AGENDA ITEM NO. 14
REPORT TO:
Executive Board
REPORT NO:
CEnO/25/10
DATE:
27 July 2010
LEAD MEMBER:
Councillor David A Bithell
(Environment and Transport)
LEAD OFFICER:
Chief Environment Officer
CONTACT OFFICER: Sarah Barton (Tel: 729685)
SUBJECT:
Towards Zero Waste: Waste Strategy Document for Wales:
Municipal Sector Plan Consultation
WARD:
All
1.
PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
To seek Members’ support to submit the responses as per Appendix 2 on the
consultation for the Municipal Sector Plan that forms part of the Welsh Assembly
Government’s Towards Zero Waste Strategy Document.
2.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.1
Members will be aware that the Welsh Assembly Government produced a
consultation document “Towards Zero Waste – One Wales: One Planet” in
April 2009. The aim of this strategy is to improve recycling/composting and,
reduce residual waste and to strive for sustainability in waste management. The
consultation on the Municipal Sector plan forms part of this strategy and all
Welsh Authorities have been asked to respond to it.
3.
RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1
Members approve the responses to the consultation questions in
Appendix 2.
2
REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
To enable Wrexham Council to respond to the Welsh Assembly Government’s
consultation document.
John Bradbury
Chief Environment Officer
4.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
4.1
Over recent years there have been several documents concerning waste
management and sustainability. Members will be aware that the Welsh
Assembly Government produced a consultation document “Towards Zero
Waste – One Wales: One Planet” in April 2009. The aim of this strategy is to
improve recycling/composting, reduce residual waste and to strive for
sustainable waste management. Other relevant documents in recent years are
Wise about Waste: The National Strategy for Wales (2002) and the European
Landfill Directive, which came into effect in July 2001.
4.2
On 24 May 2010, the Welsh Assembly Government provided Local Authorities
with an advance copy of the consultation document for the Draft Municipal
Sector Plan which was formally launched for consultation on 21 June 2010. This
consultation is another move towards obtaining zero waste and the Welsh
Assembly Government has asked each Authority to respond to this consultation.
Appendix 1 summarises the consultation document and Appendix 2 details the
consultation questions and suggested responses from Wrexham Council.
4.3
The Towards Zero Waste Strategy and accompanying Municipal Sector Plan will
clarify the direction of travel for waste management and as part of this process a
business plan on the strategy and the existing PFI contract will be considered.
5.
CONSULTATION
5.1
Consultation has taken place with the Lead Member for Environment and
Transport, the Leader of the Council and WRG our waste contractors.
6.
SCRUTINY COMMITTEE COMMENTS
6.1
A report was submitted to the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny
Committee on 23 June 2010 who made the following recommendation
.
“That the responses to the consultation questions, as detailed in Appendix 2 of
report CEnO/24/10S be submitted to the Welsh Assembly Government to form
Wrexham’s response to the Waste Strategy Consultation Document.”
3
7.
IMPLICATIONS
7.1
Policy Framework - To reduce landfill, increase recycling, to reduce the
Council’s carbon footprint and to support the Welsh Assembly Government’s
strategy “Towards Zero Waste – One Wales: One Planet” .
7.2
Budget - Resource implications are currently unknown as this document is for
consultation only. If changes to service provision are required as a result of the
Municipal Waste Sector Plan, then there are potential resource implications.
7.3
Legal - Legal implications are currently unknown as this document is for
consultation only.
7.4
Staffing - Staffing implications are currently unknown as this document is for
consultation only.
7.5
Equalities/Diversity - This document is for consultation only. If changes to
service provision are required following the consultation, then an equalities
impact assessment will be carried out.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
Towards Zero Waste: The
Overarching Waste Strategy
Document for Wales. Draft
Municipal Sector Plan – Part 1
for Consultation
Towards Zero Waste – One
Wales: One Planet
LOCATION
Members Library
WEBSITE INFO.
http://wales.gov.uk/docs/desh
/consultation/090429wasteco
nsultationen.pdf
4
Appendix 1
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION
MUNICIPAL SECTOR PLAN PART 1
Summary
Introduction
The purpose of this consultation is to seek the views of interested parties on Part 1
of the Municipal Sector Plan which covers municipal waste collected by local
authorities - from households, and from some businesses and public bodies. The
Municipal Sector Plan will be open for consultation until 13 September 2010. This
plan supports ‘Towards Zero Waste’, the overarching waste strategy document for
Wales, by detailing outcomes, policies and delivery actions for this sector. It forms
part of the suite of documents that overall comprise the waste management plan/
strategy for Wales in accordance with the plan making requirements enshrined in UK
and EU legislation.
