Minutes:
6.1 Sam Kirk, Strategic Waste & Environment Manager, gave a presentation to the Committee. The key points to note were:
· The ‘Let’s Talk Rubbish’ was a programme of public engagement activities that ran for 8 weeks between August and October 2015.
· The outreach work to promote the consultation included:
o Lewisham Life (to all households)
o Lewisham Life e-zine to 24,000 recipients,(plus a further 8,000)
o Ward Assembly Door to Door Leaflets (16 out of 18 ward assemblies)
o Press release
o Website (including front page)
· This has been the borough’s most popular online consultation, with 5,884 responses and 3,519 additional comments.
· The demographic of those that responded to the consultation were:
o . The vast majority were Lewisham residents (99%, 5,668)
o Two-thirds (66%, 3,857) lived in a house with a wheelie bin
o Over four-fifths (83%, 4,835) had a garden
o Over three-quarters (78%, 4,424) were of White ethnicity
o Six out of ten (60%, 3,413) were female
o Over half (51%, 2,971) were aged between 30-49 years
o 415 (7%) considered themselves to be disabled
o Over four-fifths (85%, 4,939) lived in a house, or converted house, with a wheelie bin
· Some of the results to the consultation included:
o 94% (5,515) felt that it was important/very important that we try to recycle more
o 46% (2,715) think that making it easier for residents to recycle is the most important consideration when making changes to the Council’s waste and recycling service
o 40% (2,329) think that reducing our impact on the environment is the second most important consideration when making changes to the Council’s waste and recycling service
o 67% (3,913) are either satisfied/very satisfied with the current waste and recycling collection services in Lewisham, which is lower than in the resident satisfaction survey
o Dissatisfaction levels are highest amongst converted shops with no frontage 71% (5) and houses with no frontage 38% (17), though sample sizes for both are very small
o 70% (4,097) agree/strongly agree that the Council should introduce a garden waste collection service
o 42% (2,478) disagree/strongly disagree that the Council should make a charge for the garden waste service
o Of total survey respondents, 42% (2,471) would be prepared to pay £80 for an annual subscription to a garden waste service
o Over half ,52%, (3,049) of total survey respondents chose to provide no response to this particular question.
· Some of the key findings of the consultation were:
o Priorities - The two top priorities were making it easier for residents to recycle and reducing our impact on the environment. The bottom priorities were meeting recycling targets to avoid fines, although 94% felt that we should try to recycle more, and saving money.
o Separate Collection of Paper – Nearly three quarters agreed that paper should be separately collected for an income, and eight out of ten respondents said that they would be prepared to separate out the paper into a separate box.
o Food Waste Collections - Over two thirds agreed with the introduction of a weekly food waste service.
o Frequency of Collections - When asked about fortnightly refuse with weekly food waste collections the results were mixed across the board with 46% in agreement and 41% in disagreement.
o Garden Waste Collections - Majority agree with introducing a garden waste service (70%), with just over two fifths not agreeing with a charge. Only half answered the question about the level of charge but of those that answered and had a garden, nearly two thirds would pay £80
o Exemptions - Nearly half agree properties should be exempt from additional containers, but over four fifths would still like to be offered a food waste service and three quarters would be willing to share bins.
· The recommendations and the way forward after the consultation are as follows:
o Note the results of the ‘Let’s Talk Rubbish’ consultation and Waste Regulations (TEEP) Assessment
o Introduce a subscription garden waste service from April 2016
o Introduce a weekly food collection service and reduce refuse collections to fortnightly
o Significant service change
o Come back with a proposed timetable, (earliest start Autumn 2016)
o Reduce recycling frequency to fortnightly and keep comingled whilst options to share services and contracts with neighbouring boroughs are explored
o Currently speaking to Bromley, Bexley, Greenwich & Southwark about way to improve recycling cross-boroughs.
Standing Orders were suspended at 9.28pm
6.2 In response to questions from the Committee, the following was noted:
· The consultation received over 100 comments on garden waste, but the presentation just gave a flavour of the responses.
· The Citizen Forum featured people in street-level properties. Those in flats, and flats above shops, for example, were featured in focus groups.
· The same methodology that the Council uses for its Citizen Juries and similar work was used, but with smaller sample sizes.
· There are some variables such as how many people would take up the subscriptions for garden waste collection and the revenue for recycling, but officers are confident in making the targets expected.
· The start-up costs are not included in the estimates, but all other costs are.
· The Committee would like information on what other London Boroughs are charging for garden waste collection, if they are charging.
· Even if residents do not want to pay the charge for garden waste collection, there is still the option of taking waste to the Reuse and Recycling Centre on Landmann Way.
· There is a legal requirement for 50% of produced waste being recycled; there is a fine for local authorities if this target is not met.
6.3 RESOLVED: That the Committee note the report and presentation.
Supporting documents: