Meeting documents
Cabinet (DCC)
Thursday 5 February 2009
Meeting: Cabinet (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 05/02/2009 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A10 Plans for the extension of Garden Waste Collection and Composting Service
 | |
| Report of Oliver Sherratt, Head of Direct Services, Cabinet Portfolio Holder Cllr Bob Young | |
1.1 To seek agreement to the operational details for the extension of the garden waste collection service.
2. Background
2.1 On the 23rd October 2008 Cabinet approved an extension of garden waste collection and composting to a further 67,000 households within the County and agreed that a further report be brought to detail the implementation plans.
2.2 These plans include;-
· Setting out the areas to be covered
· Size and colour of bin
· Target start date
· Operating arrangements and appointment of new staff
· Composting arrangements
· Home composting scheme
· Future proposals
· Publicity plans
Since approval of this scheme a working party of County and District Council officers has been meeting to prepare the detailed arrangements for these proposals. In accordance with approvals, bins have been purchased to accommodate the significant lead in time before delivery.
3. Consultation
An open meeting was held on the 2/12/08 to enable all elected members to discuss the draft maps of areas to be covered by the extended areas and the impact the proposals may have on their ward. The areas to be covered have been selected in order to maximise the yield of green waste collected and to minimise transportation to composting sites. Some alterations have been made to accommodate Member’s views and their local knowledge where possible.
The Human Resources and Finance work streams and Trades Unions have been consulted and support these proposals.
The Human Resources and Finance work streams and Trades Unions have been consulted and support these proposals.
4. Roll Out Plans
Areas to be covered
4.1 Members are asked to endorse that the new areas to be covered by the garden waste collection service are as shown in the plans attached as appendix 3.
The new areas to be added include areas within the following;-
| Durham City | Sedgefield Borough | Chester-le-Street | Derwentside |
| Newton Hall, Framwellgate Moor Carville, Brandon, Esh Winning, Bear Park, Usher Moor, Bowburn, Belmont, West Rainton and Witton Gilbert. | Newton Aycliffe, Shildon, Chilton, Ferryhill, Kirk Merrington, Byers Green, Sedgefield, Spennymoor, Fishburn, Cornforth Trimdons, Bishop Middleham and Mainsforth | Lumley, Burnmoor, Chester, North Lodge, Urpeth Grange, Pelton, Pelton Fell, Fence Houses, Ouston, Nettlesworth, Perkinsville, Waldridge and Sacriston | Shotley Bridge, Blackhill, Iveston, Burnhoprefield, Delves, Castleside, Craghead, Consett, Meadomsley, Esh, Leadgate, Annfield Plain and Stanley |
Size and colour of bin
4.2 The existing residual waste and garden waste collection services within the various districts all use different colour wheelie as shown in appendix 2 and in order to harmonise services across the County it is advisable to start moving towards uniform bin colours for the various refuse collection services. For this reason a bin colour has been selected which is unique to garden waste and which is not the same colour as the residual waste bins in any of the Districts in order to make identification easier for residents and collection crews.
The most cost effective option has been adopted following the Derwentside method of having a standard colour for bin bases (black) and a different colour lid to indicate the type of collection e.g. garden waste will be brown, residual waste will be green, etc. This allows efficiencies in ordering larger quantities of bases and it is a simple process to fit different colour lids to serve the intended purpose of the bin.
Reduction in previously forecast costs of £1 per bin, i.e. £67,000 in total has been made by ordering black bins with brown lids and a standard size of 240 litre will be used in order to maximise the yield.
Target start date and collection period
4.3 Due to the complexities regarding grant allocations bin deliveries and recruitment it is proposed to start collections in two phases. In order to make the initial weeks less confusing for new users of the services it is proposed to start collections after the Easter bank holiday weekend, i.e. on the 14/4/09 for collections in Sedgefield Borough and Durham City areas and after the May Day bank holiday weekend, i.e. on the 5/5/09 in Derwentside and Chester-le-Street. These are typically periods when, subject to good weather, significant gardening activity begins.
4.4 Collections will be made once per fortnight until 30/11/09. After the winter break collections will recommence in March 2010. Initially it will not be possible to ensure that the collection day aligns with the residual waste collection day.
This has not proven to be a major problem with the current schemes operating within the County and the rationalisation of residual waste collections rounds across the county will give an opportunity to harmonise collection days in the future.
Operating arrangements and appointment of new staff
4.5 The service will operate from Morrison Busty Depot at Annfield Plane for Derwentside and Chester-le-Street areas and from Chilton Depot near Spennymoor for Sedgefield Borough and Durham City areas. This will be more efficient than operating from one centralised base by reducing the distances of travel and also be more efficient than operating from 4 separate district bases. On the 23/10/08 Cabinet approved the appointment of 5 additional refuse collection drivers/chargehands and 10 additional lifters on a temporary basis. It is proposed that these appointments be limited to 12 months and that the conditions require the working of annualised hours so that longer days are worked during the summer months.
Job descriptions and person specifications for these posts have been prepared and Trades Unions have been consulted on the proposed interim rates of pay for these temporary employees.
It is proposed that the new staff will be appointed with effect from 14/2/09 if possible to enable them to undertake training prior to delivering bins in March 2009.
Composting arrangements
4.6 It is proposed that we enter into agreements with 4 companies with suitable facilities within the County to carry out the composting of the collected garden waste. This will take the form of an annual agreement committing to use these facilities and fixing the fee. This arrangement will help minimise transportation costs and allow greater flexibility in the event of problems arising.4.7 Members will be aware of the previous report’s commitment to purchasing £100,000 worth of composting bins over two years to promote home composting within the County. It is proposed to work in conjunction with DEFRA’s Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and provide home composting bins at a discounted price of £8 for 220 litres bins and £13 for 330 litre bins, and that the finances be provided to DEFRA to cover the purchase and delivery costs. WRAP has established programmes and procedures for promoting this scheme, which in addition to our in-house publicity, will maximise awareness within the County and ensure that more residents take advantage of the discounted home composting bins.
