Agenda item

To consider and note the Progress of Corporate Priority – Environment.

Members considered the Progress of Corporate Priority - Environment presented by Councillor Murphy.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Cornwell asked what percentage of commercial and business collections were recycled? Councillor Murphy responded that any collections containing recyclables were recycled but that the recycling percentages for these areas were not in the report but committed to providing these figures to the panel.

·         Councillor Hay commented that there was no RAG rating on page 36 of the report for customer satisfaction. Councillor Murphy stated that the data was not available at the time and that the information would be provided when possible.

·         Councillor Yeulett asked whether there was a charge for a green bin to be provided where a household did not have one upon moving in? Councillor Murphy explained that the bins belong to the property and that they do need to be paid for by the property owner even in cases where they are taken as it was not possible to pinpoint who had taken the bin.

·         Councillor Miscandlon commended the Environmental Services Officers for their prompt action in Whittlesey.

·         Councillor Wicks noted that street collections were being rolled out for normal and recyclable street waste and asked how this was progressing? Councillor Murphy explained that they had almost completed the rollout, with around 50 bins still to be deployed, with them being placed throughout town and village centres along with some being placed in cemeteries. Councillor Wicks asked if they were providing a good opportunity for recycling in the areas they had been placed? Councillor Murphy confirmed that they were and had been full most days so far.

·         Councillor Booth stated that the recycling rates for Fenland had previously been described as good and asked where they currently stood? Councillor Murphy responded that they were still in the same position and that this was well above average compared to where they should be. He explained that they were still preforming better than any other area in Cambridgeshire. Councillor Murphy made the point that no days of collection were lost during the Covid-19 pandemic but that there had been more staff off due to Covid in the previous weeks than in the last two years. Despite this, he explained that there were sufficient contingencies with officers being drafted in to do certain jobs and loaders being moved from the brown bin service to cover the shortage as the collection rates for brown bins were low this time of year.

·         Councillor Booth expressed his concern that the answer had been the same over several years, pointing out that the recycling rate was now 27 percent as a target where it used to be 52. He made the point that official sources stated Fenland were recycling 40-50 percent and that compared to all areas Fenland were 194 out of 398. Councillor Booth explained that these figures were different to what they were reporting and that other Cambridgeshire areas were also ahead of Fenland in the official tables including Peterborough and East Cambridgeshire and raised concern that the panel were not receiving the right figures. Councillor Murphy responded that the figures provided were taken at a specific time and that the two Councils mentioned have given money back as they could not complete their collections recently. He stated that in East Cambridgeshire bins had failed to be emptied for six weeks compared to Fenland who had not lost a single day. Councillor Booth expressed his appreciation that the collection services were doing a good job. He reiterated that when looking at overall performance for 2020-21 the figures provided were at odds with Government sources and the percentage had gone down. Councillor Murphy stated that they were always looking to improve. Dan Horn stated that he would get an explanation for the difference between the figures provided and Government figures.

·         Councillor Miscandlon questioned how the Council was progressing with fly tipping issues and asked what was being done? Councillor Murphy responded that when fly tipping is retrieved, officers look for documents such as invoices which had names on and other personal identifiers so that they can identify the perpetrator. He informed the panel that instances of fly tipping were up slightly and explained that instances of fly tipping can be as small as a single bag. Councillor Murphy stated that there were four cases going through the courts at the time and that they were looking at fines of up to £1,500.

·         Councillor Miscandlon asked how many successful prosecutions the Council had over the past year and how many were ongoing? Councillor Murphy responded that there were currently four to five cases ongoing but that he was unsure on how many had been successful in the last year as the cases take a while to go through the courts.

·         Councillor Cornwell referred to the item regarding the response to the DEFRA Waste Resources Strategy and that DEFRA had delayed their response to the consultation until Spring 2022. He expressed the view that the waste resource strategy dealt with important areas and asked whether they had any idea of when this strategy would come to fruition? Councillor Murphy informed the panel that he was Chairman of the Recap Board and acknowledged that progress was currently being delayed. He explained that DEFRA had kept blaming Covid for the delays and that he would not be surprised if there were further delays still. Councillor Murphy explained that some items were being pushed back to 2024-25 and there was an unawareness of the cost in these areas, noting that the brown bin service did not make any profit but still costs 900,000 per year to undertake. He explained that the Government was unsure on how they would fund the necessary changes and that certain elements had not been thought out very well causing the matter to drag on, but a close eye was being kept on the situation. Councillor Murphy explained some of the difficulties including that they want to collect food waste on the roadside which would require separate bins in these areas. He also stated that they wanted to move to electric vehicles but that this cost £400,000 per vehicle compared to £250,000 for the current vehicles and explained that they cannot switch to these overnight as they cost too much and so the change would need to be phased in. Councillor Cornwell asked whether the Council were putting pressure on DEFRA to try and improve situation? Councillor Murphy confirmed that they were along with putting pressure on the Government due to cost worries.

·         Councillor Booth referred to the fact that it had previously been reported that replacing street lighting stock in rural areas would be completed by the end of December, but that work was still ongoing and asked if there was any update. In Councillor Mrs French’s absence as portfolio holder, it was resolved that the information would be sought after the meeting.

·         Councillor Yeulett referred to the appointment of a specialist contractor and asked how the costs were being paid for and what the cost to Fenland were? Phil Hughes explained that this was part of the Growing Fenland fund and that he would double check this with Councillor Mrs French. Councillor Miscandlon asked for a written update to confirm this.

·         Councillor Mason congratulated the Environmental Services Team and officers on their performance and thanked the present officers and Councillor Murphy for their time.

The progress of Corporate Priority – Environment was noted for information.