Decision details

Further to Minute No. 106 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member - Environmental held on 26 February 2010, the Cabinet considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director on the proposed processes to be commenced to ensure that suitable arrangements are in place to continue to provide a recycling collection when the current Dry Recycling Collection Contract expires on 31 March 2011.

Councillors Friel and Kerrigan outlined the concerns of tenants in high-rise accommodation blocks in Bootle with regard to the perceived implementation of additional charges upon the tenants by One Vision Housing to meet the costs for the collection of residual waste from the accommodation blocks and the Environmental Protection Director reported on the correspondence sent to One Vision Housing seeking a meeting to discuss proposals for a single weekly collection of residual waste from high-rise accommodation blocks

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

RESOLVED:   That

(1)      the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services) Working Group that a 'co-mingled collection' be developed be approved subject to an acceptable beneficial arrangement being recommended by Finance Directors and subsequently agreed by all Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority member authorities and the Operational Services Director be authorised to make the necessary arrangements for the implementation of the new recycling collection service that will operate from 1 April 2011 onwards;

(2)      pending a satisfactory conclusion to the issues in (1) above, the Operational Services Director be authorised 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;

(3)      the potential cost increase associated with either collection service be noted and included in the Medium Term Financial Plan;

(4)      the Chief Executive be requested to advise the Chief Executive of One Vision Housing that the Cabinet would wish the One Vision Housing Board to respond positively to the proposals to improve recycling at high-rise accommodation, including a single weekly collection of residual waste at the earliest opportunity and that the view of the Cabinet is that One Vision Housing should not impose any additional charges on tenants for the collection of residual waste should One Vision Housing require a frequency of collection in excess of one per week;

(5)  the Operational Services Director advise local councillors of the progress and conclusion upon the discussions with One Vision Housing on the future arrangements for the collection of recycling and residual waste from high-rise accommodation blocks; and

(6)   the Environmental Protection Director submit a report to a future Cabinet meeting on the outcome of the discussions with the Merseyside Councils on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) recycling targets and the implications for Sefton Council.