BUDGET CHOICES: WASTE MANAGEMENT

Transcription

1 ENVIRONMENT AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES 7 DECEMBER 2010 POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE 16 DECEMBER 2010 BUDGET CHOICES: WASTE MANAGEMENT Report by Director of Technical Services PURPOSE OF REPORT To apprise members of summary of discussion and outcomes from the recent Waste Services Member Seminar and to highlight opportunities for future revenue savings. COMPETENCE 1.1 There are no legal, financial or other constraints to the recommendations being implemented. SUMMARY 2.1 The report provides an update to the Comhairle on the matters raised at the recent Member Seminar held on 4 November 2010 on the Comhairle s Waste Services. Appendix 1 of this Report outlines the range of issues raised at the Seminar with contextual comments and an indication of any associated follow up actions. 2.2 Opportunities to realise future revenue savings within Waste Services are outlined in Appendix 2 of the report and these will be considered and evaluated in greater detail in the context of the Business Plan and budgeting exercise which is currently under development. RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Comhairle; a) note the comments raised by Members who participated in the breakout sessions at the Waste Services Member Seminar held on 4 November 2010, as listed in column B of Appendix 1 of this Report together with contextual comments and proposed follow-up actions; b) agree that the follow up actions indicated in Column D of Appendix 1 be undertaken and that further Reports be brought back to the Comhairle as provisionally indicated in the final column of Appendix 1; c) consider the savings indicated in Appendix 2 and summarised in line 33 to line 42 of the Appendix 2; d) delegate to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, Chair and Vice-Chair of Environment and Protective Services Committee, Director of Finance and Corporate Services and the Director of Technical Services, to take all actions as he deems appropriate to progress the design, scope and specification of the next landfill cell at Bennadrove, including the subsequent award of the construction contract; and e) agree that the group identified under recommendation (d) above oversee the initial development of the Comhairle s Waste Plan in respond to the drivers for change set out in the Scottish Government s Zero Waste Plan and associated legislation. Contact Officers Kenny John Macleod Head of Waste Management Ext 352 Appendix 1 Plenary feedback from Waste Services Member Seminar 2 Options for budget savings within Waste Services

2 INTRODUCTION REPORT DETAILS 4.1 Members will be aware of some of the challenges facing the Comhairle which were discussed at the recent Waste Services Member Seminar held on 4 November The uncertainty associated with the proposed regulatory framework which the Scottish Government intends to introduce to drive forward its Zero Waste Policy, which strongly focuses on increased recycling and reduced landfill, makes it difficult for local authorities across the country to be entirely confident of the setting of their longer term delivery mechanisms to achieve Government s objectives. 4.2 Appendix 1 of the Report lists various issues of local concern which were raised by Members at the Seminar together with representations made through the Budget Strategy Public Consultation meetings held throughout the Islands in September and October These are presented with contextual comments and an indication of follow-up actions and provisional timescales, as appropriate. 4.3 The most recent indications are that Scottish Government intends to issue draft Regulations for consultation before the end of the year with the further intention of introducing the legislation in Once the Draft Regulations have been issued, a Report will be brought before the Comhairle which will highlight in detail the implications of the proposed legislation and which will include draft response which the Comhairle may wish to make to Scottish Government. 4.5 Notwithstanding the legislative drivers for change, the Comhairle faces immense financial pressures to make savings in its revenue budgets in order to deliver a balanced budget for. 4.6 In Appendix 2 of the Report, a number of potential savings and service consequences have been identified which the Comhairle is invited to consider as part of its financial strategy for and beyond. INTER-RELATED SERVICE CONSIDERATIONS 5.1 The Comhairle has more recently been acknowledging that it wishes to see a harmonisation of Refuse Collection Service and equality of provision throughout the Islands and this was echoed in the recent public consultation exercise. 5.2 The Waste Service has been considering this over recent months and in order to respond to a parallel need to substantially increase recycling performance, which has remained static over the past four years and which was highlighted in a recent Report by Audit Scotland Report, two rural areas were piloted with household collections of segregated recyclable waste. 5.3 The outcome of the initial study was reported to the Comhairle in October, when the Comhairle noted the substantially increased amount of recyclable material which was collected in these areas in comparison to the performance under the former arrangement of community bring skips. The Comhairle also agreed to extend the rural pilot areas and to undertake a further trial in one of the Stornoway Kerbside recyclates collection routes.

