Agenda item

Matthew Homer, Waste and Strategy Manager, was present and made a presentation to the Committee. (Copy interleaved).

During consideration of the presentation the following points were made-

·         The Council’s Annual Waste Minimisation and Recycling Action Plan was agreed by Executive on 20 September 2016 with the aim of providing quality services that meets the needs of residents and ultimately increases recycling and reduces the amount of waste sent for disposal via landfill or incineration.

·         Islington Council has a compulsory recycling policy which applies to all homes and includes all recycling streams where a service is offered such as mixed dry recycling, food and garden waste.

·         Committee was advised that the Council’s Waste Minimisation and Recycling Action Plan 2016-17 seeks to achieve a recycling rate of 35.2% for waste from households and to support the NLWA recycling target of 50% by 2020

·         In response to a question about enforcement, the Waste Strategy Manager advised that although enforcement was more practical with street properties than in Estate blocks with communal bins, even here recent legislative changes has made it more difficult to enforce.

·         North London Waste Authority remains the regional waste disposal authority for Islington and six other north London boroughs. In 2016/17 Islington Council’s recycling saved the equivalent of £650,000 in disposal costs as a result of menu pricing.

·         NLWA Joint Waste Strategy 2004-2020 was last updated in 2009 and would  be updated in the context of the NLHPP and the Mayor’s new Environment Strategy

·         Members were advised of the Mayor of London’s Draft Environment Strategy which aims to make London a ‘zero waste city’, with no biodegradable or recyclable waste being sent to landfill by 2025.

·         In response to a question on achieving the Mayor’s strategy of increasing the recycling rate up to 50% by 2020 and 60% by 2030, the meeting was informed that the Mayor’s focus is to be directed on food waste and single use packaging.

·         Members were advised that Islington presently offers a collection of mixed dry recycling to all its residents, a minimum weekly recycling and refuse collections, food and garden waste collections for street properties, communal recycling bins for estates and nightly collections for flats above shops. The meeting was advised of other services such as textile recycling sites, reuse and recycling centre, bulky waste and reuse collections etc.

·         Items collected for recycling end up at the Bywaters facility in Bow from which it is sold off to repressors either in the United Kingdom, Europe and the Far East and made into new products.  With regards to residual waste this ends up at  London Waste in Edmonton where it is incinerated and converted for energy use or composting.

·         With regards to the rate of recycling, the Waste and Strategy Manager acknowledged that organic recycling was quite low and this was due to issues around food and garden waste, however dry recycling was high compared to neighbouring boroughs. The meeting was advised that considering homes in Islington don’t have gardens, the composting rate was quite good.

·         Members were advised that as part of the waste prevention plan, the Council in conjunction with NLWA, embarks on outreach activities to promote food waste reduction by engaging in face to face conversations with residents. The NLWA also participates in events such as Annual Waste Prevention Exchange and School Waste Education programme.

·         In response to a question about public awareness Members were informed of NLWA’s three year ‘Save Our Stuff’ campaign which is directed at 18-34 year olds, encouraging them to make recycling the right thing to do, with the use of digital advertising and social media. 

·         The Waste and Strategy Manager advised that although Islington Council had not set aside any budget for communications, it continues to ‘piggy back’ on the ongoing NLWA communications campaign and promotes its recycling services through various channels, including the Council’s website.

·         In terms of education and engagement with residents, the meeting was advised that door knocking campaigns had always been effective when employed previously however resources were limited. Door knocking is  mostly externally funded and mainly directed at residents living in estate blocks and flats.

·         The meeting was advised that improving recycling sites, contamination and fly tipping in estates and public sites was challenging. The Waste and Strategy Manager indicated that although work had been done with regards to tackling contamination and fly tipping there was still more work to be done.

·         With regards to food waste collection, Members were advised that street properties are provided with individual bins and some Estates have communal bins. Contamination still remains significantly high and difficult to address. Participation among residents in estates was quite low.

·         Members were informed that with the introduction of technology on the new fleet of vehicles, issues of overflowing bins especially in estates could  potentially be more effectively reported and resolved with vehicles being despatched to the estates to empty the bins when required. Also as the vehicles measure the weight of the contents of the bins, officers could explore the potential to target estates with low recycling rates.

·         Members were advised that local authorities are trying to achieve the same aim, however each has to deal with difficult circumstances and provide a number of different solutions. The meeting was told that some have resorted to fortnightly collections for residual waste and weekly for recycling and in some instances charge for collection of garden waste.

·         In response to a question on how to increase Islington’s recycling rate from  31% to the Mayoral target of 50%, the Officer advised that addressing issues around the housing estates and also around the private rented sector would raise the present rate of recycling.

·         Members were informed that as refuse vehicles returns back to the depot with their load, it may not be allowed to proceed to Bywaters if it is contaminated. Members were advised that in instances where contamination persists officers would visit the premises and engage with the residents on the benefit of recycling and its impact.

·         In response to a suggestion on whether the savings realised from waste collection could be diverted towards campaigns and resident engagement, the Waste and Strategy Manager advised disposal costs are charged corporately via a levy from NLWA, that this would have to be a corporate decision and also it is doubtful whether a business case could be proposed to justify such decision.

·         On concerns about improving recycling in the domestic rented sector, the meeting was informed that Resources London had produced a report called Guide to Waste to Waste Management in the Private Rented Sector with a number of recommendations on developing a relationship between local authorities, landlords and private tenants. Members were advised that officers are currently working through the recommendations with the aim of producing an action plan which will be brought to the Committee in due course.

·         The Head of Street Environmental Services acknowledged the good work being undertaken when compared to its neighbouring authorities however for any further improvement so as to achieve the Mayor of London’s target, the Council would need to carry out door knocking campaigns especially in its housing estates and the private rented sector.

·         The Chair informed the Committee that as part of the review, Officers on the operational side have been invited to the next meeting in October as it was important for Members to understand and share the daily operations of the team and the various challenges it experiences.  

·         In response to a question on enforcement especially in light of Islington’s compulsory recycling policy, Members were advised that the Council tends to focus more on educational activities and engagement with the residents and that only in exceptional cases such as fly tipping would officers serve a S46 notice and it will be a last resort.

·         In response to a suggestion on the possibility of incorporating clauses in relation to recycling in tenancy agreements for private rented landlords, the Waste and Strategy Manager advised that the Council has no control over private landlords and although there is a licence scheme in place for landlords, it is voluntary, with the exception of the HMO Licensing scheme.

·         A suggestion on whether caretakers could be utilised more effectively as recycling champions considering their knowledge of their estates and their residents, and also their capability to relate to the BME and residents with disabilities was noted.