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Councillors and committees

Agenda item

Communications Update

Presentation

Minutes:

A presentation was given to the Joint Executive Committee on National and Local Authority stories that have been in the media.

 

National Waste News

 

The Joint Executive Committee were advised that in February, as part of the Prime Minister’s cabinet reshuffle, George Eustace MP was named as the new Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Mr Eustace was previously a member of the Environment, food and Rural Affairs select committee.

 

Rebecca Pow was reappointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary, and Victoria Prentis was also appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Defra.

 

Committee will recall that Defra introduced the Environment Bill in October 2019, which aims to ensure that the UK maintains and improves its environmental protections as the UK leaves the EU. The progress was stopped when the general election was called.

 

The Bill was subsequently re-introduced on 30 January this year – and has now had two readings in the House of Commons.

 

The Bill sets out four priority areas, namely: air quality; water; biodiversity; and resource efficiency and waste reduction. The main areas of interest to local authority  waste services relate to the establishment of the Office for Environmental Protection, which will advise Government on environmental issues and scrutinise their progress against environmental plans and targets and some clarification on the Extended Producer Responsibility obligations.

 

The Bill provides the powers and legal framework for the implementation of a deposit  return scheme, should the Government decide that they wish to proceed, which seems likely.

 

It also covers the collection consistency requirements that state food waste will be collected separately and at least weekly.

 

The Bill has now passed on to the Committee Stage where each clause or part thereof can be debated further to any amendments and proposals for change submitted. The Joint Committee noted that, as it stands, the Bill is still short on any detail for many proposals raised within the resources & waste strategy.

 

The Joint Executive Committee were advised that waste management firm Veolia have had their say in how the public are disposing household batteries. Veolia say that the incorrect disposal of batteries mean that fires can occur in the back of the collection vehicles and at waste facilities.

 

Fires in waste vehicles are up by 37.5% since 2017, and recycling and waste plants are also suffering more than 300 fires a year. Futhermore, if batteries are disposed properly, there would also be environmental benefits by returning valuable resources back into use.

 

Within STWWMP, the safe disposal of batteries is an important part of how waste electrical and electronic equipment disposal is managed, and the Joint Executive Committee noted that all residents are encouraged to remove batteries from small WEEE disposed at out HWRCs.

 

The Joint Executive Committee were informed that there has been a surge in bin sleeping nationally and it was reported that more than a third of waste companies have discovered people sleeping in their bins in the last 12 months. A campaign by waste management company Biffa working with the Open University and the Chartered Institute of Waste Management has been launched and is calling for a nationally-agreed approach to address the issue.

 

RESOLVED –  That the Joint Executive Committee noted the contents of the report.

 

 

 

 

 

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