3 5.4 Within the body of that Report, it was indicated that should the extended trial period confirm the positive benefits of collecting such recyclates materials (paper, cans and plastics) in a mixed or co-mingled form, it is the intention to fundamentally review refuse collection routes, including the Stornoway weekly routes. This change is intended to be funded within the resource transfer capacity which becomes available, from the harmonisation of Stornoway household collections to once a fortnight for Organic and Residual waste and the planned change the current fortnightly Kerbside recyclates collections to a four weekly service, as successfully demonstrated and reported to the Comhairle in the rural pilot trials. 5.5 The rural trial of co-mingled recyclates collection also confirmed the associated consequences of a reduction in the weight of both the Organic and Residual bin in the targeted areas. This gave further confirmation that such a transfer of waste gives an opportunity for a more comprehensive review of the scope and specification of the current Organic and Residual routes throughout Lewis and Harris, where a split body collection service is in operation. 5.5 Therefore, whilst the Waste Service has taken cognisance of the desire to harmonise the Refuse collection frequency, it is proposed that this be considered in the context of a review of the recyclates collection strategy in order that significantly more progress can be made to increase the diversion of suitable recyclates material from landfill. 5.6 Such a diversion will not only generate Landfill Tax savings but it will also increase the asset life of future landfill cell provision. The additional benefit will be to make significantly more progress in improving the recycling performance of the Comhairle which is likely to be driven by statutory measures to be introduced in 2011 as outlined in Scottish Government s Zero Waste Plan. PROVISION IN UIST, BARRA AND VATERSAY 6.1 As Members will be aware the refuse collection service in the Uists, Barra and Vatersay operates in a significantly different way whereby the collections for Organic and Residual waste is undertaken with a single compartment refuse freighter on an alternate weekly basis. 6.2 The original considerations which determined a different approach in Uist and Barra is to be reviewed as the flexibility offered by split body vehicles when deployed for recyclates collections offer a significantly more efficient collection option and higher capture rates for recyclates materials. 6.3 Route trials are to be undertaken in the early new year to determine if the vehicle configuration in the Lewis and Harris fleet can be successfully deployed in Uist and Barra thereby harmonising the service with a common configuration of refuse collection vehicle. ASSOCIATED WASTE STRATEGY AND LANDFILL DISPOSAL MATTERS 7.1 Arising out of recent discussions at the Environmental and Protective Services Committee and at the Member Seminar on Waste Services, there is a clear wish to establish a Waste Strategy Forum which will oversee the development of the Comhairle s Waste Plan in respond to the drivers for change set out in the Scottish Government s Zero Waste Plan and any associated legislation. 7.2 At an operational level, Members will recall that the current landfill cell provision at Bennadrove is rapidly reaching capacity and that a contract has been awarded to WYG Environmental Consultants to undertake a detailed ground investigation survey and thereafter to report and develop a full design specification and tender package for the letting of the subsequent civil engineering contract.

4 7.3 It is expected that the Consultants will be reporting shortly on their site investigations and design approach but unfortunately it will not be in a timeframe which will allow the matter to be reported and considered at the December 2010 Committee series. It is anticipated that a similar hiatus may occur at other times which cumulatively could introduce critical delays in progressing the delivery of a compliant cell in sufficient time. 7.4 It is important not to delay the construction phase of the project both to avoid an increased risk of reaching capacity before the new cell is completed and to be able to undertake the civil engineering works in the most suitable weather window for substantial ground works to be undertaken. The Consultants will therefore be awaiting an instruction to progress the design and specification as soon as possible following their initial report to which is expected in mid December. 7.5 In order to avoid the introduction of construction delays as a consequence of not having an opportunity to take relevant contractual and financial considerations before the Comhairle at appropriate times within the Project Plan timeframe for the next cell, it is proposed that such decisions on the design, suitability and extent of the footprint of the new cell and the award of subsequent contracts be delegated to the Chief Executive, acting in consultation with the Leader, Chair and Vice-Chair of Environmental and Protective Services Committee, the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources and the Director of Technical Services. 7.7 It is further suggested that the consultation group identified in preceding paragraph be to used oversee the initial development of the Comhairle s Waste Plan in respond to the drivers for change set out in the Scottish Government s Zero Waste Plan and associated legislation.

