Agenda item

This report provides an update on the activity carried out by the following contractors to Medway Council for the contract year October 2017 to September 2018:

Veolia Environmental Services – providing waste and recycling collection, waste disposal and street cleansing services

Medway Norse – providing management of the three household waste recycling centres.

Discussion:

In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman took the Chair for this item.

The Committee received a comprehensive report and presentations providing an update on the activities carried out by Veolia Environmental Services on the provision of waste and recycling collection, waste disposal and street cleansing services and Medway Norse providing management of the three household waste recycling centres.

Kim Savill, Contracts Manager Medway – Veolia and Andy Mann, Partnership Director from Medway NORSE were in attendance at the meeting to answer questions.

The Committee discussed the following issues:

·         Removal of asbestos  It was confirmed that staff were trained in asbestos awareness and that asbestos materials were not accepted at the transfer stations.

·         Transfer of contract to Medway Norse – It was confirmed that the waste and recycling collection would transfer to Medway Norse on 1 October 2019 but that Medway Norse would continue to use Veolia’s transfer stations.

·         The total tonnage waste collected – The  Head of Environmental Services informed the Member concerned that information on the tonnage of waste was included in Appendix 3 and she was happy to meet with him to discuss this if he wished.

·         Recycling rates – The Head of Environmental Services referred to changes to the markets for recycled items over recent years and confirmed that a new contract had been entered into for the disposal of mattresses on a cost neutral basis. This prevented mattresses going to landfill.

·         Provision of leaf blowers – It was hoped that leaf blowers would be available for use in 2019 and these would be used in parks in Medway.

·         Christmas waste collections – It was noted that household waste collections had operated well over the Christmas/New Year period.

·         Street Cleansing -  In response to concerns that residents had commented that there appeared to be less street cleaning, it was confirmed that street cleansing was continuing and Veolia had taken on more employees. Mechanical sweepers were also used and those areas which could not be accessed by the mechanical sweeper were swept manually. However, it was always possible that areas may get missed and both Members and residents were encouraged to report areas of concern.

·         Street Cleaning Inspections – A Member referred to paragraph 3.6.3 of the report and suggested that it would have been useful to have received information as to the outcome of the 2,066 street inspections carried out between October 2017 – September 2018. The Head of Environmental Services advised that this information had previously been included in a Briefing Note on Performance Indicator NI 195 (Improved street and environmental cleanliness:Litter).

·         Increasing communications concerning street cleansing and recycling -  In response to a suggestion that the level of publicity concerning street cleansing and recycling be increased, the Head of Environmental Services advised that work was underway with the Council’s Communications Team to refresh publicity covering all areas of the Environmental Services remit.

·         Refuse bags left out overnight – In response to concerns that refuse bags left out overnight were often ripped open by foxes, the Head of Environmental Services commented that foxes were attracted by food waste and therefore she encouraged food waste to be place in brown bins rather than in plastic sacks.

·         The introduction of charges by Kent County Council at Household Waste Recycling Centres and how this could affect Medway – The Head of Environmental Services confirmed that in response to the decision by Kent County Council to implement a charge for use of its household waste recycling centres, work was underway to ensure that this would not have a detrimental impact upon Medway’s sites. She confirmed that there were no plans to implement a charge at Medway’s sites for Medway residents. Members requested that a report be submitted to the next meeting on this issue

Decision:

The Committee:

a)            thanked Kim Savill from Veolia, Andrew Mann from Medway Norse and the Head of Environmental Services for their presentations and comprehensive response to Member’s questions.

b)            noted that work was underway with the Council’s Communications Team to refresh publicity covering all areas of the Environmental Services.

c)            agreed that a report be included on the agenda for the June meeting of the Committee providing an update concerning the Council’s response  to the introduction of charges by Kent County Council at its household waste recycling centres so as to protect use of Medway’s sites for Medway residents.