Update

Date

Completed?

Note

1^st

6 months after publication

2^nd

12 months after publication

3^rd

Recommendation[1]

Cabinet

Member[2]

Response[3]

Timetable[4]

Lead Officer[5]

1.   That the Waste Team  present the Cabinet Member with an options report regarding the replacement of bins for flats, terraced housing and houses of multiple occupancy to move forward with waste and recycling and food collection in line with the rest of the borough;

Councillor Ring

The majority of communal households which can accommodate recycling bins have been provided with the appropriate containers.  In some cases the communal recycling bins have been repeatedly contaminated with non-recyclable waste and therefore have been removed. 

As part of the new contract, it is anticipated that communal food waste collections will be introduced where space allows and where the bins are used correctly.  Evidence from other boroughs and previous experience in Maidstone shows that it will not be viable to provide separate food and recycling collections to all flats. 

The new contract looks to standardise the majority of collections across the partnership area – Maidstone, Ashford and Swale. 

For exempt houses i.e. have a black sack collection, the provision of food waste is currently under review as very few of these properties “opted in” to the service since January 2011. 

Proposals to develop the services currently offered to flats, HMOs and exempt properties (black sack collections) will be provided to the Cabinet Member for approval.

All flats have been assessed for their suitability to have food waste collections either through individual containers or communal food waste bins. 

Individual food bins have now been provided to flats which are suitable for this service (i.e. less than 6-8 flats in block).  The communal food waste bins are being tested in some larger flats which had enquired about more recycling and were interested in trialling the new bins.  Compostable bin liners and caddy liners are also being trialled to see if this encourages residents to use the service.

Min. 12 months as needs to fit with the new contract timetable – start date of 30 July 2013

JG

2.   That residents are kept informed about the progress of recycling developments in the borough during the lifetime of the waste contract;

The waste team will continue to publicise developments to the service and recycling achievements to residents.  Information will continue to be distributed to all households annually as well as timely updates in the Borough Update.

The waste team is about to launch the new “Recycle for Maidstone” App for iPhone and Android mobile phone devices.  This free App will allow up-to-date news and information to be provided to residents who download it.  This will improve the service’s ability to communicate with residents.

A communications campaign was carried out in preparation of the new contract including roadshows, bus advertsing, leaflets, posters and information on the website. 

A new campaign is being launched in March 2014 to encourage residents to recycle more and to increase participation in the food waste service.  This campaign will start with a large event in the town centre called “The Green Jubilee” which will celebrate 5 years of the mixed recycling service and promote the food waste collections and enhanced recycling service.  This campaign will also include new bin stickers on the refuse and recycling bins to indicate what can be recycled and what should not be put in the refuse bin.

July 2013 – October 2023

3.   That we continue our food waste education and promotion of recycling, including a feature in the Borough Update outlining how much food is thrown away in Maidstone;

Food waste education and promotion will be retained as a key element of the communication plan and will be included as part of roadshows, school workshops and information in the Borough Update.

Updates on how much food is thrown away as well as Love Food Hate Waste tips will be included in the Borough Update.

Information has been included in the Borough Update regarding food waste and will continue to be included in future editions.

A large recycling event in the town centre called “The Green Jubilee” will feature the Love Food Hate Waste roadshow with a chef demonstrating the use of leftovers for meal ideas.

A campaign will also be carried out in the next few months centering on the phrase “I don’t waste food. Eat it, compost it recycle it.” 

Ongoing – 12 months?

4.   That flexible and cost effective options in relation to the use of new technologies and changes to collectables should be included in the terms of the new waste contract. It should also include a proactive clause for partners to explore opportunities in the market;

The specification of the new contract has already been produced and provided to bidders as part of the procurement of the Mid Kent Joint Waste Contract.

The specification includes the use of real time information to improve the customer experience of the service but is not prescriptive to allow potential contractors to offer innovative approaches to technology, collections and developing new partnerships with third parties.

All frontline vehicles are now equipped with PDAs (in-cab computers) which allow the reporting of issues in real time direct to the client team and contact centre.  This has significantly improved the transparency of the service and allows better information to be provided to the customer.