The proposals contained in this document seek to deliver the sustainable
development outcomes identified in One Wales, in the Sustainable Development
Scheme ‘One Wales, One Planet’ and in Towards Zero Waste. They contribute to
the delivery of the Welsh Assembly Government’s commitments (including targets)
set under relevant EU Directives in a way that meets and delivers key overarching
policies and strategies on sustainable development and climate change, as well as
those set by other Welsh Assembly Government functions.
This consultation document should be read in conjunction with the Sustainability
Appraisal which has been developed alongside this draft Municipal Sector Plan and
considers the options in more detail. Other documents relevant to this consultation,
which should be considered, include the Health Impact Assessment (HIA), Habitats
Regulations Assessment (HRA) and the evidence base.
Scope of the Municipal Sector Plan
The Municipal Sector Plan covers only the waste collected specifically by
“municipalities”, that is all of the Welsh local authorities, in accordance with their
statutory duties as Waste Collection and Disposal Authorities as laid down in Part II
of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended). The sector plan does not
cover other municipal waste that is not collected by local authorities, and which is
collected instead by private or third sector waste management companies. These
wastes will be covered in other sector plans.
The sector plans will be web based ‘living documents’ and there will be linkages
between them, where the actions of one sector will affect and/or support those of
another.
Outcomes and Milestones set in Towards Zero Waste
To build a sustainable future, the following milestones have been set:-
5
2025 - Towards Zero Waste
By 2025, there will be a significant reduction in waste, and we will manage any waste
that is produced in a way that makes the most of our valuable resources. This
means maximising recycling and minimising the amount of residual waste produced,
and achieving as close to zero landfill as possible.
This is an intermediate step on the way to our 2050 target of achieving zero waste
and ‘living within our environmental limits’1. This is needed because reducing the
impact of waste in Wales to ‘one Wales: one planet’ levels will require big changes in
the way that products and services are designed, and the actions that consumers
and businesses take.
2050 – Achieving zero waste
By 2050, we will have reduced the impact of waste in Wales to within our
environmental limits. Residual waste will have been eliminated and any waste that is
produced will all be recycled. This means that the ecological footprint of waste in
Wales will be at one Wales: one planet levels.
Stakeholders
All stakeholders will need to take responsibility and play a key role in taking forward
the Municipal Sector plan to achieve the outcomes and key milestones. The
stakeholders include householders, local authorities, third sector organisations and
businesses, other organisations and the Government.
Key Areas Addressed with the Sector Plan
The approach being followed for Part 1 of the Municipal Sector Plan is to take
forward the following four key areas:



Waste prevention – to reinforce the important role of local authorities engaging
with householders and communities to reduce waste put out for collection, thus
helping to meet environmental outcomes, increasing opportunities for enhancing
social wellbeing through waste reuse and reducing the costs of waste collection
and management.
Preparing for reuse – to ensure that a far greater proportion of wastes collected
by local authorities is “prepared for reuse”, in order to meet environmental
outcomes, increase opportunities for enhancing social wellbeing through
involvement in reuse activities and reduce the costs of waste management.
Recycling collection service delivery improvements – to deliver sustainable
development outcomes in a cost effective way and work towards the new
municipal waste recycling targets set in Towards Zero Waste.
Sustainable treatment and disposal – to deliver sustainable treatment and
disposal of municipal waste in a cost effective way and work towards the targets
set in Towards Zero Waste.
There is a separate Action Plan for each of these areas within the document. Some
other important issues will also be addressed in Part 1, including achieving better
value for money through efficiency savings, and ensuring more transparency and
accuracy on the reporting of how and where materials are recycled.
6
Part 1 also details existing policies, targets and actions in place for other aspects of
the collection and management of municipal waste that have already been consulted
on and/or are already in place (for example the food waste treatment and residual
waste treatment programmes).
Part 2 will cover any other issues, including those arising out of the consultation on
Part 1, the implementation of the revised Waste Framework Directive and, where
research has been undertaken as part of the action plan in Part 1, this will be taken
forward in Part 2. The sector plans will be web based living documents which will be
regularly updated.
