Agenda item

This report sets out the progress made in our waste and recycling services through the roll-out of food waste recycling, introduction of wheeled bins and garden waste recycling and other service developments.

Pat Cosgrave, Service Lead for Street Environmental Services gave a presentation on waste and recycling service developments. This update set out the progress made in the council’s waste and recycling services through the roll-out of food waste recycling, the introduction of wheeled bins and garden waste recycling and other service developments.

The presentation drew attention to the following:

• The context of where Hammersmith and Fulham stood for waste minimisation and recycling in comparison to other London Boroughs.
• The benefits of a wheeled bin and food collection service.
• Details of the service roll out, the community engagement work which had been conducted and flexibility of the service.
• A sample of the feedback the service had received from residents.
• Food waste – statistics of how this had increased.
• Household recycling – Noting a 5-7% increase to date, as well as future forecasts.
• Details on the garden waste recycling service, including the use of green vehicles.
• Details on the social value implications of the service and how this had benefited communities.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang commented that waste generation affected every resident and noted that 47,000 food waste bins were now being provided. He explained that while there was scope to improve the service, he had found the Waste and Recycling Team to be helpful and responsive. Referring to lived experience data, he explained that after the last waste update at committee, he had contacted the Team and had been trained by Veolia in waste management. He commented that he was impressed by the way in which Veolia thought about the health and well-being of their staff which he felt was important. He also provided details of a waste collection round in Brook Green that he attended with the team’s supervisor which had gone well.

Turning to garden waste, Councillor Adam Peter Lang asked if officers felt the new charge associated with the service had been publicised enough. In response, Mark Raisbeck, Director of Public Realm confirmed that the service was about to come online and the Council were doing a soft launch, so it would be announced initially just on the Council’s website and then promoted more heavily from September when most residents had returned from the holiday period.

Councillor Adam Peter Lang asked if the roll-out had been completed in Hammersmith and Fulham. In response, Pat Cosgrave, Service Lead for Street Environmental Services explained that the roll-out for core deliveries had been completed in terms of the kerb side residential streets that the Council wished to deliver to, and the Council would be revisiting some of the main roads again, but where it was thought there would be a lower eligibility for wheeled bins.  Pat Cosgrave also highlighted there had been plenty of opportunities for residents to swap bins to ensure they had the right capacity bin for their needs.

In relation to the food waste bins, Councillor Jackie Borland asked what percentage of the bins were being used, as she had seen many bins with new blue tape on them which meant they were not being used. She noted that 120 tonnes per month was currently being collected and enquired what percentage this was of the potential 47,000 food waste bin collections. In response, Pat Cosgrave acknowledged that he had seen some residents were not participating in the food waste collection service and what he was referring to, was those properties where bins had been delivered by the Council. So, as the key core delivery phase had been rolled out, the Council would be returning to those streets again to identify (visually, through information management systems and feedback from crews) those properties where food waste containers had been delivered to, but which were not being used. It would then be a case of investigating this further to understand why some residents did not want to use the service. Pat Cosgrave commented that some people did not like food waste as it smelled, and others might not produce much food waste. However, the Council needed to identify what their barriers to participation were, and then work with them to see if these barriers could be overcome.

Pat Cosgrave explained, the experience in other boroughs was that food waste performance (in terms of tonnes collected) would eventually plateau and drop off a little as it drove behavioural change as people saw how much they were wasting and this might change purchasing and food behaviours. Pat Cosgrave confirmed that officers would be happy to report back to the committee on the work they were doing after the roll out had been completed.

Councillor Jackie Borland commented that everyone was guilty of buying things they did not end up using, so hopefully the food waste collection would help highlight this issue. Turning to logistics, Councillor Jackie Borland noted that there would be one rubbish collection for wheelie bins, the crews then needed to identify those properties which did not have wheelie bins, and then separate recycling sacks, so she asked if all collections would be conducted on the same day with several collection vehicles. In response, Pat Cosgrave provided details of how the collection service operated and how collection rounds had been designed to reduce vehicle milage by only going to the tip in Wandsworth once (per vehicle).

Councillor Jackie Borland asked how the operatives would know which properties did not have the bins. In response, Pat Cosgrave explained that the presentation point of the bins was within the property boundary and as many of the properties were close together, crews could see where most of the gaps were. However, he explained that embracing new technology was fundamental to the new waste and recycling contract. This meant the contract included a management information system, so the crews had started to use in-cab technology whereby the driver used a tablet which identified what the collection requirements were for each individual property along a particular street. This also meant that if there were issues surrounding the presentation or contamination of waste, this could be captured on the in-cab devices so that it would enable the Council to target its interventions and improve waste behaviours.

With regards to food waste, Councillor Liz Collins asked if you had food which had gone off, were you meant to scrape the food out and dispose of the packaging and food waste separately. Officers confirmed this was the correct action to take. In relation to garden waste, Councillor Liz Collins asked if a resident had a small garden which did not generate much green waste, what would happen if garden waste was put into general waste. In response, Mark Raisbeck commented that it was difficult to try and anticipate the individual circumstances for every resident in the borough, however, the new service that was being introduced was designed to provide choice through all the change which had been implemented. If a resident had a garden they might be able to self-compost if they were an occasional producer of green waste, alternatively they might choose to occasionally drive to the tip where the disposal was free instead of taking part in paying for a green waste collection. Mark Raisbeck explained, that by offering this choice, the Council was aiming to discourage people from putting their garden waste into their general waste because incinerating mixed waste was not good for the environment. It also cost more to dispose of and officers wished to maximise recycling.