The contract has seen significant improvements to the collection of materials with Biffa introducing separate textile and small electrical collections which were not originally part of the core contract requirement.  The mixed recycling collections now also include glass, more types of plastic and cartons.

The contract is already looking to the future and new innovations including looking at the opportunities to recycle street litter and the reuse of bulky waste items.

Already completed

5.   That the reuse and recycling of waste collected by the Freighter Service should be investigated by the Waste Team to include Green Waste which cannot be home composted;

The Saturday freighter service has not been included as part of the new Mid Kent Joint Waste Collection Contract to allow the council to retain flexibility for the future of this service. 

The Saturday freighter service has been reviewed in the past couple of months and there are no plans to change the current service provision.  Without radically reviewing the purpose of the freighter, there is little opportunity or benefit of changing the current schedule.

The Saturday freighter continues to conflict with the council’s Waste Strategy which follows the principles of the waste hierarchy.  Therefore sending waste for disposal should be the last resort and all opportunities to prevent waste, reuse items or recycle should be maximised.  Unfortunately the current freighter service offers no option to separately collect recyclable or compostable waste. 

In order to recycle waste collected through the freighter, a split-bodied vehicle or multiple vehicles would be required to collect the waste.  The council is exploring the possibility of purchasing a split-bodied vehicle as part of street cleansing’s fleet replacement programme.  This could enable the council to provide a collection of recyclable items or compostable items alongside the general waste.

Analysis of the waste taken to the freighter showed that very little was reusable and the recyclable element is so varied that separation of a single recyclable waste stream would offer little benefit.

The waste team will continue to consider opportunities for developing the Saturday freighter service in line with the objectives of the Waste Strategy.  

Opportunities for reuse and recycling from the freighter service have been explored, however the nature of the service makes this very difficult.  The waste is currently collected in a compaction vehicle and the opportunity to salvage anything is limited.

The use of split bodied vehicles for this service has also been eliminated as the relative payloads and the size of the compartments means the vehicle is not practical for this type of bulky collection service.

The cost of the freighter has also increased by almost 100% following the change of contract. The reason for this is that the requirement is outside of the core contract as Ashford and Swale borough councils do not offer this service.  In addition the core frontline fleet are split bodied vehicles so a dedicated collection vehicle is required to collect this service only.

Assessments of the service have shown that usage is continuing to decline along with a steady increase in residents choosing to use the paid for bulky collection due to it being more convenient.  The freighter is regularly used by commercial businesses to dispose of waste at the taxpayers cost rather than their own.  This is more evident now changes at Tovil Household Waste Recycling Centre have been made to prevent commercial vehicles using the site. 

The council is proposing to look at the freighter and bulky collection service to identify opportunities to create a more sustainable solution which will help residents to dispose of bulky waste and divert other forms of waste to more appropriate disposal facilities.

July 2013 – in line for the end of the current collection contract

6.   That the current usage of the Freighter service is monitored and the delivery of the service re-evaluated;

The usage of the Saturday freighter continues to be monitored and analysis has been carried out on the potential options to amend the current schedule based on the usage.  This has shown that very little can be changed to the current schedule and the opportunities for change would have little impact on the cost of the service.

The service will continue to be monitored and any opportunities to change the service will be discussed with the Cabinet Member.

Monitoring of the freighter is continuing and will be used to inform the process of identifying more sustainable options for bulky waste disposal in the future.

Completed / ongoing monitoring

7.   That in order to ensure that further opportunities created by the developments in waste separation technology for reuse and recycling of materials such as wood and metal are not lost the Council actively monitors this area;

The waste team will continue to develop productive partnerships with the third sector and waste disposal and treatment providers to seek opportunities for increasing recovery and recycling.

The Council is working with Kent County Council to identify new opportunities for recycling including the recycling of street litter arisings.

Currently the Council is not in a position to recycle or reuse other items from the bulky or freighter service due to the mixed collection process.  This will be a key consideration when identifying a more sustainable solution for the future.

12 months – start of new contract

8.   That reuse and recycling of waste collected by the Bulky Collection should be investigated by the Waste Team, diverting from landfill by working with charities and other social partnerships;

The opportunities within the existing contract have been fully explored.  Unfortunately the collection and separation of reusable items in a way that retains the integrity of the items is not possible with the current resources. 

