Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

Councillor Jones raised additional points which were to be added to the minutes of the meeting. It was suggested that the following comments were added to the minutes.

·         Improved timeliness of responsiveness, booking and invoicing were required

·          Direct online bookings could be an option if the officers booking had a greater knowledge of key practical considerations

·         The responsiveness of caretakers to booking rooms, layouts and other details were notable.

The Democratic Services Officer agreed to re-circulate the minutes with the above amendments and would re-publish the minutes once agreed.

The report of the Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods is attached.

The Environmental Health Manager presented the report of the Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods which detailed an update on fly tipping and the Council’s response and delivered a presentation to the Group.

It was noted that fly tipping was the criminal act of dumping of waste on public or private land without the owners permission and that the Council’s Neighbourhoods team brought together the services responsible for responding to incidents of fly tipping and the work undertaken to reduce its occurrence through engagement, education and enforcement. It was stated, however, that the resources available to the Council to investigate fly tipping were very limited (0.75 fte across 4 members of staff).

The Environmental Health Manager noted that an increase in fly tipping incidents was a national problem and that in regard to the Borough of Rushcliffe fly tipping had increased by 320% since 2012. The Environmental Health Manager was pleased to note that there had been a decrease in fly tipping in the first couple of months of 2020 however, there had been a 185% increase in fly tipping incidents since June which coincided with the easing of lockdown restrictions. The Group were informed that during the first quarter of 2020/21 79.78 tonnes of fly-tipped waste was collected which was the equivalent of the average tonnage of fly-tipped waste collected during one year at a cost of £20,000.

The enforcement of fly-tipping was provided through evidence gathered from CCTV in fly tipping ‘hot-spots’ along with other information such as names, addresses and phone numbers found in the waste. The Council also worked with partners such as Nottinghamshire County Council (the disposal authority), the Environment Agency and Cleaner Notts Group. It was noted that such evidence and partnership working had resulted in criminal convictions including high profile vehicle seizures in 2019 and a recent stop and search exercise in Gotham with Nottinghamshire Police. 

Following the presentation, the Chairman suggested that an additional recommendation be approved by the Group and following a discussion it was agreed that the following be added as an additional recommendation:

In light of an increase in fly tipping incidents in the Borough, it is recommended that the Chief Executive be asked in conjunction with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder to review the resources deployed on enviro crime enforcement ahead of 2021/22 budget setting process with a view to providing suitable additional resource to cope with the increased workload.

Councillor Walker thanked the officers for their localised support in tackling fly tipping in Gotham and noted that residents had praised the Council for their fast response to clear fly tipping incidents. 

It was noted that residents had to be vigilant when requesting ‘man in a van’ type services using social media and Councillors requested that the Council patrol such community groups to ensure that residents were not scammed into hiring somebody to dispose of waste without a license.

The Group noted the good public reaction to the seizure of vehicles in 2019 however, raised concerns that the increase  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

A presentation will be delivered.

The Service Manager – Neighbourhoods delivered a presentation to the Group which outlined Rushcliffe Borough Council’s current waste strategy and provided an update to the Group about the government’s Environment Bill which could potentially have a significant impact on the Borough’s weekly waste collections and the Council’s income.

The Service Manager informed the Group that the government’s waste and resources strategy was published in 2018, the Environment Bill was published in 2019 and the Environment Bill Public Committee were due to report to the House of Commons on 29 September 2020.

It was explained that the environment bill would seek to create a national consistency for kerbside waste collections, identify a producer responsibility on packaging, implement a national deposit return scheme and a plastic packaging tax.

More specifically the key changes that the Environment Bill would implement included a weekly collection of food waste, exploration of a universal garden waste collection service and glass collection at the kerbside. It was noted that the implementation of the Environment Bill would require changes to the long term PFI contract that the waste disposal authority (Nottinghamshire County Council) has with Veolia who manage household waste disposal across the county. It was also explained that if the government required free garden waste collections for all would it mean that the Council would lose an income of £1.3 million per annum however the government have committed to covering such costs.

The Service Manager also noted that the implementation of a national deposit return scheme would potentially reduce litter and see an increase in recycling waste. Additionally, the plastic packaging tax would charge manufacturers £200 per tonne of plastic produced where less than 30% can be recycled.

Following the presentation, the Group asked many questions about kerb side glass collections for residents. The Service Manager explained that the Council collects 2500 tonnes of glass per annum from the bring sites where glass is split into colours. It was explained that the glass was split into colours as this had a greater value and helped to ensure the glass was recycled into new bottles and jars. It was also noted that Rushcliffe collects more glass from the bring sites than other authorities such as Ashfield and Gedling who have kerbside collections and there was little evidence that residents were putting glass in their household waste bins.

The Group were pleased to note that manufacturers would be taxed if they produced plastic products with less than 30% recycled plastic but stated that this must drive an alternative to the production of plastic. Some members of the Group also encouraged councillors to visit the Veolia to find out more about the materials that can be recycled. It was also noted that the Council still collected batteries and that 10 – 12 tonnes were recycled every year.

It was RESOLVED that the presentation delivered by the Service Manager – Neighbourhoods be noted.

The report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

It was RESOLVED that the work programme below be noted.

27 August 2020

·         Fireworks

·         Rushcliffe Equality Scheme

·         Work Programme

7 October 2020

·         Flooding and Drainage

·         Rushcliffe Nature Strategy Part 1

·         Work Programme

28 January 2020

·         Future of Edwalton Golf Course

·         Dog Fouling, Littering and Fly tipping – part two

·         Work Programme

29 April 2021

·         Carbon Management Plan Update

·         Work Programme