Agenda item - City Environment Modernisation Update

Report of the Executive Director Economy, Environment & Culture

1)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee note the progress made through the City Environment Modernisation Programme.

2)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee note the outcomes of the communal recycling trial in the Montpelier area of the city as detailed in Appendix 1.

3)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee note the activity planned as part of the Increasing Recycling Project, including the education and information campaign, as detailed in Appendix 2.

4)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee notes that formal consultation with staff and trade unions at the appropriate time, on both the round restructures and upon any other aspects of the delivery of the programme where it is appropriate. 

57.1      The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Economy, Environment & Culture that provided an update on the City Environmental Modernisation Programme.

57.2      The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management moved an officer amendment to add a recommendation as shown in bold italics below:

2.4    That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee notes that formal consultation with staff and trade unions will take place at the appropriate time, on both the round restructures and upon any other aspects of the delivery of the programme where it is appropriate. 

57.3      Explaining the purpose of the motion, the Assistant Director, City Environmental Management stated that Paragraph 3.29 of the report stated that ‘the work [on round restructures] has started and is involving Cityclean staff and trade unions’.  To date there had been some informal discussions with staff and trade unions, but formal consultation had not yet commenced as the work on the round restructure project is not at the stage where officers were ready to commence a formal consultation process.  The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management explained that the proposed officer amendment sought to emphasise that formal consultation would take place with staff and trade unions at the appropriate time, on both the round restructures and upon any other aspects of the delivery of the programme where appropriate.

57.4      Councillor Atkinson asked where the four priority sites identified for public convenience refurbishment were located and when it was likely that the audit of streets currently without recycling bins would be undertaken. Councillor Atkinson stated that Appendix 2 had a multitude a helpful suggestions and recommendations on how to increase recycling rates and public awareness and would be a very useful reference point going forward. Councillor Atkinson asked that given the lack of awareness around the recycling of Tetra Pak, what measures were being undertaken to inform people of where it could be recycled.

57.5      The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management clarified that the four priority public convenience sites were the Royal Pavilion Gardens, The Colonnade, Hove Lawns Esplanade and the King Alfred. Currently, collections of Tetra Pak were made from bring-sites and these would be detailed in the A-Z alongside a promotion and awareness campaign. The Head of Service Improvement & Modernisation clarified that officers could be in contact with Councillor Atkinson regarding the roll-out of wheelie recycling bins.

57.6      Councillor Littman asked for clarification on the whistleblowing accusation recently made in the local press regarding mixing of refuse and recycling. Councillor Littman noted that complaints regarding the service were projected to have risen by 116% over two years that he found concerning and asked if there were specific reasons for the increase. Furthermore, Councillor Littman ask for an update on the educational and publicity drive on recycling given the report detailed that up to 60% of people did not know what could and couldn’t be recycled. In addition, Councillor Littman asked if increased recycling collections could be investigated given that the issue was identified in feedback from residents. Councillor Littman noted that collection rates were poor over the Christmas period and asked for reassurance that a plan was in place for the busy summer period.

57.7      The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management clarified that in response to the whistleblowing complaint in the local press, an investigation was conducted that included that member of staff. The investigation found that the problem related only to that specific round and crew who were bagging recycling and thereby increasing contamination. Whilst it was understood the action was undertaken with the best intentions, the matter had been addressed and training and awareness work undertaken with that crew. Increased recycling collection frequency was not currently feasible due to lack of funding however; the matter could be revisited as part of the planned round restructuring as recycling in the city was increasing and a response to that would be required. Furthermore, the Assistant Director, City Environmental Management stated that plans were in place for the summer period and there would be additional bins to increase capacity as well as hiring temporary staff to litter pick particularly busy areas such as the seafront. In addition, staff would be working with the Events team to ensure a robust plan was in place for the major events held in the city such as Pride. In relation to complaints, the Head of Service Improvement & Modernisation explained that the majority related to missed collections and addressing that that was a key aspect of the modernisation programme and educational awareness and publicity drives would be covered in the campaign detailed in Appendix 2 of the report.

57.8      Councillor Littman asked if an educational information campaign targeted at visitors to the city would be implemented.

57.9      The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management confirmed that a specific campaign would be launched in the next few weeks and carried through the summer period.

