Issue - meetings

The Chairman introduced Visiting Member Councillor P. Key and invited him to present the motion to the Prosperous Communities Committee, as he had initially done so at the meeting of Full Council. Councillor Key presented his motion and requested to speak again at the end of the discussion.

The Director of Commercial and Operational Services explained the motion was received by Council on 6 November 2023 and officers had been commissioned to review the side waste policy. It was explained that the nature of motion was regarding placing an additional burden on carbon emissions due to street cleansing teams returning to properties to collect side waste left by refuse crews, as was the current policy of not collecting side waste. It was clarified that waste policies were reviewed and presented to Members every two years, with the next agenda item for the Committee being that next review.

The Committee heard details of the current process for incidents of side waste, with crews recording instances using mobile devices and how the information was shared across customer services as well, in order to be able to identify missed collections or issues with side waste. Should an occasion arise where crews had not made a report of side waste, or there was a legitimate reason for presentation of the side waste, the nearest available resource was sent to pick it up. This would sometimes be street cleansing crews. It was highlighted that this approach reduced the carbon impact, rather than increasing it, and an average of 25 reports of side waste were received across the district each week so did not present as an issue.

The Committee further heard that any move towards an unconstrained side waste policy would lead to more waste generation at the kerbside and put a strain on collection and disposal resources. Using previous data as a guide, it was estimated that any proposal to revert back to allowing uncontrolled waste presentation would result in a minimum of one extra collection round, leading to significant financial costs, and even greater environmental costs. It was highlighted that current policy aligned with all other Lincolnshire authorities, promoted the waste hierarchy and specifically waste minimisation, with the recommendation being to retain the policy in its current form.

During the course of debate, Members of the Committee expressed their support for the work of the operational staff, however there were differing views as to how the matter of side waste could be addressed, with some Members suggesting side waste be collected. It was highlighted there were alternative options for residents, such as the new ‘Big Bin Clear Out’ scheme, which had recently been approved by Members. There were additional concerns raised, for example the health and safety of crew members, as well as the environmental impact.

Members enquired whether there was any scope for a pilot scheme to be undertaken to start collecting side waste. It was explained that this approach would be contrary to the strategic direction of waste management in Lincolnshire.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76