Issue - meetings

That, in respect of the recycling service offered by the city council it be agreed:

1.       That as a result of resident feedback and the options appraisal set out in paragraph 11.40 of report CAB3439, the preferred option is a co-mingled recycling collection service collecting a wider range of materials and that Hampshire County Council be advised accordingly.

2.       To seek to introduce a separate collection of food waste by 31 March 2026 with the Council’s current contractor Biffa, including to provide quoted prices for the required food waste collection vehicles.

3.       That the Council will pursue the current lowest carbon viable options as a priority for service delivery.

Councillor Learney introduced the report and set out the recent consultation had demonstrated support for co-mingling of all recyclables and this approach had also been supported by members at the Health and Environment Policy Committee on 22 January 2024. This report set out the proposed strategic direction of waste and recycling services and the preferred method of collection would be advised to the County Council as requested.

Councillor Learney highlighted a correction to recommendation 1 of the report to reference paragraph 11.40, not paragraph 11.45. 

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Wallace and Bolton addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Wallace

He highlighted the difficulties for all local authorities due to the delays in decisions by the Government, including on available funding, and queried how much money had been spent investigating different possible scenarios.  He raised the following points: a) the risk that using HVO operated vehicles did not reduce the overall carbon footprint; b) what work was being undertaken to support the future provision of electric vehicles; and c) could recycled materials be used in the manufacture of food waste collection bins?

Councillor Bolton

He congratulated the council on the high level of consultation responses and supported the general idea to keep recycling as simple as possible.  However he sought assurances that the council would work closely with the county council to achieve the best solution possible.  He asked whether there were also plans to reduce the overall amount of waste produced, to improve residents’ general understanding of recycling and whether there was a risk of inflated prices charged for HVO.

Councillor Learney, the Head of Programme – Place and the Service Lead – Environmental Services responded to the comments made including confirming discussions were ongoing with the county council and work was underway regarding investigating the infrastructure necessary for a future electric vehicle fleet.

Councillor Learney and officers responded to questions from Cabinet Members, including advising that food waste collection would be introduced by March 2026 but the implementation dates regarding mixed recyclables were dependant on several factors, including the county council’s provision of a new materials recovery centre.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out above and outlined in the report.

RESOLVED:

That, in respect of the recycling service offered by the city council it be agreed:

1.           That as a result of resident feedback and the options appraisal set out in paragraph 11.40 of the report, the preferred option is a co-mingled recycling collection service collecting a wider range of materials and that Hampshire County Council be advised accordingly.

2.           To seek to introduce a separate collection of food waste by 31 March 2026 with the Council’s current contractor Biffa, including to provide quoted prices for the required food waste collection vehicles.

3.           That the Council will pursue the current lowest carbon viable options as a priority for service delivery.