5 APPENDIX 1 No Member Comments from Seminar Contextual Comment Action Proposed Date Understanding Regulatory Framework and Drivers for change 1. Provide better information to general public on the need to increase diversion from landfill and improve recycling. More awareness of local consequences of failure to meet individual household responsibility to segregate waste as requested/required. Waste Aware staff currently produce publications, online guidance and a telephone helpline for individual waste management advice for the public and commercial sector. Recent publications have highlighted the consequences on Comhairle budgets, for other services, should the Comhairle be unable to divert more waste from landfill. Re-enforce the message of the consequences for the Comhairle s other core services if greater diversion from landfill is not achieved. Business Dec Plan 2. Undertake more household surveys and issue appropriate guidance to encourage better recycling performance. A number of targeted surveys have been carried out to determine disincentives to recycling and measure have been introduced in response to such perceived disincentives. The co-mingled collection trials are a recent example where there was a high level of engagement with households in the pilot areas. A high visibility has been maintained on collection days whereby Waste Aware staff do a bin survey ahead of the collection vehicle. Additional household surveys and customer feedback will be undertaken as part of the roll out of Co-mingled recycling collections. Action point for Service Business plan for Business Dec Plan 3. Provide more feedback to the public on what happens to diverted and recycled waste. In an attempt to better inform the public of what happens to collected waste and recyclates, newspaper articles and television interviews are regularly given in addition to in-house production of newsletters publications which are widely circulated through the Islands. Review online Web pages to provide meaningful and informative feedback on recycling performance and incorporate similar data in future publications. Business Dec Plan 4. Maintain an emphasis of promoting waste awareness in Schools, with general public and other organisational settings to drive higher recycling performance Waste awareness work in Schools continues with support for milk bottle top collections, telephone directory recycling, in addition to hosting visits at the Waste Transfer Station in Uist and at the facility at Creed Park. Waste management advice is given to businesses as part of annual waste collection contract renewal discussions which are carried out by Waste Aware staff. They also attend and are in regular contact with community group and organisations to offer support and advice. Allocate specific time commitment in Waste Services business plan for to undertake promotional work in schools and with other organisations and bodies. Business Dec Plan

6 5. Having delivered the education/advisory A limited number of targeted follow up visits have been undertaken Establish a mechanism to Introduce message to non-recycling households which in the Co-mingled pilot areas to determine reasons for nonparticipation. householders and business and feedback provide direct feedback to recycling audit otherwise have no reasonable excuse for not participating in recycling, consider the users who fail to present waste Scheme March implementation of a staged enforcement for recycling in the manner 2011 approach (such as a Red Card System) to those required by the Comhairle in who persistently fail to segregate household order to meet increasing waste as required. recycling targets and to curtail escalating landfill costs. 6. Consider the implications of an enforcement approach to persistent non- recycling households There is no enforcement Policy for household waste. Present a Policy proposal to the Comhairle which proposes a protocol for dealing with those who persistently fail to segregate household waste as required by the Comhairle s Waste Collection requirements March Investigate cost benefits of consolidated network of multi skip Community Recycling Centres for household waste in rural areas with consequence of fewer locally based individual skips being deployed A Recycling Centre is being established in Castlebay and a new Recycling and sorting facility is currently under construction at Rueval in Uist. A Centre was introduced in Tarbert in the past year and Creed Park has a multi skip Household waste Centre adjacent to the Processing facility. Ness area also has a supported Household Waste Recycling Centre which the Community initially developed. Investigate with SEPA further models of multi-skip household waste collection centres, which includes remote monitoring, and which could be established should a clear cost benefit case exist. Report finding to Comhairle for further consideration. March Producer responsibility should be reinforced and greater accountability lie with those who generate unnecessary waste End of Life Vehicles and the WEEE Regulations for electrical goods has relieved some financial burden on local Authorities where there is a comprehensive obligation to meet costs, irrespective of location. New Regulations governing battery recycling will be the subject of a forthcoming public awareness initiative. More publicity including retailer obligation required to advise public on options for disposal of domestic batteries. Dec Ensure commercial waste producers do not evade share of waste disposal costs by illegally dumping into community skips provided for household waste only. Limited resources for the monitoring of Community skips makes it extremely difficult to regulate and control. There is less of an issue at licensed and regulated Community Recycling Centres as described above. Develop and agree joint approach with SEPA to increase commercial waste producer awareness of legal obligations and penalties and in collaboration with SEPA undertake targeted waste audits of business. March 2011