Summary of the actions within the four key areas
1) Waste prevention
To meet the proposed waste prevention target, to reduce waste arisings of
household waste by 1.2 per cent (of the 2007 baseline) a year to 2050, the following
actions are proposed:









Service provision changes, for example frequency of residual waste collection.
Waste awareness, communications and education campaigns.
Encourage product reuse.
Packaging essential requirements.
Support for businesses and public sector.
Legislation to introduce a levy on single use carrier bags.
Actions to prevent packaging waste.
Moving from goods to services.
Extended producer responsibility.
Action by retailers through the Courtauld 2 Commitment.
2) Preparing for reuse
To help deliver the preparing for reuse target the following actions are proposed:





Local authorities to offer a bulky reuse and recycling collection service.
Waste awareness, communications and educational campaigns.
Support the infrastructure development for preparing for reuse.
Consider ‘preparation for reuse’ credits.
Further development of the role of the community sector.
Further research for baseline data.
3) Collection of source separated waste for recycling, composting and
anaerobic digestion
The actions proposed to meet the targets set in Towards Zero Waste are as follows:




Increasing the recycling rates to meet targets.
Consistency in recyclable materials collected.
Collecting and delivering quality materials to end markets.
Greater transparency in the quantity and destination of materials recycled.
Improve service standards at household waste recycling centres and bring sites.






7
Provision of a recycling service for business.
Increasing the recycling service value for money and performance.
Supporting the development of recyclate, compost and anaerobic digestion
digestate markets.
Working with retailers to increase the recyclability of products and packaging.
Extended producer responsibility.
Consideration of mandatory recycling credits.
4) Sustainable treatment and disposal
To provide sustainable treatment and disposal options for municipal waste, the
following actions are proposed:





Energy from waste limitation targets
Landfill allowance scheme targets to 2020
Residual household waste – indicative levels
Food waste treatment and generation of high quality compost / anaerobic
digestate
Residual waste treatment
Landfill bans / restrictions of certain wastes
The Welsh Assembly Government will be working closely with all stakeholders to
take forward the policies and proposals within the sector plan. The consultation will
take account of the responses, and the Municipal Sector plan – Part 1 will then be
released as a final document.
Appendix 2
8
WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION
MUNICIPAL SECTOR PLAN PART 1
Consultation questions and suggested WCBC responses
Q1. Do you agree with the findings and conclusions of the Sustainability Appraisal?
If no, please explain your reasons.
R1: This document is over 250 pages and further review is currently being carried out
Q2. Do you agree that there should be specific household waste and commercial
waste reduction targets as opposed to a single reduction target for municipal waste
collected by local authorities?
R2: Yes
Local Authorities have a statutory obligation to collect household waste which makes up an
estimated 35% of the ecological footprint and therefore priority with regard to funding and
communications are given to household waste.
Commercial and Industrial Waste makes up an estimated 50% of the ecological footprint.
Local Authorities only have to collect commercial waste if requested to do so and therefore
is not a priority waste stream and hence may bring down the overall recycling performance
if given one overall target.
Q3. Do you agree that all Local Authorities in Wales should adopt the service profile
outlined above to help reduce the amount of household waste put out for collection?
Should the Welsh Assembly Government prescribe these levels of service
provision?
R3:
Service Profiles:
Reducing residual waste capacity, Reducing residual waste collection frequency, No
residual ‘side waste’, separate food waste collection, promotion of home composting.
In principle yes to the above service profiles, however, there will be cost implications to this
and any changes to service provision cannot happen overnight as infrastructure changes
will be required. It could be a costly exercise in regard to communications and where would
it be funded from?
Service Profile:
Apply charging for green waste collection and collecting it fortnightly.
No to this charging as it will discourage participation and antagonise the public as it will be
seen as a service reduction and also lead to fly tipping and more green waste in the
residual collection. Infrastructures have been procured long term on the basis of collecting
a certain volume of green waste.
9
Q4. Do you agree that the actions proposed to effect behavioural change on waste
prevention through awareness raising are necessary, and is there anything else that
should be done in respect of awareness raising on waste prevention, and who
should do it?
R4: Yes. Fully support waste prevention and awareness raising is a key factor in reducing
waste arisings. WAG should co-ordinate and fund a common message for the whole of
Wales as they can reach a larger audience and it gives weight to the message about waste
prevention. Local Authorities are restricted in what they can achieve alone as there is
limited funding which can affect the scale and intensity of any communications.