Discussions with charitable organisations have shown that due to the variability of the items collected it is difficult to secure a reliable market for the items.  Therefore the waste would have to be brought into the depot and at the present time the Environmental Permit would not be sufficient to cover this additional waste.

In addition the current specification and level of resource means the contractor collects the majority of bulky items from outside residents’ homes.  This means that in bad weather the reusability of the waste is severely affected.  There is no option to change the collection point to inside the property for the current contract.

The waste team will continue to monitor the waste collected through the bulky collection and provide this to the third sector to help identify potential partners for reuse.

Reuse and recycling of bulky waste has been included in the new contract encouraging potential bidders to identify and establish partnerships with the third sector.  The new contract provides the opportunity to tailor the service to reuse and recycling, such as specialist vehicles and increased storage for items.

The current high demand for the bulky collection service compared to previous years means the options to separate reusable items are limited.  The council is exploring options with Biffa and independently to divert reusable furniture away from the bulky collection service. 

A recent information visit was carried out to Amicus Horizons in Swale and Biffa are working on a proposal to divert some bulky waste to this charity.

September 2013

9.   That a service provided by NOAH enterprise for the collection of furniture and white goods from Maidstone Borough Council’s bulky collection should be investigated;

NOAH Enterprise have confirmed that they will be able to arrange a bulk collection of reusable items however there would be a cost to the council for this and the council would have to identify a suitable storage location for the items.

Analysis of the items actually collected through the bulky has identified a discrepancy between the waste categorised as “reusable” by residents and actual reusable items.  Far fewer items are considered reusable following collection, the main reason for this is the reusability of the items is substantially affected by the waste being presented outside for collection.

Unfortunately it is not feasible to use NOAH directly as an outlet for reusable furniture from Maidstone.  However their model is of great interest and the Council is looking to produce a proposal based on this model over the next few months.

July 2013

10.        That the relevant select committee and department at Kent County Council be contacted and the model used by NOAH Enterprise should be highlighted;

Information about NOAH Enterprise will be provided to Kent County Council, highlighting the benefits such a scheme could have in Kent.

No update.

August 2012

11.        That the use of the Gateway as a collection point for small items such as batteries, ink cartridges, energy saving light bulbs (containing mercury), small electrical items and plastic bottles should be explored with the involvement of local voluntary and charitable organisations;

The waste team have already implemented a battery collection point in the Gateway and will work with the Gateway Team to look at other collection opportunities, such as light bulbs and small electrical items.

It is not recommended to consider items which are currently recyclable through the kerbside service such as plastic bottles, as this is unlikely to increase recycling.

Small electrical items are now being collected at the kerbside along with batteries.  At the current time it has not been possible to introduce any other collections in the Gateway; however ink cartridge and light bulb recycling will be further investigated.

February 2013

12.        That Officers should continue to lobby for the standardisation of plastics used in products to make it easier for residents to recycle; and

The waste team will continue to work with industry organisations to lobby government for the standardisation of plastics. 

The council will respond to all government consultations relating to waste to ensure the views of local residents are voiced.

The Council continues to respond to government consultations and contributes to responses produced by the Kent Resource Partnership.

As part of the Kent Resource Partnership, the Council is part of a growing voice on this agenda.  The KRP have regular input into government policies and strategy.

Ongoing?

13.        That during the course of the 10 year waste contract Maidstone Borough Council takes a lead role in developing a partnership with other Kent authorities to achieve best value for money in the collection and selling of plastics.

Maidstone Borough Council will work with Kent County Council to ensure maximum value is gained from the recyclable material to benefit local taxpayers.

Kent County Council is in the process of procuring sorting and treatment facilities for the waste generated in Mid Kent.  This process looks to expand on the plastics which are acceptable for recycling.

There is no further update with regard to this.  Kent County Council are currently out to tender on the treatment of recyclables.  The Mid Kent Contract is already delivering enhanced recycling collections and the additional plastics are being taken to Edmonton Material recycling facility until the new contract for the materials is secured.

October 2023