7 10. Consider measures to further encourage commercial premises to undertake more recycling of commercial waste. Collection of certain segregated dry recyclates and food waste is offered to appropriate businesses where there is a mutual better value benefit in diverting such waste. Evaluate the capture rate of retailer waste which could be, but is not currently, recycled and undertake joint approach with SEPA as outlined above Further work is required to ensure that the construction sector takes greater responsibility for the segregation of recyclable materials so that waste generated at sites is not consigned to landfill in a mixed form which makes recovery and diversion too costly or otherwise impracticable. Review charging scheme for acceptance of mixed or difficult waste in order that there is a financial incentive on waste producers to make waste segregation and recycling a more attractive option. Transfer of waste - Inter-Island and Islands to Mainland A number of discussions have been held with individuals and community groups in Uist and Barra to determine if there is capacity and a financial case to develop sustainable local recycling and reprocessing alternatives. 11. Investigate alternatives means of waste processing and recycling to reduce requirement to transfer waste. Evaluate current options under discussion and undertake an event in Uist and Barra to allow community and other third sector ideas to be discussed and evaluated. Include in Business Plan for 12. Investigate haulage/carriage options for the transfer of waste from Uist and Barra to Lewis and to mainland for disposal and recycling. The haulage of waste and recyclates from Uist or Lewis for mainland reprocessing is procured by competitive tendering. Inter-island waste haulage is currently undertaken in-house as it integrates with other service needs in terms of the containerisation options. This is open to review should a more cost effective option become available and should the nature and needs of waste transfer change. Options to send waste direct for mainland processing and disposal from Uist and Barra is currently under investigation and will be reported back to the Comhairle in due course. March Consider alternative vehicle types for inter-island and mainland haulage of waste and recyclates. As above As above 14. Consider waste transfer by boat/barge. Options for sea freight are very limited due to the scale of operations. In 2006 an independent report by SEPA considered the option of sea transport of recyclates from the Western Isles and Argyll and Bute to mainland markets. The report concluded that unless the cost of road haulage were to substantially rise, the shipment by sea would not offer a competitive option and such options were diminishing as costal shipment of goods was generally less suited for lightweight and bulky items of freight. Investigate to establish if availability of suitable sea transport exists and determine if it could provide a competitive alternative.

8 15. Consider Composting options and Anaerobic Digester options for Uist and Barra waste. There have been discussions with a commercial interest in Uist to explore composting options there. A Community initiative in Barra is under development to establish a local option for the composting of household food waste. A suitable composter unit has been made available by the Comhairle to the community group in order to undertake trial food waste composting. Develop a partnership arrangement with local community group in Barra to facilitate composting of food waste generated on the island. Target SLA for March 2011 Discussions are ongoing with a group in Uist to relocate the Comhairle s animal bedding plant to Benbecula as there is likely to be more demand for the product from the Community Riding School. Support the Community Riding School in Benbecula in establishing a paper shredding facility for animal bedding. Transfer equipment of Private and Voluntary Sector Options 16. Investigate if Community/voluntary Sector can provide a better value option for targeted waste streams in various areas of the Western Isles. The Comhairle has given practical and financial support to the voluntary sector in Uist and Barra and in Lewis to develop a network of textile recycling banks. There is ongoing dialogue with Social Enterprise and other third sector organisations to explore new areas for collaboration. Assist with pilot projects undertaken by community organisations to determine sustainability of new initiatives. Include in Business Plan for 17. Develop specific project in Barra to minimise the requirement to transfer waste Northwards through the islands chain. The building and site infrastructure capacity is being undertaken for the next phase of development. A review of local processing options including the direct export of recyclates and waste for mainland processing is currently under consideration. Evaluate and report to Comhairle the feasibility and viability of direct export of waste to mainland for recycling or disposal. 18. Investigate if further opportunities can be developed to increase textiles diversion/reuse The established charities and other third sector organisations have increased their capacity to become involved in collaborative initiatives and the Comhairle continues to actively support such organisations where there is a mutual benefit opportunity. Consider how the network of textile banks can be extended to include Barra. 19. Consider if there are further opportunities to reclaim and divert old furniture from Skips Historically, there is a no local market for furniture recovered from waste and the diversion recyclable furniture occurs at an earlier point, initiated by householders. Schemes like this including bicycle recovery and reuse have met limited success but the Waste Services would readily support any such emerging initiatives. Discuss with local charities and other organisations if there is any potential to increase diversion of furniture from collected mixed waste. January 2011 Street Cleansing 20. Provide more education awareness Current initiative to be undertaken by Community Environment Officers to promote litter awareness in targeted schools as part of the Litter Enforcement Policy Action by Community Environment Officers January 2011

