Neighbourhood, Environmental and Communities Cabinet Member – Minutes – 26 January 2010

 

84 (18) BULKY ITEMS COLLECTION AND THE THIRD SECTOR – The Service Director Neighbourhood and Environment submitted a report seeking approval to actively promote the services of a third sector organisation collecting furniture and electrical items for reuse.

The council currently provided a collection service for bulky household items. Collections were completed from outside the property within 10 working days, subjecting the items to damage by the weather, vandals etc. This resulted in the items becoming unsuitable for reuse.

In 2008/09 the council received 8,372 requests for this service. All collected bulky waste was taken to one of the eight Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) and separated into the appropriate containers on site. Recycling facilities were available for some bulky items such as electrical appliances, wooden furniture etc but recycling facilities for soft furnishings, mattresses and carpets were not available and these were sent to landfill. Furniture Recycling Network (FRN) data suggested that between 25% and 30% of bulky waste is reusable.

There were numerous, well established, third sector organisations (TSOs) across the UK who provided furniture and appliance reuse schemes and dealt with nearly two million items of furniture and a quarter of a million domestic appliances per year.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) currently provided a free collection service for any good quality furniture and electrical items within the North Lincolnshire area. The BHF had a retail shop in Scunthorpe and the items were sold here. Proceeds went towards preventing and fighting heart disease.

It was proposed that any residents ringing the Customer Helpline to request a bulky collection service should be asked by staff if their items were suitable for reuse and, if appropriate, alert them to the BHF service. This would reduce the number of bulky item collections provided by the council, reduce the amount of items being sent to landfill, and also support the BHF charitable organisation.

Resolved – (a)That approval be given for the council to actively promote the bulky item collection and reuse service offered locally by the British Heart Foundation, and (b) that the Waste Management Division undertake all necessary publicity for the scheme in conjunction with the council’s Public Relations section.

85 (19) WASTE MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS – TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS – The Service Director Neighbourhood and Environment submitted a report seeking approval for the transitional arrangements proposed for the council’s waste management contracts following the expiry of current contracts on 31 March 2011.

Contracts for the delivery of waste management services, including kerbside box collections and management of the Household Recycling Centres, were scheduled to terminate on 31 March 2011.

The Waste Procurement Project was currently engaged in the renewal of long term waste treatment and disposal service contracts for the council. The first phase of the procurement excluded certain service elements. These were considered in the report.

A second phase of procurement for these excluded service elements would commence following the satisfactory completion of the first phase. This was scheduled for November 2010.

Further details were set out in the report.

Resolved – (a) That approval be given to formally extend the service contracts currently operated on behalf of the council by AbitibiBowater Recycling Europe, for a period of 12 months up to and including 31 March 2012, (b) that the requirement to manage the closure of the HRC management element of the existing Waste Disposal Services contract beyond the current contract termination date be noted and agreed, and (c) that further reports detailing progress made with the Waste Procurement Project be submitted as necessary or required.