Agenda item

The Head of Operations is to provide a verbal update on the Waste Round Reconfiguration.

The Panel received an update from the Head of Operations and the Executive Councillor for Operations six months on from implementation of the waste round reconfiguration project.

The Panel had previously received the closure report on the project which had shown an initial increase in missed bins followed by a reduction in numbers. There has been a blip since in August when the number missed increased to 630 for the month but numbers have fallen again throughout September. The increase in August was partly due to driver availability as well as the effects of a shift in workloads between rounds which didn’t work and has been reversed. While the project set out to reduce the number of vehicles collecting waste across the District, this has proved extremely difficult and Operations are unwilling to make further changes which could increase bins missed.

Driver shortages have resulted in some cover being provided by managers but the Council is currently recruiting to driver posts and three loaders are receiving driver training to bring numbers back up.

Operations are working with APSE (the Association for Public Service Excellence) to benchmark with compactors and undertake a waste service healthcheck which will look at costs and value for money provided. They will also be reviewing the forward trajectory of housing growth and the impact of this on the waste collection service. Operations are also jointly out to tender with South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council for an in-cab system which will increase drivers’ access to information.

In response to a question about delivering the aims of the project, it was confirmed that the bulk of the cost savings were not going to be achieved as it had not been possible to remove a refuse truck and crew and that fuel costs would be broadly similar to before the reconfiguration. There will be reductions in the amount of green waste collected over the coming months with fewer staff needed to collect bins for green waste rounds but the collection days won’t change. Future savings will depend on the outcome of the reviews of value for money and projected housing growth.

A Member asked what could be done to reduce the likelihood of staff being trained and then moving on to other driving jobs. The Head of Operations stated that individual training agreements created a financial deterrent for up to five years and explained that training loaders who like the working hours on offer made it less likely that they would work elsewhere where these differ.

In response to a question about recycling waste collection at flats where only combined waste is collected currently, the Panel was told that the Council is talking to Luminus about this and trying to replace the waste chutes currently in use at some sites. There is a need to locate larger bins but there is also a challenge to change resident practices. The Council has offered to support and part-fund these changes.

Concerns about access for refuse trucks were raised and these issues were acknowledged by the Head of Operations. The Council’s newer vehicles with dual steer had less difficulty but this was a significant problem for older fixed rear axle vehicles. The Council is working with the Fire and Rescue Service and Cambridgeshire County Council to identify areas of concern and inform the Police of these. Operations are also writing to residents to encourage them to keep roads clear. It was suggested that Operations should have some input into the Local Highways Improvement bid for yellow lines on Loves Farm.

It was suggested that residents should be informed of the date when crews would attempt to collect missed bins as a three day window can cause problems for pedestrians, particularly when a whole street has been missed.

The hard work of refuse and recycling collection staff was noted by the Panel.