Issue - decisions

Decision

1.     That Cabinet agrees to continue the existing food waste collection service until at least March 2022, utilising the food waste financial reserve to fund and subject to the annual budget approval process.

2.     That Cabinet supports in principle the ambition to expand food waste collections throughout the District, accepting that this will be dependent on future funding and/or the Government’s proposals to make the service a statutory requirement.

Considerations/reasons for decision

·       Report from the Cabinet Member for Commercial and Operations on Food Waste.

·       The success of the food waste trial initially funded by Lincolnshire County Council on behalf of the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.

·       Customer support for the scheme.

·       The increase in clean recyclable waste and less residual waste for properties taking part in the food waste trial.

·       The food waste collection scheme supported DEFRA’s ambitions to rollout mandatory food waste collections nationally and aligned with their ‘Our Waste, Our Resources: A Strategy for England’ publication.

·       The decision taken by the Leader on 29 May 2020 to continue to deliver the food waste collection service to the existing area to 31 March 2021, following formal notification from Lincolnshire County Council that they were withdrawing support for food waste collection beyond the current year, which came to an end on 4 June 2020.

·       The Council’s recently approved Corporate Plan 2020-23 which included the key action to explore opportunities to build on the success of the food waste pilot and ensure the service is sustainable.

·       An ambition to expand food waste collections throughout the District, accepting that this would be dependent on future funding and/or the Government’s proposals to make the service a statutory requirement.

·       Support for the continuation of food waste collection from the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the positive feedback received from the Customer Survey.

Other options considered:

1)  Continue using the waste reserve funding until March 2022 on the existing food waste collection service. 

2)  Expand the service incrementally as funding becomes available from other waste income streams. This would be subject to Council priorities and the annual budget process.

3)  Stop the service.  This is not considered appropriate as the authority had vehicles equipped with pod collection units, which could operate effectively for the next two years before needing to be replaced.  There was potential for a mandatory service to be introduced by Government and SKDC funding had already been earmarked.