Decision details

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director seeking formal approval to commence the necessary processes to ensure that suitable arrangements were in place to continue to provide a recycling collection service when the current contractual arrangement expired, and indicating that a decision on this matter was required as the current Dry Recycling Collection contract was due to end on 31 March 2011 and a recycling collection service must continue to be provided.

The report indicated that the Council had a statutory duty to collect at least four materials for recycling from households, as well as still having tonnage related recycling/composting targets to achieve; that the current contract with Abitibi Bowater Recycling Europe (subcontracted to P.D. Logistics) would come to an end on 31 March 2011 and could not be extended; that a household recycling collection service must continue to be provided form 1 April 2011 onwards to comply with statutory obligations; and that the current contract included the servicing and cleaning of bring banks.

The report also detailed the pressures for change and indicated that, although Sefton was closely approaching its current long-term recycling/composing target of 40%, it was envisaged that a higher target of 50% would be imposed as the EU Waste Directive was transposed into national legislation later this year and regional and sub-regional strategies aligned; that there was also a significant desire from the Council and Sefton residents to recycle an increased range of materials from their homes, particularly the recycling of plastic bottles and cardboard; that these materials could be accepted at the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority's (MWDA) new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) which was under construction at Gillmoss and should be operational by the first quarter of 2011; and that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services) Working Group had concluded that delivering recyclable materials to this facility would be the most practical option when considering how to incorporate both of these materials into a new recycling service.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee Working Group, at its meeting held on 16 December 2009, had recommended that a 'co-mingled' collection be introduced, subject to an acceptable/beneficial arrangement being agreed by all MWDA member authorities; that under a co-mingled collection system recyclable materials were stored, collected and transported mixed together; that the mixed recyclables were then partly mechanically and partly hand sorted into different materials at the MRF; and that under the  new recycling service, food waste would be continued to be collected on a weekly basis on the same day as other containers were collected/emptied.

Paragraphs 23-37 of the report detailed the complex financial implications of the scheme, but that whichever service was ultimately established, it would have a significant financial impact and therefore the anticipated cost would need to be included in the Medium Term Financial Plan for 2011/12 onwards.

The report concluded that the co-mingled service did provide an opportunity for residents to recycle both plastic bottles and cardboard and that the Council was often criticised for being unable to offer the collection of these materials via the current collection service; that the collection of plastic was likely to become a statutory requirement in future; that local experience suggested that the amount of recyclable material collected via a fortnightly co-mingled wheelie bin service would increase; and that such an increase would be of benefit to Merseyside as a whole, but at extra cost to Sefton whatever the method of collection adopted in the future.

This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED:  

That the Cabinet be recommended to:

(1)          approve the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services) Working Group that a 'co-mingled collection' be developed, subject to an acceptable/ beneficial arrangement being recommended by Finance Directors and subsequently agreed by all MWDA Member Authorities and authorise the Operational Services Director to make the necessary arrangements for the implementation of the new recycling collection service that will operate from April 2011 onwards;

(2)          pending a satisfactory conclusion to the above, to authorise simultaneously the Operational Services Director to make arrangements to tender for the provision of a kerbside sort recycling collection service, based on the materials currently collected with cost options for the addition of new materials; and

(3)      note the potential cost increase associated with either collection service and include such cost in the Medium Term Financial Plan.