Future proposals
4.8 There are currently 66,000 households receiving a garden waste collection service from District Councils within the county and this proposal will add a further 67,000. It is estimated that there are around 50,000 households with gardens within the County that could be provided with this service.
Officers are actively exploring the implications of a further extension including the possible integration of the 4,200 households in Teesdale that currently receive a garden waste collection service from a not for profit community enterprise called Rotters. Further reports will be brought in due course.
Publicity plans
4.9 A working group of officers has been formed to develop a communication strategy. This will involve media releases and articles in the Countywide magazine as well as advisory leaflet to be delivered directly to households prior to collections starting. This work will be carried out in conjunction with the Communications workstream.5. Recommendations
5.1 That Members approve these operational arrangements and the new areas to be covered by the garden waste collection service as shown in the maps in appendix 3.
5.2 That Members approve agreements to be entered into with 4 companies with suitable facilities within the County to carry out the composting of the collected garden waste
5.3 That Members note that an investigation into the implications of extending the garden waste collection service further is being undertaken and a further options report will be brought in due course.
Background Papers:
Revised Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy for County Durham
2007 - 2020.
High Level Waste Management Options 2008-11 Waste Management Workstream
Green Waste Extension Proposals, Waste Management Workstream
Home Composting Proposals, Waste Management Workstream
England Waste Strategy (2007)
| Appendix 1: Implications |
Local Government Reorganisation
These proposals further a bid commitment to raise performance in waste management and improve resident satisfaction. The report covers matters that currently span responsibilities of collection and disposal authorities.
Risk
A potential risk is slippage on the start date due to late delivery of bins, problems with recruitment and training of staff and late arrival of ordered vehicles. Close monitoring of progress against the delivery plan will help minimise this eventuality and advisory leaflets will warn of the potential of starting late in extreme circumstances and the potential that the first collection may be a fortnight later than planned. This risk is considered to be manageable and within appetite.
There are four possible composting sites within the County which have the capacity to take all the garden waste that will be collected. Should any of these sites be restricted in the tonnage they can take in each year, additional transportation may be required which may have resource implications. This risk is being monitored with the Environment Agency, the Planning Authority and the companies and is considered to be within appetite.
Finance
As agreed in the previous report the cost of this service will be offset by savings in the cost of waste disposal and the table below sets out the budgetary provision required to launch this scheme. This will be met from a reduction in the waste disposal budget.
| Year | 2008/09 | 2009/10 |
| Publicity and distribution of bins | £40,000 | £20,000 |
| Staffing | £40,000 | £420,000 |
| Vehicle hire, fuel and maintenance | £4,000 | £285,000 |
| Waste disposal costs | 0 | £211,050 |
| Total | £84,000 | £936,050 |
Although collections will not start until 2009/10 financial year staff will be appointed during 2008/09 and undertake training and the delivery of bins and promotional material.
Staffing
Additional staff will be employed having temporary contracts to allow rationalisation of refuse collection services towards converged service arrangements. Full consultation has been carried out with the Human Resources workstream and trades unions.
Equality and Diversity
All District Councils currently provide assisted kerbside pull-outs (and return) for people who are infirm or disabled who require the service. It is proposed to continue this practice in relation to the green waste scheme.
Accommodation
The use of depot facilities has been agreed with the Fleet Management workstream.
Sustainability
Composting garden waste is more sustainable than landfilling as the process reduces methane and carbon dioxide emissions. There are also benefits to local agriculture in reducing use of chemical fertilisers by using organic waste instead. All composting facilities are located within the County.
Human Rights
None
Localities and Rurality
Until more composting sites are developed the service will be targeted on the basis of accessibility. The present availability does not facilitate providing the service to isolated areas, however there is a potential to extend the service wider in the future.
Health and Young People
None
Consultation
The County Council Environment Portfolio Holder has been involved in the preparation of this report.
This report has been developed through close consultation between the Waste Disposal Authority (Durham County Council) and the Waste Collection Authorities (Durham District Councils). The Environment Agency has also been consulted and has no objection to these proposals.
Trade Unions have been consulted regarding the staffing issues raised in the report and have no objection to the proposals for temporary appointment of staff relating to these new services.
The Joint Implementation Team received this report on 21st January and they have endorsed the report’s progression.
| Appendix 2: Existing wheelie bin colours within the County |
| Wheelie bin usage in County Durham |
| Residual wasteGreen wasteRecyclingTrade Waste |
| SedgefieldGreen 240L and dark grey 180LsBrown 240L to 3,000 householdsNAGreen 240L |
| EasingtonGreen 240LBlue 180L to 32,000 householdsNAGreen 240L |
| DurhamDark GreyGreen 240L To 6,000 householdsNANA |
| DerwentsideDark grey with Green lidDark grey with brown lidDark grey with blue lidDark grey with orange lid |
| ChesterDark grey 240LNANANA |
| Wear ValleyDark grey 180LGreen 180L to 11,000 householdsNANA |
| TeesdaleGreen 180LNANANA |
| Appendix 3: Maps showing areas to be covered by the garden waste collection service from spring 2009. |
The following maps show the new areas to be covered by the garden waste collection service in addition to areas already covered within the Sedgefield, Durham City, Chester-le-Street and Derwentside areas.
Attachments