northlincs.gov.uk

 149  (26) COMPLIANCE WITH THE WASTE (ENGLAND & WALES) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2012 – The Director of Places submitted a report recommending that the council maintained its current service provision for recycling collections from households and businesses.

The Waste (England & Wales) (Amendment) Regulations (the “Regulations”) came into force on 1 October 2012.  The original regulations were drafted in March 2011.  They were the subject of a judicial review. The outcome of this review required the amendment.

The Regulations enacted the revised Waste Framework Directive 2008 (the “Directive”) into English law. A particular focus for local government and the waste management industry was how HM Government would implement the requirement for the separate collection of certain recyclable materials. The judicial review was brought by The Campaign for Real Recycling. They were dissatisfied with HM Government’s interpretation of the Directive in the 2011 draft regulations. The interpretation allowed for commingled collections as a form of separation.

The outcome of the judicial review was that separate collections of the four recyclable materials were not mandatory. It would be a decision for each waste collection authority as to whether it was necessary under Regulation 13(4) (a) and technically, environmentally and economically practicable (the TEEP test) under Regulation 13(4) (b). The requirement for any separate collection became effective from 1 January 2015. The default position for a waste collection authority, before the necessity and TEEP tests were considered, was that the collection of waste paper, metal, plastic or glass should be by way of separate collection.

The council was therefore required to review its collections for the four mandatory recyclables in light of the necessity and TEEP tests and come to an opinion regarding its level of compliance under the Regulations.

Over the years the council had conducted analyses of the residual waste it collected to help inform future waste management strategy. These showed a level of recyclable materials present in the waste currently sent to landfill. New recycling collections and other diversion schemes had been implemented to try to extract these materials for recycling.

The report and accompanying appendix gave full details of current service provision and options for consideration going forward.

Resolved – (a) That Option 2, as set out in report, to retain the current service provision for separately collecting the four mandatory materials, be approved, and (b) that the necessity and TEEP tests be revisited in light of any future guidance or case law, before any local policy changes, and no later than twelve months prior to the expiry of the current recycling contract in March 2020.

150  (27) HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK – ENFORCEMENT POLICY 2014 – The Director of Policy and Resources submitted a report seeking approval of a revised Enforcement Policy for Health and Safety.

The policy applied to the enforcement of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and relevant statutory provisions carried out by officers of the council.  The policy was modelled on guidance in the Regulators’ Compliance Code and the regulatory principles required under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006.  It set out the general principles and approach which authorised council officers were expected to follow when taking enforcement decisions.

The current Health and Safety Enforcement Policy was approved in 2009.  The policy required a review every five years.    The revised policy was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

Resolved – That the Health and Safety Enforcement Policy 2014 be approved and adopted.

151  (28) TATTOO HYGIENE RATING SCHEME – The Director of Places submitted a report seeking to adopt the voluntary Tattoo Hygiene Rating Scheme (THRS).

Tattooing had become more fashionable and mainstream in the United Kingdom as a whole particularly in the last decade. Anyone carrying out tattooing must be registered with the council under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.  This aimed to ensure that infection control arrangements were adequate and effectively carried out. Currently there were persons registered to carry out tattooing at 18 premises in North Lincolnshire.

The proposed THRS would complement the existing registration requirements. The main objectives would be to:

• Inform the public about the hygiene standards at the premises at the time of the most recent inspection;
• Drive up standards and the adoption of best practice across the industry;
• Reduce the risk of incidents of infection and of transmission of infectious disease from unhygienic tattooing procedures and
• Promote the use of reputable registered tattooists.

The scheme was developed with the support of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Wales (CIEH) and the Tattoo and Piercing Industry Union. It was being actively promoted to all local authorities. Under the scheme tattoo premises ratings would be displayed on both the council’s and the CIEH website.

The scheme was scheduled for launch in North Lincolnshire from April 2015 following consultation and pre assessment work with registered tattooists.  Neighbouring authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull City Council’s were also launching the scheme on a similar timetable.

Resolved – That the Tattoo Hygiene Rating Scheme, as set out in the report and accompanying appendix, be approved and adopted.