9 21. Target School routes as they appear to be more of a problem Community Environmental Officers have in the past established a visible presence in Stornoway Town centre and associated areas. Litter picking in these areas has a high priority and is generally dealt with within appropriate response times. This service is currently the subject of significant cost reduction pressures. As above January Fast Food outlets should be required to recover their packaging The requirement to address the generation of litter in the immediate vicinity of fast food outlets is incorporated into Late Hours Catering Licence conditions. However, it is difficult to hold such outlets accountable for the actions of irresponsible clientele who take the food some distance from the premises before discarding packaging material as litter. Nevertheless, under the Environment Protection Act 1990, there is provision to address dropped litter in town centre areas by having greater accountability on the outlets which generate the waste outwith late hours trading. In consultation with the Director of Development, investigate the option of increased responsibility on targeted fast food outlets to accept greater responsibility for litter generated at or near their premises. 23. Issue fixed penalties for littering as means of deterrent to others. The Comhairle has a number of Officers authorised to issue fixed penalty Notices for offences such as Littering and Dog fouling under an enforcement policy approved in A concurrent report to the Environment and Protective Services Committee proposes a revised protocol for dealing with repeat litter offences by persons less than 16 years of age. Protocol for dealing with offenders including the issuing of fixed penalty notices being reported by Director of Development to the Comhairle for approval in December Jan Encourage greater involvement of the Police in reducing littering problems As Indicated above, a review of the current Enforcement Policy is the subject of a concurrent report by the Director of Development. Support and implement the measures proposed in a concurrent Report on litter enforcement by Director of Development 25. Pressure to substantially reduce service budget will result in a reduction on overall service and reduction in jobs. The Street Cleansing service budget comprises primarily of transport related costs and employee costs. If a significant Service reduction were to be introduced, there are only limited options to realise cost savings other than a reduction in the employees. The integrated waste and cleansing services rely on a flexible workforce to respond to changing service demands throughout the year and any employee reduction will have repercussions across all service areas. All this is at a time the Comhairle is attempting to divert more waste from landfill which itself requires more service investment in the collection, processing and haulage of additional diverted waste which will not be offset by Landfill Tax savings alone. Consider alternative savings options as outlined in Appendix 2 of the report in addition to a reduction in service specification leading to reduced overtime, and where possible, reduce overall manning levels.

