Agenda item

The Report of the Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods is attached.

The Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods presented a report to provide information on, and request comments on the action plan developed by the corporate working group that had been established to reduce the use of single use plastics within the Borough.

The Executive Manager advised that as a result of the resolution made at Council on 7 December 2017 regarding the use of single use plastics (Council Minute No.37 2017/18), a corporate working group had been formed to develop actions to be taken to deliver a reduction in the use of single use plastics. A copy of the action plan was attached at Appendix 1 of the officer’s report and identified the detailed tasks to be considered across four theme areas that were:

·         an audit of the single use plastic currently used across RBC in normal council activities

·         to identify ways of seeking support from key partners and contractors to encourage them to commit to support similar actions

·         running relevant communications and campaigns to influence and change behaviour of residents and businesses in the borough on these issues

·         identifying how the Council could prohibit the use of Chinese lanterns and helium balloons at Rushcliffe Borough Council assets and parks and following good practice examples from other agencies such as Nottinghamshire County Council.

It was noted that the Corporate Working Group included representatives from across the Council as well as delivery partners such as Parkwood.

Members of the Group asked several specific questions regarding the availability of china cups instead of plastic cups for Councillors use at Rushcliffe Arena. The Executive Manager confirmed that these would not create an extra cost to the Council and would only require the caretakers to put them in the dishwasher for them to be used again.

The Group also suggested that instead producing communications material which included pictures of products that could be recycled such as water bottles and yoghurt pots, residents should be informed of the different types of plastics that could be recycled instead as for example, not all yoghurt pots could currently be recycled. The Executive Manager advised that this work sat outside the objectives of the single use plastic work stream. It was noted that the communication material about what could be recycled in the blue wheeled bin was based on county wide work supported by Veolia and industry best practice which had identified that people  would prefer pictures rather than large amounts of texts in recycling communications. The Executive Manager also suggested to the Group to forward on any comments to the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Leisure who attends the Nottinghamshire Joint Waste Management Committee.

Members of the Group suggested that water fountains could be installed in town centres to encourage residents to stop buying multiple bottles of water. The Executive Manager advised the Group that the logistics of installing and maintaining water fountains could be expensive and that any decision for the Council to install such infrastructure  would have to be approved by Cabinet.

The Chairman requested that an update of the work of the Corporate Working Group on the reduction of the use of single use plastics be brought back to the Community Development Group in six months’ time.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    the report of the Executive Manager – Neighbourhoods be noted.

b)    the draft  action plan single use plastic be supported.

c)    an interim report be provided to the Group with an update regarding the action plan of tackling single use plastics at the September 2018 meeting of the Community Development Group.