Agenda item

The separate kerbside collection of paper and card for recycling is being rolled out across Lincolnshire. This paper proposes the introduction of the service within South Kesteven.

Purpose of report

The separate kerbside collection of paper and card for recycling was being rolled out across Lincolnshire. This paper proposed the introduction of the service within South Kesteven.

Decision

That Cabinet:

1.    Approves the introduction of a service for the separate kerbside collection of paper and card for recycling across the district.

2.    Approves the revised South Kesteven District Council Waste and

Recycling Operational Policy.

3.    Approves the Council’s TEEP (technically, environmentally and

economically practical) Assessment.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The twin stream roll-out was phased across Lincolnshire, with three District Council’s still to commence the scheme. Delaying the roll out in South Kesteven would impact on future roll-out for the remaining councils.

Section 51 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 gave the waste disposal

authority powers to give directions to waste collection authorities about the

separation of waste if it was considered necessary for assisting it to comply with any obligation imposed on it by or under any enactment.

Reasons for decision

The implementation of twin stream recycling supported compliance with legislative requirements and achieved the Corporate Plan priority to work with the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership to reduce waste and further improve recycling.

The quality of recyclate across the District was poor in 2021/2022, with an average of 28% of the contents of recycling bins/sacks being contaminated. Paper and card in particular were highly prone to contamination. This report presented an opportunity to increase recycling rates.

In July 2019 the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership (LWP) conducted trials to collect paper and card separately, reducing the levels of contamination. The trials were successful, and the LWP agreed to seek to roll-out the separate collection of paper and card across Lincolnshire by 2024. The scheme was successfully in operation in North Kesteven, Boston, West Lindsey and East Lindsey.

It was likely that the roll-out of communications and publicity related to the separate paper and card collections would commence from October/November 2023, with the first bin collection being envisaged for January 2024.

The Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste outlined several key points related to topics of discussion amongst members of the public:

·         The scheme did not have any cost to the Council – the full cost was being borne by Lincolnshire County Council.

·         During initial trials in other district areas, feedback was sought from participating households. Comments from this consultation activity could be taken on board.

·         All households currently in receipt of a silver bin will receive a new, purple bin.

·         Additional paper and card recycling placed at the side of the bin, known as ‘side waste’ would not be collected.

·         The separation of paper and card from the silver recycling bin should lead to increased capacity. Therefore, there should not be a problem with overflowing bins.

·         There were no proposed changes to collection days, and the collections would still be fortnightly. Each household would receive a bin calendar.

·         Switching to a bin would be an option for those that currently had a ‘sack’ collection. There was no current sack collection for paper and card proposed, but Lincolnshire County Council were exploring alternative options.

·         The rollout of new bins was controlled by Lincolnshire County Council, and a team of Engagement Officers would provide support.

The following points were raised during debate:

·         The report was debated and recommended by the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 11 July 2023.

·         There may be issues for those residents that struggled to accommodate an extra recycling bin.

·         There was no constitutional requirement for Full Council to take the final decision on this matter. A motion was put at the meeting of the  Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee to recommend to Cabinet that it should seek approval at Full Council, but this motion was defeated at the Committee.

·         Any educational resources should encourage residents to put their bins out on the correct days.

·         Ward members were encouraged to respond actively to any residents’ concerns they may encounter as a result of the new arrangements.