57.10   Councillor Brown stated that she was pleased a capacity audit of the garden waste collection had been undertaken and new customers would be able to join the scheme. Councillor Brown asked when those on the waiting list would be able to join and whether there scheme would be advertised more widely and people across the city able to join.

57.11   The Head of Service Improvement & Modernisation clarified that those currently on the waiting list would be invited to join the scheme first and that work should be completed by spring. The commercial team intended to be established would be looking at the scheme and the intention was to advertise the scheme further. Not all residents would be able to join the scheme as their property may not be able to store a garden waste bin so work was ongoing in relation to alternative options for those residents to join the scheme.

57.12   In reference to paragraph 3.16, Councillor Wares noted that the Environment enforcement service was intended to be established on 1 March 2019 and asked if it was expected that the deadline would be met. Furthermore, in reference to paragraph 3.17, Councillor Wares asked why the plan could not be deployed earlier than 1 March 2019 when the in-house service went live so expectations of the change were clear. Councillor Wares stated that it would be desirable to know the detail of the information flow rollout to ensure it would be effective. Councillor Wares noted that envisaged changes to round restructures were intended to be implemented by 1 September 2019 and asked that given the schedule set out in the officer amendment, whether that implementation date was at risk.

57.13   The Head of Service Improvement & Modernisation clarified that the introduction of the Environmental enforcement service was moving quickly and the sub-group were meeting regularly, some general elements of the communication plan could be brought forward before March but there were specific messages that would need to be delivered at the point of change. In terms of information flow, the Head of Service Improvement & Modernisation explained that discussions were ongoing with the Digital First team and further discussion was required on the necessary investment. In relation to the officer amendment and implementation of round restructures, the Assistant Director, City Environmental Management stated that the aim for implementation remained 1 September and the purpose of the amendment was to be clear that formal consultation had not yet begun.

57.14   Councillor Peltzer Dun noted that the King Alfred would be one of the public convenience sites prioritised for refurbishment and queried whether that was sensible given the potential redevelopment of the site.

57.15   The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management answered that she understood the refurbishment to be low-cost but would confirm as such subsequent to the meeting.

57.16   Councillor Miller asked whether the Cityclean twitter account would be reactivated as it was a useful tool to report problems, whether consideration had been given to increasing the size of recycling bins to encourage use, whether there would be an increase in staff and bins for the next Christmas and New Year period given the problems encountered in 2018 and enquired as to how effective the ‘Big Belly’ bins had been.

57.17   The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management answered that discussions had taken place on increased bin size and their locations and those discussions would be ongoing. The introduction of ‘Big Belly’ bins had worked well and the number of collections had reduced with procurement of a new version of the bin with a foot pedal underway. The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management added that a review of the Christmas and New Year collection procedure was already underway and would form part of the round restructure process. The Assistant Director, City Environmental Management explained that the twitter account had been suspended to allow the service to instigate a better process of more regular forms of a communication and the account may be reactivated at the right time.

57.18   Councillor West stated that he was pleased to hear that brushes had been removed from bins as they often collected a lot of dirt. Councillor West stated his surprise that it had taken so long to colour code bins and in relation to wheeled recycling bins, Councillor West stated that the process had been rushed and whilst he was pleased more attention was now being given to the issue, this had come somewhat belatedly. Councillor West stated his view that the Administration had not met their commitment to provide a basic level of service to residents and had failed the electorate.

57.19   The Chair stated her view that Councillor West’s political commentary on what had been a useful debate was unnecessary. The Chair stated that the roll-out of wheeled recycling bins had always been planned and it was appropriate to review that roll-out to ensure residents had the correct bin for their individual circumstances. The Chair noted that the policies and procedures implemented by the Administration had led to the highest ever rates of recycling in the City.

57.20   RESOLVED-

1)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee note the progress made through the City Environment Modernisation Programme.

2)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee note the outcomes of the communal recycling trial in the Montpelier area of the city as detailed in Appendix 1.

3)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee note the activity planned as part of the Increasing Recycling Project, including the education and information campaign, as detailed in Appendix 2.

4)           That Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee notes that formal consultation with staff and trade unions at the appropriate time, on both the round restructures and upon any other aspects of the delivery of the programme where it is appropriate.