To receive presentations on topics including waste disposal, waste service updates and waste at Christmas. Following this the Chair will lead a discussion with Members and public.
Decision:
Presentations were received from Cllr Amy Allen, Executive Member for Recycling and Waste Management, and David Birley, Waste Aware Co-Ordinator – Herts Waste Partnership.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 17 minutes 36 seconds
The Chair invited Cllr Amy Allen, Executive Member for Recycling and Waste Management, to provide a presentation on waste at Christmas. Councillor Allen advised that:
· As Christmas only happens once a year, it is often not thought about until the last minute, and this impacted on the ability to practice sustainable living at this time of year.
· There was a tendency to indulge more, travel more and buy more over the Christmas period, which often led to waste. Having less at Christmas can be beneficial on both finances and carbon footprint.
· It was important to think about sending cards, especially who to send these to and whether a physical card was necessary.
· The ability to reduce waste at Christmas came from a position of privilege, as many families are having to reduce their expenditure all year round.
· Poorer families often must choose a cheaper, plastic alternative to the sustainable option, as they do not have the financial capacity to afford to live sustainably.
· Some things at Christmas cannot be controlled, but it was important to identify the areas which you can control and make changes to be slightly more sustainable.
· It was not possible to control the actions of others.
The Chair invited David Birley, Waste Aware Co-Ordinator – Herts Waste Partnership, to provide a presentation on reducing food waste. Mr Birley provided a presentation supported by slides and advised that:
· The Herts Waste Partnership existed to promote better understanding of waste, recycling and was reduction, with a specific campaign on food waste.
· The costs associated with producing packaging that ends up in the waste system were increasing and therefore this was an incentive for manufacturers and consumers to think about materials used more cautiously.
· There was a significant drop in waste generated between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
· There were three ways of managing organic waste: In Vessel Composting, Open Window Composting and Anaerobic digestion.
· Almost all organic waste material generated across Herts are processed within Herts, or just outside, and all three methods were available within the North Herts District.
· Of the 49% of residual waste collected in Herts, 56% was non-recyclable with the other 44% being split between dry recyclables (14%) and recyclable organic waste (30%).
· There were two types of food waste. Edible waste which had been brought for consumption but had not been eaten and unavoidable food waste such as peel, skin and cores.
· The impact of edible food waste was that Councils would need to collect this, which would increase the cost to the residents. There was also an environmental impact of this kind of food waste, which contributed to climate change and biodiversity issues.
· Councils collected more edible food waste than unavoidable waste.
· It was important to identify what types of edible foods were being wasted so that a campaign can be organised to address this.
· The cost of living crisis had caused people to reduce their food waste either through necessity or a realisation that whilst some were wasting food, others could not afford to eat.
· There were several UN programmes to address food waste, which had prompted the #WorthSaving campaign in Herts.
· The Herts Waste Partnership (HWP) had developed a simple programme to follow, to encourage people to plan, shop, store and eat properly and linked to other apps and schemes already in existence.
· A pilot took place in Three Rivers which consisted of online content, printed materials, advertising on refuse vehicles and attendance at in person events.
· Over summer 2023, the HWP reached 178,000 people through the above methods.
· The campaign materials were reviewed and revised throughout to ensure effectiveness.
The following Members and members of the public took part in the discussion and asked questions:
· Councillor Michael Muir
· Councillor Gerald Morris
· Diane Ketcher
· John Webb
The following points were raised as part of the discussion:
· Whilst plastic bags from supermarkets had been reduced, they were still available and being used by customers, but the practice should be stopped, and alternatives found.
· Whether a real Christmas tree was more environmentally friendly than a plastic, reusable tree, as real trees were usually grown in the UK on land not suitable for farming or agriculture.
· Reduction of food waste was most effective action to be taken.
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In response to questions and discussion points, Councillor Allen advised that:
· There would be bin collections on all days over the Christmas period, except for Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and leaflets had been circulated this week advising of changes to collection dates.
· Food collection would remain weekly over this period, with possible changes to collection days.
· Garden waste bins would not be collected, as there was usually little to collect at this time of year.
· It was important to think about the food people will eat over Christmas and be responsible when deciding. Often tradition leads to people overindulging at this time of year.
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In response to questions and discussion points, Mr Birley advised that:
· Up until around 5 years ago, food waste processed through Anaerobic digestion (AD) would produce electricity due to financial incentives available.
· Newer AD plants produced gas that was supplied to the gas grid.
· At the point edible food makes it to AD stage, the damage had been done environmentally, as it was important to use less land for food production and repurpose this land for other means.
· Inedible food waste would need to go to AD, but it was the edible waste that needed to be addressed.
· Processing of North Herts food waste at the Bygrave plant would make most sense in terms of food miles, or the site in St Albans.
· AD had a role to play, but it was important that it was used for what it was designed for.
· It was important to use leftovers effectively, as well as to plan ahead to reduce waste.
Following these discussions, the Chair invited Councillor Allen to provide a short update on the soft plastic recycling trial taking place in Knebworth. Councill Allen advised that:
· The trial was underway in 2000 householding in Knebworth.
· The first collection saw 391 bags of soft plastics collected, this increased by 56% by the second collection.
· The short lead time on the project was likely the reason for the lower first collection rate, as residents were not aware of the scheme.
· Crews were getting feedback from residents on the ground.
· The point of this trial was to identify any issues to be addressed, before rolling out across the district in 2025.