Issue - meetings

Reduction in Funding for Recycling Credits

Meeting: 03/12/2019 - Cabinet (Item 18)

18 Reduction in Funding for Recycling Credits (CAB06(19/20)) pdf icon PDF 302 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Cabinet considered a report by Acting Executive Director Place Services.

 

Cabinet approved that:

 

(1) The County Council formally notifies all the District and Borough Councils (D&Bs) in the county of the termination of all payments for recycling credits except those which are statutorily eligible under the Environmental Protection (Waste Recycling) Payments (England) Regulations 2006 from 1 April 2020.

 

(2) £2m is placed in a reserve to support D&Bs who commit to implementing a New Service Model for refuse and recycling collections, to a specification and timetable agreed with the County Council, including separate food waste collections, or agrees with the County Council another alternative approach that will improve performance and reduce costs.

 

(3) £0.3m is set aside for the West Sussex Waste Partnership to deliver joint projects such as those concerning schools waste, education, campaigns etc. and to undertake waste composition analysis; and that

 

(3) Authority is delegated to the Acting Executive Director Place Services to develop, in consultation with D&Bs, the specification for the New Service Model, criteria for awarding the funding and the calculation method.

 

The call-in deadline is 12 December 2019

Minutes:

18.1   Cabinet considered a report by Acting Executive Director Place Services.

 

18.2   Mr Roger Elkins declare a personal interest as a Member of Arun District Council and Mr Duncan Crow declared a personal interest as a Member of Crawley Borough Council.

 

18.3   Mrs Deborah Urquhart, Cabinet Member for Environment, introduced the report stating that this fund was intended to be shared with collection authorities to cover the cost of separate waste collections.  However, in West Sussex we have co-mingling collections, so the District and Borough Councils do not have that additional cost.  She went on to explain that the County Council had been sharing this fund as an incentive to increase recycling rates but there was no evidence to suggest this was working.  Mrs Urquhart therefore highlighted the proposal to terminate payments for recycling credits but to retain £2m in reserves to support any commitments to projects that increase recycling rates.

 

18.4   Mr Andrew Barratt-Miles, Chairman of Environment, Communities and Fire Select Committee stated that when previewed by Committee most members were in favour of the proposals, but that support was not unanimous.  He explained that information was sought from the District and Boroughs to evidence the use of the funds provided to them and but that the evidence had not been supplied.

 

18.5   Mr Michael Jones, Leader of the Labour Group, stated that his group opposed this proposal and suggested it would result in unintended consequences such as contaminated loads.  He also stated that is was an example of poor partnership working and that District and Borough Councils also had financial pressures.

 

18.6   Cabinet Members spoke in support of the proposal and highlighted that any use of this fund should be evidence based. They endorsed the proposal for the use of the reserve to incentivise schemes for improved levels of recycling.

 

18.7   RESOLVED that Cabinet approved that:

 

(1) The County Council formally notifies all the District and Borough Councils (D&Bs) in the county of the termination of all payments for recycling credits except those which are statutorily eligible under the Environmental Protection (Waste Recycling) Payments (England) Regulations 2006 from 1 April 2020.

 

(2) £2m is placed in a reserve to support Ds&Bs who commit to implementing a new service model for refuse and recycling collections, to a specification and timetable agreed with the County Council, including separate food waste collections, or agrees with the County Council alternative approach that will improve performance and reduce costs.

 

(3) £0.3m is set aside for the West Sussex Waste Partnership to deliver joint projects such as those concerning schools waste, education, campaigns etc. and to undertake waste composition analysis; and that

 

(4) Authority is delegated to the Acting Executive Director Place Services to develop, in consultation with D&Bs, the specification for the new service model, criteria for awarding the funding and the calculation method.

 


Meeting: 20/09/2019 - Communities, Highways and Environment Scrutiny Committee (Item 117)

117 Revisions to Recycling Credit Payments pdf icon PDF 93 KB

Draft decision report by the Cabinet Member for Environment.

 

The Committee is asked to consider and comment on the proposals to terminate all recycling credit payments to collection authorities (except those protected by law) and to retain a reserve fund for future initiatives.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

117.1The Committee considered the draft decision report by the Cabinet Member for Environment (copy appended to the signed minutes).

 

117.2Before the report was introduced the Chairman invited the Cabinet Member to speak and she reminded the Committee that there had already been an initial change to credits, resulting in very little improvement in recycling rates.

 

117.3Steve Read, Director of Environment and Public Protection introduced the report with a presentation (copy appended to the signed minutes), which highlighted the lack of momentum in increasing recycling rates across the county and confirmed that £2 million will be put aside to introduce a food waste recycling scheme.

 

117.4 The Committee made comments including those that follow. It:

 

·       Welcomed the report but expressed disappointment that the £40 million of recycling credits paid to West Sussex’s district and borough councils had not led to rises in recycling rates.

 

·       Welcome that some of the funding would be used to push ahead with a kerbside food recycling scheme quickly, rather than waiting for the outcome of the Government’s Review.

 

·       Acknowledged that the withdrawal of the recycling credits could lead to a deterioration in relationships with the district and borough councils.

 

117.5Resolved – That the Committee agrees that this proposal is sensible as some of the savings will be invested in projects that will work more effectively. That the Committee welcomed the creation of the £2m fund for such new initiatives.