Agenda item

INFORMATION NOTE OF THE SHARED SERVICE MANAGER – WASTE AND RECYCLING

Update on the mobilisation of waste, recycling and collection services from the start of the new contract in May 2025, primarily focusing on the roll out of the new waste and recycling services from August 2025.

Councillor Amy Allen, as Executive Member for Environment presented the Information Note entitled ‘Mobilisation of Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Contract’, following which Members asked questions.

Audio recording – 4 minutes 40 seconds

Councillor Amy Allen, as Executive Member for Environment presented the Information Note entitled ‘Mobilisation of Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Contract’ and advised that:

·             The report provided a focused overview of the new waste collection services and highlighted issues encountered, resolutions implemented and next steps.

·             The new service had a strategic aim to reduce waste and increase recycling which early indicators had confirmed so far.

·             Apologies were given to residents who had experienced disruptions from the initial service rollout due to route optimisation delays, missed collections, bin configurations and service frequency.

·             System refinements, training and strengthened public communications had been administered to address these issues which included the launch of a new waste app.

·             Next steps would focus on the stabilisation of service delivery, enhancement of service performance and monitoring of resident engagement to support long-term behaviour changes.

·             Lessons learned from the new contract would inform future improvements.

·             The Waste Team, Customer and Digital Services Team, Communications Team and Veolia had all been instrumental in the success of the service change.

The following Members asked questions:

·             Councillor Ralph Muncer

·             Councillor Jon Clayden

·             Councillor Martin Prescott

·             Councillor David Chalmers

·             Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·             Councillor Claire Winchester

·             Councillor Caroline McDonnell

·             Councillor Sadie Billing

In response to questions, the Shared Service Manager – Waste & Recycling advised that:

·             After operational problems were experienced with the merger of the narrow rounds across East Herts and North Herts, the decision was taken to split the rounds back to their original routes and recruit additional experienced crew members which generated some initial improvements.

·             Information was also gathered from residents and Members on specific collection points to add to the Veolia account management system.

·             Customer complaints regarding missed collections were forwarded directly to Veolia who generated tickets for their crews to follow up on the following day.

·             Waste and recycling data shown in the report was for both East Herts and North Herts but this could be separated by district and provided after the meeting.

·             Data trends looked positive so far, however, they would need to go through more data cycles to confirm this.

·             Since the rollout, both food and carboard waste had increased in North Herts due to behavioural changes created by the new three-weekly collections.

·             Seasonal changes in waste would be seen once the waste contract had been operational for at least a year.

·             Comparisons could be made with garden waste and food waste last year as they were still collected bi-weekly and weekly respectively, however, it was acknowledged that weather variations between years would affect this data, particularly for garden waste.

·             A further increase in food waste would be targeted through increased communications to residents before Christmas.

·             Problems with street cleanliness in Barley would be addressed.

·             Litter bin removals had been carried out across the district after an audit had taken place, however, a visit to Barley could be arranged to investigate litter bins.

·             Missed litter bin collections in Letchworth could be due to personnel change or sickness but this issue would be investigated.

·             Limited resources in the Waste Team had prevented them from updating communal bin labelling prior to the service change, however, additional staff members had been recruited to deliver revised communal leaflets and implement stickering.

·             Veolia recently initiated a housing association forum in North and East Herts and there were plans to increase the uptake by holding the next meeting virtually.

·             Veolia had a good relationship with Settle who distributed materials to residents on their behalf.

·             Settle also held skip days for its residents which council officers endeavoured to attend.

·             A Waste Communications Officer would progress communication with residents and housing associations once recruited.

·             Collection problems from hybrid properties that consisted of both residential and commercial facilities had been resolved but if any further problems arose, Members should flag these to the Waste Team. 

·             Data mapping for the new bin deliveries was done in conjunction with Veolia and they were delivered to residents before the service change.

·             All undelivered bins due to mismatched data had now been delivered but requests to replace damaged and lost bins were ongoing.

·             Lessons learned from route nuances would be captured by the waste management system and help to advise any potential future service changes.

·             Crews checked off whole roads when making collections except in the case of assisted collections and properties which were on the hotspot list and both required manual intervention.

·             Unforeseen turnover of contract officers had overwhelmed the team slightly due to lost knowledge, however, remaining members of the Waste Team had been adaptable in their roles to support others when a refocus of priorities had been required.

·             A new Contracts Manager would start in December and recruitment for a Service Performance and Projects Officer would begin imminently. 

·             The entire EV refuse vehicle fleet was anticipated to be operational by the end of December.

·             Refuse vehicles using Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil were already in use.

·             Call surges in March were due to the garden waste subscription renewal.

·             The increased fraction of cardboard and food waste was being recycled.

·             Shortages of bins and caddies had been experienced early into the service change, however, additional stock had since been purchased and distributed to residents.

·             Once more data had been captured, it would be internally reviewed to measure the success of the service change.

In response to questions, the Divisional Head of Municipal Operations for Veolia advised that:

·             Initially, support crews were drafted in to rectify missed collections but normal crews were switched onto this duty to build knowledge, create ownership and enforce accountability.

·             Missed bins had not always been collected the next day at the start of the rollout, however, this had sometimes been due to issues beyond their control such as road closures.

·             Residents should not be reluctant to make Veolia aware of issues as resolving them would help to deliver services that residents deserved.

·             Where a change of this scale occurred, a lessons learned exercise would always be carried out.

·             While there had been issues with the service change, there had been less than expected.

·             They had not been able to utilise all staff from the previous waste services operator.

·             Once the service change had stabilised, there would be more time to scrutinise data and implement changes where nuances had been picked up.

·             False collection logging was a training issue and they actively addressed this through vehicle camera monitoring and retraining where applicable.

The Chair thanked Councillor Amy Allen and officers for their participation.