Councillor Ashok Patel commented that he thought the contractor Veolia was doing a first-class job. He asked if it was possible for the wheeled bins to be collected from the garden, rather than the pavement. The reason for this request was that several disabled residents had explained they had difficulty moving the bins, that they blighted the landscape and finally, due to the security concerns the movement or non-movement of bins raised. In relation to the collection point for bins, Pat Cosgrave confirmed these had only been delivered to households where there was sufficient outside space within the boundary of the property for them to be stored. And after the collection, then bins should be returned to a point within the boundary of the property. He explained that an assisted collection service was available through the Council’s website for those residents that found manoeuvring the bins difficult.

In relation to green waste, Councillor Ashok Patel commented that the £90 per annum charge did not seem very much. However, if a resident was in receipt of benefits, then this was an added cost of living pressure. He asked if there were any exceptions to the charge and whether this had been means tested or if it was a universal charge. Councillor Ashok Patel acknowledged that forty-nine collections per year was good value, however, he commented that his personal green collection was only three or four times a year, so in his view, not many residents would require forty-nine collections.

In response, Mark Raisbeck confirmed that the Council was not planning on making any exceptions. He highlighted there were a number of options residents could follow to avoid having to pay and these included self-composting their green waste or taking this to the tip. He explained the green waste collection was a new service and officers would be monitoring its uptake carefully, so any anomalies to collections would be captured.

Councillor Liz Collins highlighted circumstances where a resident had sadly passed away and their empty bins were still being collected. In response, Pat Cosgrave asked for the details to be provided to him so the issue could be resolved.

The Chair, Councillor Rory Vaughan asked for further details to be provided on collections and whether the green waste was being collected on the same day as other waste. In response Mark Raisbeck confirmed that all collections would be on the same day and that green waste would become integral to recycled waste in terms of the tonnage total, as recycling waste was less expensive to process than general waste.

Councillor Rory Vaughan asked about the opportunity for residents to swap bins should the need arise. In response, Mark Raisbeck confirmed bins could be swapped by contacting the new bins email address and many residents had already done so given the myriad of issues that might prompt a change in bin size. Mark Raisbeck confirmed that the approach the Council had taken was to assess each property as best it could, and suggested residents contact the Council (if need be) after they had experienced and had time to assess the service.

At the invitation of the Chair, two residents were invited to ask their questions. The first question related to the different bin sizes that were available, and how residents were made aware of the smaller bin size as there had been little publicity on this. The Chair asked the resident if he was aware of how many streets had indicated they wished to use the smaller bins. The resident listed a series of local streets in Brackenbury ward which contained three or four bedroom houses with very shallow front gardens.

In response, Mark Raisbeck confirmed that the Council had assessed individual properties and what their perceived needs were, and in most cases, the smaller sized bins were not practical given the amount of waste a typical home generated.

Mark explained the logistics of the bin roll-out was complex and the Council would continue to assess and reassess the service. And with the tablets, each crew would be using in the collection lorries, the Council would be able to slowly generate an accurate picture of what waste each household was presenting.

The Chair reiterated that residents had the opportunity to contact the bins service with the new email address should the need arise. And Mark Raisbeck confirmed that the Council would continue to monitor the service.

The second resident asked a question on green waste. It was felt that the council had not taken into account the contribution individual households made to the greening of the borough (through their gardens). The £90 charge for green waste was deemed to be not inconsiderable given that previously garden waste was disposed of through general waste without any extra charge. What plans did the Council have to encourage residents to plant their own gardens. It was also noted that many of the Council’s services were only used by a minority of residents, although the general rule was that all residents paid for services whether they used them or not.

In response, Mark Raisbeck explained the garden waste collection was a brand-new service and it was important to recognise that the service was not free to the Council when green waste was put into general waste as there were significant disposal costs and also an environmental impact. He added that it was about encouraging residents to treat green waste in the correct way and for the Council to support this. He provided details of who the service was for (in terms of a regular collection service). He confirmed that the £90 charge was an optional charge which residents could either accept or not accept. This offered exceptional value as other London Boroughs charged similar fees for a fortnightly collection service.

Councillor Stephen Cowan, Leader of the Council, provided the context of the development of the green waste delivery service. He explained it was a new service which had been developed for residents who enjoyed gardening. He highlighted that any refuse service was expensive to provide. The aim was to get residents to do more recycling as this saved money and was good for the environment. He explained that all other Council’s charged for green waste collections.

Councillor Stephen Cowan provided a series of examples of current spending priorities (including children’s free breakfasts, LET and free adult social care) and explained this what was why the Council was charging for the green waste collection service. He confirmed that if there were any residents that could not pay, the Council might means-test in future.

In relation to the bin rollout, Councillor Stephen Cowan explained this process began in 2019 and the Council had listened to resident feedback which was why this had gone so smoothly. Asking the public to change behaviours was always a challenge but he confirmed that he been sent more compliments on the bin roll out than any other issue.

Closing the item, Councillor Rory Vaughan thanked the residents for their questions and for answers that had been provided. He confirmed there had been a considerable amount of praise for how things had gone and the roll-out had been smooth. In terms of the garden waste, he confirmed the Committee was interested in the advertising and the soft launch that officers had mentioned.

RESOLVED

1. For the Committee to note and comment on the paper and presentation.