10 26. The Cleansing Service has historically delivered a surplus on its trading account which has been to the benefit of wider Comhairle services. The Street Cleansing Services incorporate highway sweeping and pavement and precinct sweeping, general litter picking, routine gulley emptying, weed control in road network areas with pavements, emptying of the network of public litter bins throughout the islands and the emptying of dog fouling bins introduced in Stornoway. Employees integrate with other services delivered by the wider Cleansing Services. Reduction in Service budgets unavoidably lead to a reduction in specification and income to the Trading Operations delivering Cleansing Services. The Trading Operations must resize its operation to continue to deliver Best Value. 27. Can the Comhairle develop an Energy from Waste (EfW) option in preference to ongoing dependence on landfill disposal? Energy from Waste option to drive greater diversion from landfill Scottish Government s Zero Waste hierarchy does not take cognisance of the huge disparity in collection and transport costs across Scotland. Scottish Government must factor in the economic and other environmental consequences of the complex and costly transport chains for island communities in determining if a local diversion recovery via EfW is the better option for remote island communities. The short term uncertainty on our ability to develop an EfW option in preference to landfill disposal until Regulatory framework is clarified prevents any detailed appraisal to be undertaken at this stage. It is likely that the Comhairle will have to present a reasoned case to Scottish Government detailing why local diversion by EfW is a better option in our particular circumstances. Initial Report to the Waste Strategy Group and Comhairle on the Scottish Government s proposals for draft Regulations. Perceptions in the community 28. Waste is dumped into one big pile and buried Organic waste and dry recyclates materials (glass, plastics, paper and cans) which have been separated at household level for collection are processed separately from other waste. Any residual waste (ie waste which has not been separated for either organic waste processing or waste which has not been set aside for separate recycling collection) is generally disposed of to landfill as there is currently no alternative available 29. Community sector has capacity to do a lot more A number of third sector organisations currently work in partnership with the Comhairle. Where there is a mutual benefit to be gained the Comhairle has embraced such opportunities and encourage and collaborate in new activities with such organisations. In a number of instances the rigorous regulatory compliance costs governing waste processes and distance from recycling markets is a significant disincentive to establish viable secondary business in the islands. Reinforce message to correct any misconception in future publications and online material. Consider, investigate and evaluate any new opportunities and continue with the evaluation and support under current arrangements. Business plan for Business plan for

11 30. The Anaerobic digester at Creed is not working as it should and there is no benefit from separating out more food waste The anaerobic digester is working well with the limited feedstock available from organic collections. However, the facility has capacity to process a significant amount of additional feedstock. That could be made available by greater effort in segregating more suitable organic waste at households and by identifying additional waste streams for processing as an alternative to landfill disposal. Investigate option and cost implications of processing new categories of feedstock such as suitable abattoir and butchery waste currently disposed of to landfill. Also reinforce message to make more effort in separating out suitable organic waste at households with targeted campaign. March The organic bin and mixed waste is dumped into the one lorry and mixed so why should we separate it out in the first place. In Lewis and Harris household collections are made with split body vehicles which separately store and convey the collected organic waste and residual waste. In Uist the separate waste streams are collected on alternate weekly collections using a single compartment vehicle. Reinforce message to correct any misconception in future publications and online material. Business plan for 32. Landfill option in Uist must be a cheaper than transporting to Lewis The costs of constructing and maintaining a landfill site are considerable. The costs of operating small landfills are disproportionate and many local authority sites have closed over recent years. The core costs of running a landfill under the Pollution Prevention and Control regulatory framework (PPC) is significantly higher that it was when the decision was taken to discontinue the provision in Rueval and the Scottish Government s policy objective is to move away from landfill disposal and have much greater emphasis on recycling. Rather than transport the waste to Lewis, the Comhairle will evaluate if it is more economic to export certain waste streams direct to mainland for disposal rather than sending it to Lewis. Business plan for

12 33. Question the perception that, Recycling is cheaper than burying waste The costs associated with the separate collection of recyclates throughout the Western isles, the sorting and bulking of collected materials and the onward haulage costs are considerable. The relentless annual increase in Landfill Tax and the anticipated regulatory drivers to recycle more and landfill less cause the Comhairle to have little option but to incur such costs in future. A do nothing commits the Comhairle to fund inescapable Landfill Tax revenue growth approaching 100K each year. In future years, it will be cheaper to recycle than to Landfill but mainly because the cost of landfill disposal will be significantly higher, notwithstanding that new legislative drivers will in any event force the Comhairle away from landfill. The Scottish Government target, which is to be underpinned by regulations, is no more than 5% of waste will go to landfill by 2025 and 70 % recycling. Approximately 80% of the Municipal Waste from the Western Isles currently goes to Landfill amounting to about 19,000 tonnes per year. By 2025 this will be limited to just over 1,000 tonnes. Unless the additional waste which needs to be diverted from landfill can be reprocessed locally, there will be no option other than to consign that volume of additional waste to mainland recycling and reprocessing, irrespective of cost. Continue to monitor market outlets for collected recyclates to ensure that the most advantageous terms are procured for the transportation and disposal of collected recyclates from the Western Isles. Business plan for