Agenda item
HOUSEHOLD RECYCLING IN ISLINGTON - Presentation
Minutes:
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.
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