Agenda and minutes

An apology of absence was received from Councillor S D Martin.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Streetscene Policy Development and Review Panel meeting held on 7 September 2017.

It was AGREED that the minutes of the Streetscene Policy Development and Review Panel held om 7 September 2017, be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Chairman passed on his thanks to Paul Doran for his services and help to Streetscene over the years.

The Chairman also welcomed Mark Bowler to the meeting as the newly appointed Head of Streetscene.

To receive any declarations of interest from members in accordance with Standing Orders and the Council’s Code of Conduct and disclosures of advice or directions received from Group Leaders or Political Groups, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

To receive any deputations of which notice has been lodged.

There were no deputations made at this meeting.

To consider a report by the Director of Operations on the Panel’s Work Programme for 2017/18.

The Panel considered a report by the Director of Operations which reviewed the Panel’s work programme for 2017/18.

It was AGREED that the panel confirm the programme of items for 2017/18, as set out in Appendix A to the report.

To allow Members to ask questions on any Streetscene related topic.

The Chairman invited Councillor Ford to address the Panel as he had submitted a question.

His question was “It appears that re-cycling percentages are pretty flat so what could be the next initiative. I reckon that even amongst enthusiastic re-cyclers kitchen waste that goes into the ‘under the sink’ bin contains both re-cyclable and non-recyclable material. The full bag will then go into the green top bin. Short of providing a kitchen caddy, are there any thoughts on tips we can offer households to help them separate materials within the kitchen?”

The Chairman then provided the following response; “The levelling-off of recycling rates is a national trend, which is replicated across Hampshire as well as Fareham. The reasons for the trend will vary according to the area. There is undoubtedly an element of recycling fatigue, and people citing confusion about what materials are accepted as a reason not to recycle.

The standard of materials accepted by re-processors has been rising, with the effect that the sorting has become more stringent in order to protect the market the materials are sent to.

The contamination rates in Fareham (i.e. non-recyclable materials put in the recycling bins) at 10% is the second lowest in Hampshire; the average across PI is just under 13%, with some authorities at 18%.

Within Fareham, we are currently putting our efforts into focusing on food waste, with our Food Saver Champion, Barbara Cowie, working on a project funded by Sainsbury’s. Events have been held in Sainsbury’s, local libraries, markets and Council Connect and we gave given presentations in several schools. We are working closely with the Communications team to maximise use of social media.

We are asking householders to keep a food diary for a week, to highlight just how much food is wasted; to date 1226 diaries have been issued. We are producing ‘doggy bags’ for restaurants to offer diners. The children’s competition to design the bag has just closed, 1550 competition forms were delivered to local schools. We are also issuing ‘Welcome packs’ to new tenants in Council and Housing Association properties, with tools and tips to avoid food waste.

Generally, raising awareness of one aspect of waste, such as food, has a knock-on effect on improving recycling as people are reminded of the issue. It is accepted good practice that a drip-drip effect if continual reminders is required to maintain recycling rates.

We send an annual bin collection calendar which includes a reminder of what can be recycled. This year’s calendars were delivered during October. During 2016 we delivered 2000 bags to residents in flats to store recyclable materials, to discourage plastic bags in the recycling bins.

Project Integra are working with a Behavioural Insights team to look at the reasons people are not recycling, and develop a targeted campaign to encourage recycling. We are proposing that Fareham would like to be a pilot for the project.”

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Miss Harper, Executive Member for Streetscene, addressed the Panel on this item.

Councillor price enquired as to whether the ‘welcome pack’ that is being given out to new Council and Housing Association tenants could also be given to local Estate Agents so that they could be given out to new tenants in privately rented properties. The Head of Streetscene agreed that this could be looked into.

It was suggested that the ideas from the Behavioural Insights team could be presented to the Panel or to all Members as a briefing session.

The Chairman thanked Officers and Members for their participation in the Members Open Forum.

To consider whether it is in the public interest to exlcude the public and representatives of the press for the remainder of the meeting in accordance wirh Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1979, on the gorunds that the matter to be dealt with involves the lilely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

It was AGREED that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and representatives of the Press be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as the Panel considered it was not in the public interest to consider the matter in public on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider a report by the Director of Operations on a review of the Hedge Cutting Contract.

The Panel considered a report by the Director of Operations on a review of the Hedge Cutting Contract.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillors Mrs Ellis, Ford, JP and Miss Harper, Executive Member for Streetscene addressed the Panel on this item.

It was AGREED that the Panel: -

(a)  note the content of the report; and

(b)  recommends Option 3 to the Executive as the preferred option for endorsement.