made by the Director responsible for Environmental Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Recycling & Refuse Collection.

·         that the updated Fenland Recycling Plan be approved,

and to note that that the development and approval of a shared waste strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough fulfils a Business Plan objective for 2025/26.

Members considered the RECAP Waste Strategy report presented by Councillor Tierney.

Councillor Hoy asked if she had correctly read in the report that energy from waste has been excluded from the RECAP waste strategy. Councillor Tierney replied that it is not exactly excluded but at this point the decisions are at too high a level to have decided which process will be used. He would like to stress that he will be opposing any use of energy from waste, particularly Wisbech energy from waste as agreed by this council in a previous motion. He has made a strong case to avoid using it wherever possible and has indicated at RECAP that FDC will not support it but for now the decision is not at that stage and FDC is not using energy from waste for waste disposal.  

Councillor Mrs French asked whether the new food waste collections would be introduced in June as hoped. Councillor Tierney replied that the aim is to start sometime in summer but currently a national problem involving the supply of vehicles is affecting the start date. Councillor Boden said that FDC has been badly let down in this regard, having been advised the vehicles would not be delivered barely three weeks before the date expected, which is unacceptable. However, once delivered it may be more appropriate for the service to start in September after the summer holidays.

Councillor Hoy asked if the new food waste collection service could potentially impact council finances received from the brown bin service, if people use the new service, they may not want to purchase a brown bin. Councillor Tierney responded that it is unlikely to have a massive effect, the brown bin is primarily for garden waste. He would not encourage the use of the brown bin for food waste and the new system is a free service.

Proposed by Councillor Tierney, seconded by Councillor Hoy and AGREED to recommend to Council:

·         that the revised Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Joint Waste Strategy be approved, subject to any final drafting amendments to be made by the Director responsible for Environmental Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Recycling & Refuse Collection.

·         that the updated Fenland Recycling Plan be approved,

and to note that that the development and approval of a shared waste strategy for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough fulfils a Business Plan objective for 2025/26.