Issue - meetings

Following the receipt of a Notice of Call-in within the required deadline, from Councillor Gartside calling in the decision of the Cabinet set out in Minute CA.04 of the meeting held on 16 July 2014, a meeting of the Committee has been convened in order to consider the matter in accordance with the reasons set out on the Notice of Call-In.

In considering the matter, the options available to the Scrutiny Committee are as follows:

1. The Scrutiny Committee decides not to offer any comments on the Notice. In this situation the decision of the Cabinet will stand.
2. The Scrutiny Committee decides to offer comments or objections, which will be referred back to the Cabinet at the meeting arranged for 20 August 2014.
3. The Scrutiny Committee may refer the Notice, without comment, to the Council. The matter will then be considered by the Council on 10 September 2014 (a standard item appears on all Council summons to consider referrals from Scrutiny Committees). Any comments or objections from Council will be referred back to the Cabinet at the earliest opportunity, in accordance with the Council Constitution.

The Cabinet will be required to consider any objections and comments but will not be bound by them unless..."it is contrary to the Policy Framework or contrary to or not wholly consistent with the Budget" (Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules - Paragraph 16(g) of the Council Constitution).”

The Scrutiny Commission considered a called-in decision of the Cabinet meeting held on 16 July 2014 in accordance with the Council Constitution.

The Cabinet had made the following decision:

1.     That approval be given to adopt Bury Council’s Zero Waste Strategy,  including the 10 Strategic Objectives as detailed in the report submitted.

2.     That approval be given to the proposed changes to the waste collection service.

3.     That approval be given to an ‘invest to save’ initiative to include a capital spend of up to £213,400 and one-off implementation costs of £189,700 to introduce the changes. These costs will ultimately be self-financing, but initially are to be funded from loan and reserves as detailed in Section 4 of the report submitted.

A Call-In Notice had been submitted by Councillor Gartside, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, setting out the reasons for the Call-In of the decision. A summary of the reasons is set out below:

·           Inadequate consultation

·           Adverse public reaction

·           Potential health hazards

·           Arrangements for Christmas and New Year

·           Request for further clarification over provision of extra grey bins

·           Assurances sought in relation to whether staff resources were in place to deliver the new regime

·           Suggestion for phased roll out

·           Further negotiation required with GMWDA to expand range of recyclables collected

·           Level of consultation with Government

Councillor Gartside invited questions and comments from the Members of the Committee and the following issues were raised :-

·           In response to a question from Councillor Tariq, the Cabinet Member confirmed that savings to the Council as a result of the previous switch to fortnightly collections had resulted in annual savings of £4m.

·           With regard to the issue of nappies, the Deputy Cabinet Member stated that these should be wrapped up and sealed before being placed in the grey bin Where parents were struggling, individual cases would be looked at and an extra bin provided if necessary.

·           Councillor Nuttall raised the issue of properties currently without a brown bin. The Cabinet Member reported that solutions were being sought for approximately 600 properties in rural areas of the borough and stressed that 3 weekly collections would not be introduced to these residents until the issue is resolved.

·           In response to a question from Councillor O’Brien concerning flats, the Cabinet Member explained that the vast majority of such properties with communal bins  would remain on fortnightly refuse collections.

·           The Deputy Cabinet Member highlighted the issue of supermarket packaging and stressed the need for regional lobbying on this issue.

·           Councillor Daly highlighted the rise in recycling rates since 2011 and suggested that if this level of increase was maintained, along with the anticipated rise as a result of the work of the education awareness team, the Council could still achieve its recycling targets. The Cabinet Member explained that the rate of recycling had levelled off at about 47% and to achieve its aim of 60% by March 2016 further measures were required.

·           Councillor O’Brien highlighted the importance of education in relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 193

Report attached.

The Cabinet Member (Environment) submitted a report proposing a Zero Waste Strategy for Bury. The Strategy has been developed to compliment the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority’s (GMWDA) Waste Management Strategy designed to protect the environment, cut back on the amount of waste generated and sharply increase recycling rates.

The Council has to consider all options to increase the level of recycling in the Borough and has focussed on three of the ten strategic objectives, these are:

·         Waste prevention;

·         Following the waste hierarchy;

·         Education and awareness.

The report set out the options for a new waste collection system which is set for implementation in October 2014. This system would involve making operational changes to support Bury residents with maximising recycling and minimising the amount of waste requiring treatment and disposal.

Delegated decisions:

1.   That approval be given to adopt Bury Council’s Zero Waste Strategy, including the 10 Strategic Objectives as detailed in the report submitted.

2.   That approval be given to the proposed changes to the waste collection service.

3.   That approval be given to an ‘invest to save’ initiative to include a capital spend of up to £213,400 and one-off implementation costs of £189,700 to introduce the changes. These costs will ultimately be self-financing, but initially are to be funded from loan and reserves as detailed in Section 4 of the report submitted.

Reason for the decision:

This recommendation provides a sustainable solution to increasing recycling, cutting back on waste and improving education and awareness.

Other option considered and rejected:

Do nothing. The Council would not achieve recycling targets, efficiency savings or other strategic objectives and costs associated with treatment and disposal of waste would continue to rise.