Agenda item - Phasing out single use plastics (SUPs)

Report of the Executive Director for Economy, Environment & Culture (copy attached)

116.1  RESOLVED: That the Committee noted

(i)            The report and work progress detailed in section 4 of the report.

(ii)          That it would receive a more detailed report on progress in July 2018

(iii)         The conclusions and next steps provided in section 6 of the report.

116.1 The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture, which provided an update on work that had begun in phasing out single use plastics (SUPs) across council buildings and services. The report was prepared in response to two Notice of Motion passed by Council, which called for the phasing out of SUPs across council building and services.

116.2  Councillor Mac Cafferty accepted that it was a preliminary report, but did not feel that it went far enough and that it had been five months since the Notice of Motions relating to SUPs had been agreed, and if anything the situation had got worse. He referred to the Programme Board being set up, and asked that members could be involved. He said that the Council needed to be stronger with procurement, and asked if members could see the outcome of the consultation with service providers on reducing or finding alternatives to SUPs. China had recently announced that it would no longer be accepting recyclable plastic, and he suggested that this could be a good opportunity to show innovation with regard to levels of recycling. The Council’s waste contractor Veolia had said they were not able to adapt the contract to recycle more plastic, so the Council would need to look at reducing the amount of waste at source. The Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture said that a lot work had been undertaken by officers, who now had to look at the resourcing implications of trying to reduce SUPs, and agreed that the current situation with recycling plastic presented opportunities for innovation.  With regard to the Programme Board, he said that members would not be excluded, and would be provided with regular updates.

116.3  Councillor Mitchell said that the report sought to capture the main points in both of the Notices of Motion, looking at both what the Council could do to reduce the use of plastic whilst also acknowledging the work of our partners in particular the Biosphere Board. In order to get real change it would be necessary to work with external partners and harness the enthusiasm of the public. With regard to the contract with Veolia, Councillor Mac Cafferty may have been referring to letter from them in August 2017. However since then the Council have been in discussions with them to look at recycling other types of plastic.

116.4  Councillor Bell asked if the next report could provide more information about the consultation and examples of the engagement with external providers. The Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture agreed.

116.5  Councillor Peltzer Dunn asked if there could not be a condition in the lease for Council controlled properties that SUPs would not be sold. The Executive Lead for Strategy Governance and Law said that additional clauses to a lease would impact on the rent, and there would be an issue on enforceability, but there would be no automatic legal restriction on such a clause so it could be considered.

116.6  RESOLVED: That the Committee noted

(i)            The report and work progress detailed in section 4 of the report.

(ii)          That it would receive a more detailed report on progress in July 2018

(iii)         The conclusions and next steps provided in section 6 of the report.