Q5. Should we prioritise funding for local waste prevention projects, and how could
they be organised?
R5: Yes. The local community plays an important role in waste prevention but like all
projects they require funding and Local Authorities current funding has been prioritised for
kerbside collection. Waste Awareness Wales could run an All Wales fund that local
communities could bid into with the help of their Local Authority. This funding could be ring
fenced to ensure that it is used for waste prevention only.
Q6. Are there any further actions which you consider that the Welsh Assembly
Government should take to ensure more prevention of household waste in Wales? If
yes, what further action do you consider should be taken, and by whom?
R6: Yes – National campaigns and national messages and ‘logo’ that can identify to all
householders for e.g. why householders have to reduce their residual waste, why it is
important to recycle, the consequences of landfilling, etc. Householders would then have
more understanding of the local campaigns and reasons behind them.
Q7. Do you agree that all Local Authorities should be required to offer a bulky waste
recycling/preparation for reuse service with a minimum number of specified types of
bulky items that they should collect and prepare for reuse/recycle?
If yes, what items do you think they ought to collect?
R7: No – this is too prescriptive and would be very costly.
WCBC currently allow all residents to take any bulky item to the HWRC.
WCBC also run a bulky collection service which they charge for, but when the service is
requested the customer is encouraged in the first instance to look at reuse organisations.
Q8. Should the Welsh Assembly Government provide for guidance on how Local
Authorities could evaluate services in terms of social, economic and environmental
benefits, including maximising social return on investment?
R8: No all Local Authorities have different social demographics and different service
requirements. Different Welsh Assembly Departments are already funding this type of
activity in the local community, e.g. Communities First
Funding and would therefore be better spending this funding on initiatives in local
communities for waste prevention.
10
Q9. Do you agree that all Local Authorities should have a least one civic amenity site
/ household waste recycling centre which can receive and store safely bulky items
for preparation for reuse?
R9: Yes. But there needs to be a secure sustainable outlet for all these items.
Q10. Do you agree that it would be desirable to set up an accredited reuse and repair
network? If yes, which materials or items should be the main priority for the reuse
network? How could it be funded?
R10: Yes, but there are already many organisations and charities currently doing this so it
would need to be integrated into these outlets. Funding would be required for national
communications, but the outlets should run commercial business in order to work
successfully.
Market research should be carried out to find out what types of materials or items should be
prioritised.
Q11. Do you agree that reuse shops should be franchised and have common
branding? If yes, how could this best be achieved, including how could it be funded?
R11: As per Q10 – many of these shops already exist and are run by charities. WAG could
incentivise these outlets to run more commercially, but they must still be ‘local’ so should
not be too tightly branded.
Q12. Should the Welsh Assembly Government introduce a scheme for ‘preparing for
reuse credits’ similar to recycling credits under Section 52 of the Environmental
Protection Act 1990? If yes, should such a scheme be made compulsory?
If no to either question, what are your reasons for saying this?
R12: Experience has shown WCBC that the recycling credits scheme is not always
successful, particularly in the reuse market. To make it compulsory raises a number of
questions
 Who would administer the scheme
 Who would monitor and evaluate performance
 Who pays the credits and at what level as it could have a huge funding implication if
compulsary
Q13. Subject to clarification on what can count towards recycling as defined in the
revised Waste Framework Directive, it is proposed to include in the recycling figures
and targets for Wales the recycling of beach cleansing wastes, rubble (deposited at
HWRC and CA sites), abandoned vehicles, bottom ash from EfW plants and all other
categories of waste collected by Local Authority waste collection and disposal
authorities. Do you agree with this or should only the municipal wastes collected by
local authorities that is included under the definition of municipal waste in the EU
Landfill Directive be covered by the Performance Indicators and recycling targets
(this would exclude, for example, abandoned vehicles and rubble)?
R13: Yes – it should be all municipal waste arisings.
11
Q14. Do you agree that the Welsh Assembly Government should develop proposals
for recycling targets for source separated food waste?
R14: Not statutory and any targets should be reviewed according to waste compositional
analysis (funded by WAG) and the successfulness of campaigns such as Love Food Hate
Waste otherwise Local authorities will continually be ‘chasing’ food waste.
Q15. Do you agree that there should be specific recycling targets for other materials?
If yes, which ones?
R15: No – all Local Authorities have different social demographics and hence differing
waste compositions. One overall target is sufficient. Targets should be outcome based not
input based. One size does not fit all.
