Issue - meetings

Duncan Jones, the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership (HWP) Manager gave an update presentation and covered the following points:

·         The HWP was started in the early 1990’s as a communication partnership.

·         County Council is the disposal authority, with ten boroughs and districts.

·         In 2014/15, £81.5 million was spent on providing waste services. £43 million went on disposal itself with the remaining used for financing the collection of rubbish, recycling and recycling centres across the county.

·         The Joint Municipal Waste Strategy was signed in 2007 which set original targets of a 50% recycling rate by March 2013 and reduce residual waste to 185kg per head. In 2012, the Waste Partnership Agreement was signed which is a legally binding document and underlines the ways in which to work together on reducing waste in the area.

·         Performance last year fell just below the 50% target, recycling reached 49.4%.

·         Alternative Financial Model (AFM) designed to encourage authorities and providing additional rewards over and above the statuary requirements and last year was worth about £3 million. This is not split equally between boroughs, it is distributed based on performance and Dacorum received proportionately more than other boroughs with lower performing services.

·         Operational context. The vast majority of household waste disposed of has to go out of county. Only disposal point in county is Westmill in Ware, in terms of the £81.5 million spent last year, a high percentage of that is spent on transport. Cost of this long term is something that needs to be looked at.

·         Regarding organic waste – garden and food. Two facilities within county, one at South Mimms and one in Rushden, North Herts. Good example of a partnership.

·         Prior to the Dacorum service change, waste went to Cambridgeshire and that contract runs until 2018.

·         Recycling is sent across the world and a focus should be put on new recycling plants in the UK. Should then be able to repatriate the material and the economic development that comes with it.

·         Waste Aware is part of the HWP and is the public face including recycling officers from the boroughs and county. Team of 11 people come up with an annual campaign. They promote campaigns on social media, set up roadshows and work with schools.

·         In the last 12 months, there has been a continued focus on food waste. Food waste now accounts for 30% of residual waste.

·         Electrical waste as a percentage of the waste stream is increasing and provides a lot of technical issues to extract metals. The electrical waste stream represents a source of material to get at.

·         Last year, a huge focus on promoting real nappies to help save families money long term providing a subsidy for parents at £50.

·         Peer review was undertaken on HWP and the findings are as follows. Strengths:

-       Brings all county authorities together therefore creating opportunities for a combined voice and sharing expertise.

-       Enhanced recycling and waste reduction performance

-       Dedicated partnership staff

-       Allows authorities to personalise waste collection services.

·         Weaknesses of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33