Decision:
Chloe Hipwood, Service Manager – Waste and Recycling, and Louise Overington, Service Development and Support Manager, from North Herts Council gave a presentation on Waste and Recycling within the District.
The Chair thanked them for their presentation.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 12 minutes 45 seconds
Chloe Hipwood and Louise Overington from North Herts Council gave a presentation on Waste and Recycling. Chloe introduced herself and Louise and briefly explained their roles.
The presentation was about working towards being Net Zero and some of the initiatives that are currently being done or being looked at. Some of the main points included in the presentation outlined:
· Work was ongoing on a carbon management plan, as the refuse service was one of the biggest emitting departments at the Council. This included installation of analytic devices on refuse collection vehicles and exploration of fleet decarbonisation options.
· Food waste still accounts for a third of waste in residual bins and Council social media messaging has focussed on this as food waste is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gasses.
· A Waste Awareness Officer was recruited earlier in the year, allowing the Council to promote seasonal social media messages and events.
· Some of the schemes promoted included; Food Waste Pledge, Plastic Free July and reusable nappies.
· The Adopt an Area scheme started in 2021. 174 contacts had been made expressing interest in adopting an area and kits had been provided to Parishes in the district.
· Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Day encouraged people to bring unwanted electrical items for recycling and received over 10.5 tonnes of WEEE. Some of these items would be able to be reused thanks to Herts County Council PAT testing funds.
· Waste Warriors Facebook Group established to encourage a more community led and less formal approach to tackling waste. There was a need to improve the reach of the posts in these groups.
· Future campaigns will include promoting advice on wrapping paper disposal and paper based alternatives, seasonal messaging on food waste and recycling and campaigns to promote the use of the kerbside paper recycling bins.
The Chair thanked Chloe Hipwood and Louise Overington for their presentation and lead a discussion on the presentation.
The following Members and members of the public took part in the discussion and asked questions:
· Councillor Amy Allen
· Councillor Val Bryant
· John Webb
· Christine Watson
· Diane Ketcher
Councillor Amy Allen commented that it was positive to see so much wrapping paper without glitter.
In response to questions, the Shared Service Manager – Waste Collection advised:
· Items brought to a WEEE event would be handled in the same way as if they were taken to a Household Recycling Centre. Items that can reused will be collected and sent to a Reuse Centre for PAT testing.
· Promotion of local businesses was discouraged on Waste Warriors page in order to prevent any issues around green-washing. Public were encouraged to share positive stories of local businesses who were doing positive environmental things.
· There would need to be a discussion held with Comms department to see if Plastic Free North Herts could be included on the Council website.
· Messaging around Christmas wrapping paper would be online only this year, as a trial to see how this affects amounts of recycling and cross-contamination. If this is successful, it would be rolled out further next year.