Decision - Improve Brighton & Hove's Recycling Scheme Petition

That the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee notes that:

1)        Work on an Increasing Recycling Project and education campaign is included in officers’ current work programmes and will be launched early in 2019.

2)        The work already underway to reduce food waste and an initial exploration of a food waste collection service is under discussion with Veolia with details to be worked on within the City Environment Modernisation (CEM) Programme as part of the Increasing Recycling Project.

3)        There is currently no, or very limited, markets for the recycling of pots, tubs and trays (PTTs) and therefore it is unlikely that a business case can be made for the investment required in collection and sorting services. However, the situation will be closely monitored for market changes.

4)        A ‘service guarantee’ will be introduced at the end of the Increasing Recycling Project when the full extent and means by which materials can be recycled have been explored taking into account the government’s forthcoming waste strategy proposals.

5)        The council’s events team has a sustainable events policy and works with event organisers to reduce single-use plastics (SUPs) at events. The progress made is illustrated by a case study of the plastics reduction at the Brighton Marathon, which has already been presented to the Tourism, Development & Culture Committee as part of a report on the events programme and further updates are planned.

6)        An action plan setting out how the council aims to achieve the waste directive of increasing recycling rates to 50% will be presented to the committee in January 2019 as part of the CEM update report.

7)        That the Committee agrees that preliminary costing for increasing the range of plastics the Council collects, and a preliminary costing for the setting up of a food waste collection trial, will be provided at the meeting of Environment, Transport, and Sustainability Committee to be held on January 22^nd 2019.