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Subject: |
Keeping the city clean – Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy 2021-2026 |
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Date of Meeting: |
24 November 2020 |
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Report of: |
Executive Director – Economy, Environment & Culture |
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Contact Officer: |
Name: |
Lynsay Cook |
Tel: |
01273 292448 |
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Email: |
Lynsay.cook@brighton-hove.gov.uk |
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Ward(s) affected: |
All |
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FOR GENERAL RELEASE
1. PURPOSE OF REPORT AND POLICY CONTEXT
1.1 At Full Council on 13 August 2020 and at Environment, Transport & Sustainability (ET&S) Committee on 29 September 2020, Members received a Notice of Motion (NOM) entitled Litter Reduction. At ET&S Committee, Members agreed for a report to be commissioned for a future meeting in response to that NOM. This report provides that response.
1.2 In addition, the report provides Members with an update on other work to keep the city clean, including the development of a Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy and seeks endorsement for the approach described in the report.
2. RECOMMENDATIONS:
2.1 That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee note the response to the Notice of Motion as detailed in Appendix 1 and the Seafront Action Plan in Appendix 2.
2.2 That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee endorse the development of a Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy as described in sections 3.4 to 3.11 and the Communications and Engagement Plan as detailed in Appendix 3.
3. CONTEXT/ BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Notice of Motion
3.1 The NOM asked that a report be commissioned for the next suitable ET&S meeting outlining a strategic response to the problem of littering, and addressing some specific issues. The response to the points within the NOM is contained at Appendix 1.
3.2 In addition, a Seafront Working Group has been established containing a variety of services from BHCC and Surfers Against Sewerage. An action plan has been developed to tackle waste on the seafront, which is detailed in Appendix 2.
3.3 The feedback and activities detailed in the NOM and Seafront Action Plan, including the new initiatives adopted this year, will feed into the development of the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy.
Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy
3.4 The City Environment Modernisation Programme has been in place for over two years. To continue delivering and embedding these improvements and to support the council’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030, the service is to start consultation (subject to committee approval) on its priorities for the next five years.
3.5 Based on existing council priorities and feedback, the suggested ambitions of the strategy are to:
· Increase levels of reduce, reuse and recycling
· Improve the customer experience
· Become carbon neutral
· Protect the environment
· Improve the look of the city
3.6 It is intended that the Strategy be co-produced, with stakeholders from across the city, residents, councillors, BHCC services, staff and trade unions, being invited to contribute between December 2020 and February 2021. The drafting of the Strategy will follow, and a draft Strategy with recommendations will be brought to a future ET&S Committee in Summer 2021. A communication and engagement plan is attached at Appendix 3.
3.7 The Strategy will complement existing strategies, such as the Graffiti Reduction Strategy and Open Spaces Strategy, as well as strategies under development, including the Fleet Strategy.
3.8 The National Waste & Resources Strategy sets out how the government intends to preserve material resources by minimising waste, promoting resource efficiency and moving towards a circular economy in England. It is likely the government will consult on further aspects of this, some of which will have a significant impact on City Environment, in Spring 2021. This includes the introduction of a consistent set of dry recyclable materials to be collected from households and businesses, the Deposit Return Scheme and Extended Producer Responsibilities. The development of the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy will anticipate and reflect the proposals in the national strategy to ensure Brighton & Hove can meet its future obligations, likely to be from 2023.
3.9 Over the last two years, the City Environment Modernisation Programme has been developing a sustainable future for the service in Brighton & Hove in the context of reducing council budgets, increasing customer demand and an expanding service offer. The service has an integral role in resident, business and visitor perceptions of Brighton & Hove and is fundamental to the success and attraction of the city. The ET&S Committee has received regular updates on the Programme as projects and initiatives are delivered, as detailed in Background Documents below. The most recent update to Committee is attached to this report as Appendix 4 for ease of reference. Through the Modernisation Programme, the service has been working very hard to improve the foundations, which has been essential, but realise that residents now need to see more visible improvements. The development of the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy will consider the achievements of the Programme and identify how the service can continue to deliver and embed these improvements, as well as set out further opportunities for modernisation for the service over the next five years.
3.10 As detailed in the City Environment Modernisation Update Report to ET&S Committee on 29 September, performance is improving across Cityclean:
· In quarter 1, compliments increased, and Stage 1 complaints decreased
· In 2019/20, the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting increased slightly on 2018/19
· In 2019/20, the percentage of municipal waste landfilled continued to decrease to 2.5% (in 2018/19 it was 4.0%)
· The percentage of vehicles off road continues to decrease
3.11 The development of the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy will take into consideration past and current service performance and set realistic targets for the service to achieve to demonstrate it is achieving its objectives. The performance measures and targets will form part of the engagement with stakeholder.
4. ANALYSIS & CONSIDERATION OF ANY ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
4.1 Through the consultation, all stakeholders will be able to share their views to contribute to the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy, including different approaches to achieve the draft ambitions as detailed in 3.5.
5. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & CONSULTATION
5.1 Through the consultation, all stakeholders will be able to share their views to contribute to the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy. This is set out in Appendix 3.
5.2 45 Workshops have already been conducted with Cityclean staff to seek their views. Resident, ward councillor, staff and Trade Union involvement with be central to developing the strategy,
6. CONCLUSION
6.1 This report provides a response to the Litter Notice of Motion. It also sets out City Environment’s plans for the development of a Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy. A final Strategy will be brought back to Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee for approval.
7. FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:
Financial Implications:
7.1 The recommendations of this report have no direct financial implications. Any additional initiatives or actions arising from, for example, the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy and the Communications and Engagement Plan which require additional resources will be brought back to committee for further consideration and then potentially considered as part of the annual budget setting process.
Finance Officer Consulted: Jess Laing Date: 09/11/2020
Legal Implications:
7.2 There are no direct legal implications arising from the report.
Lawyer Consulted: Hilary Woodward Date: 27/10/2020
Equalities Implications:
7.3 An Equalities Impact Assessment will be completed to understand the equalities impacts from proposals in the Strategy as they are being developed.
Sustainability Implications:
7.4 Sustainability is central to the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy. The draft broad objectives detailed in 3.5 directly contribute to the council’s sustainability ambitions.
Corporate / Citywide Implications:
7.5 The Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy will contribute to a number of objectives within the Corporate Plan, including:
Transition to a sustainable economy
· We will promote a sustainable economy by supporting low carbon growth and encouraging businesses to reduce waste and pollution.
· We will reduce CO2 emissions from council owned properties and vehicles
· We will increase accessible open space for the benefit of residents and visitors.
· We will invest in the biodiversity of our parks and in providing children’s playground facilities.
· We will tackle graffiti and tagging.
· We will encourage people to reduce the amount of refuse they generate, promote re-use and increase recycling. We will collect a wider range of plastics for reprocessing when market conditions improve.
· We will introduce a food waste collection and composting service.
· We will work towards ending the use of pesticides such as glyphosate across the council and the city.
· We will encourage tree planting and green corridors to support biodiversity.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Appendices
1. Response to the Notice of Motion: Litter Reduction
2. Action Plan – Managing waste on the seafront
3. Communication and engagement plan for the Waste, Resources & Street Cleansing Strategy
4. Modernisation Programme update
Background Documents
1. City Environment Modernisation Update to Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee on 8 October 2019
2. City Environment Modernisation Update to Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee on 25 June 2019
3. City Environment Modernisation Update to Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee on 22 January 2019
4. City Environmental Management – Modernisation Programme Update Report to Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee on 9 October 2018
5. City Environmental Management – Modernisation Programme Update Report to Policy, Resources & Growth Committee on 12 July 2018