Q16. Should the Welsh Assembly Government require that Local Authorities all
collect, as a minimum, a defined list of recyclable materials? If yes, what do you
consider should be included in the list?
R16: No – see Q15 this is very prescriptive for kerbside collection and social
demographics, HWRC’s could have a defined list as long as there is a sustainable end
market.
Q17. Do you agree that there should be a star rating system to demonstrate
achievement of higher standards at Household Waste Recycling Centres?
R17: No – there is no requirement as recycling percentage is already monitored through
wastedataflow and as discussed in previous questions all recyclates should be taken on
HWRC’s as long as there is a sustainable end market.
Q18. Do you agree that householders without access to kerbside recycling services
should have easy access to a bring site to recycle a range of materials? If yes, what
level of provision should be stipulated?
R18: Yes – the range of material will be dependant on the local requirements and the
capacity on the site – bring sites are not always easy to locate due to residents objections
and land availability.
Q19. Do you agree that each Local Authority be required to provide glass colour
separation bring sites to enable closed loop recycling?
R19: No – the principle is fine, but in reality bring sites are unmanned and WCBC has
found that contamination is high in separate colour glass collection. The public do not
always do as asked. Also there are other factors such as land availability and infrastructure
capacities that would need to be funded.
12
Q20. Do you consider that Local Authorities should all provide a comprehensive
recyclate and food waste collection service for businesses in their area? Or should
they provide this service only for areas not well served by the private sector?
R20: No. Not all Local Authorities have the infrastructure to do this – commercial waste
makes up a much higher % of waste arisings than household waste. Commercial
businesses do not have to contract with the Local Authorities. How could a business plan
be put together to fund this as it is an unknown entity and Councils cannot build
infrastructure based on an assumed level of commercial waste collections.
Q21. Do you agree with the proposed approaches to the efficiency savings? What
further actions do you consider could be taken to achieve even greater value for
money?
R21: Efficiency Savings:
Support Collaboration Projects – Food waste collection and food waste and residual
treatment ‘hubs’
Merging of waste functions of two or more local authorities
Joint procurement of goods and services
Waste and finance benchmarking
In principle the above are approaches that can (and are) being scoped. However the
process is not simple or quick.
Service efficiency improvements:Systems based review
Empowering workforce and reducing management overheads
The above 3 service activities should be left to the local authorities themselves to carry out
– it is not for WAG to manage at this operational level – however good practices should be
shared by all Authorities.
Q22. Do you consider that the Welsh Assembly Government should apply more
prescriptive conditions to the provision of the Sustainable Waste Management Grant
(SWMG) to ensure that the outcomes in Towards Zero Waste and the objectives
proposed in this plan are delivered by local authorities? Should the Welsh Assembly
Government withhold part of the SWMG from Local Authorities that refuse to provide
the type of services deemed by the Welsh Assembly Government to be the most
sustainable? Should payment of grant only be made on delivery of results?
R22: No - it is prescriptive enough and their will be enough statutory targets in the
Towards Zero Waste Strategy.
If SWMG is withheld due to ‘sustainability’ then it will only make the process more difficult
how will Local Authorities be able to move forward at a local level with differing social
demographics?
Payment of grant should not be on delivery of results, there is no legislation in place to
make the householder do anything. All Local Authorities can do is provide the service,
educate, communicate and cajole residents – this would be penalising Local Authorities for
something beyond their control. Local Authorities are going to be penalised enough
through the EU Landfill Directive and non attainment of targets as it is. This will just out
13
funding pressures on the waste service and hence jeopardise the funding of other areas
such as Adult Social Care and Children and Young People.
Q23. Should the Welsh Assembly Government require the payment of recycling
credits by Local Authorities to third parties, and what do you see as the advantages
or disadvantages of such an approach?
R23: No although there is the potential to increases the recycling rates this waste is not
always household waste so why should Local Authorities be responsible and where would
they get the funding to pay these third parties from?
Who would set the credit payment rate?
Someone has to administer the scheme and how much will be paid out in credits? – Could
have a huge funding implication on Local Authorities – what service would they have to cut
to provide these credits?
Q24. Do you agree that identifying residual household waste levels for future years is
useful and will help Local Authorities better plan for residual waste treatment facility
contracts? Do you agree that they should be non-binding on Local Authorities, and
indicative only?
R24: Yes – it helps with infrastructure and service delivery planning but it should be
indicative only as again the Local Authority has no power over end markets and what
materials can be recycled.