Members will receive an update on the Waste Services Performance.

The received a presentation from Councillor Asma Islam - Cabinet Member for Environment and Public Realm; Dan Jones - Divisional Director, Public Realm; and Richard Williams - Business Manager Operational Services that provided an update on the Waste Services Performance since the ending of the previous contract and the Service coming back in house and highlighted  the challenges and successes since March, 2020. The main points arising from the discussion on the presentation are summarised below:

The Committee:

1. Asked to what extent if at all does the Service consider the reduced amount of complaints about missed bin collections is down to Covid and what are the barriers that still remain between residents reporting missed collections and that being picked up?
2. Noted that overall, one of the biggest advantages that the Service has now is that it can see more clearly details of complaints that could not be seen before. Therefore, the Service can now target complaints more effectively and has been very effective at resolving issues and is now seeing a reduction in overall number of complaints.
3. Noted that the focus is now on tackling repeat complaints and complaints at crew level with a focus weekly on the reduction in complaints.
4. Noted that the Service is now able to focus on complaints at ward; estate and crew level which was possible before and would like to share such data with councillors if they have particular concerns.
5. Noted that the major impact of Covid for the Service has been where regular staff are absent due to illness and/or self-isolation.
6. Noted that the Service put in some very early measures to be able to keep the crews safe and have continued to adapt.  However, there has been a cost increase the biggest impact being where the Service has to bring in agency staff which has had an impact on completion of work because agency staff are not as familiar with the way LBTH undertakes waste collections.
7. Noted that the Service is developing an Action Plan and Ward based Action Days to address issues that have been raised e.g. Whitechapel; Weavers; and St. Peters Wards where there have been high levels of street cleansing complaints.  The Service is looking at targeting hot spots to understand exactly the nature of the difficulties e.g. service design; people not understanding what they should do with their waste or that people are fly tipping.
8. Noted the Service is looking at if better information is needed for residents and businesses and in some cases taking enforcement action e.g. the Service has been taken action over the last few weeks to target issues around illegal fly-tipping and they plan to continue with this targeted approach. As well as having a very focused look at cleansing standards and service design.
9. Noted that the Service is currently experiencing an exceptionally high demand for bulk waste collections which has led to fly-tipping in some areas.  However, the Service is (i) working to ensure that the three bulk waste collection teams are completing their 60 jobs/day; and (ii) maintaining an eye on the demand for bulk waste collections and to make it easier for people to book in advance.
10. Noted issues in some wards regarding street cleansing where (i) the bags left by road sweepers are not being collected and are attracting fly-tipping so more work does needs to be done in that area; and (ii) roads not being swept often enough and that is a significant issue
11. Noted That the Love Your Neighbourhood app which replaced the previous Find it, fix it, love it app, has a refreshed design and multiple new features.
12. Noted this is a big area of focus as we have basically a frequency base cleansing operation at the moment and some streets are not being swept to the right standard and the Service is looking at addressing those issues.
13. Noted that residents who have purple wheeled bins, do not need to use council issued plastic recycling sacks. Recycling can be placed into bins loose or in a clear carrier bag. Black sacks must not be used for these purposes. Residents can use cardboard boxes or ‘bags for life’ for storing recycling in their homes and emptying recycling into their communal purple bins – these boxes or bags can then be re-used.

In conclusion, the Chair thanked Councillor Asma Islam - Cabinet Member for Environment and Public Realm; Dan Jones - Divisional Director, Public Realm; and Richard Williams - Business Manager Operational Services for their presentation

The Chair then Moved, and it was:

RESOLVED that:

The Committee in the next Waste Service Performance Update wanted to see details of service improvement with particular reference to:

1)    Improvements in waste heading for reuse; streetcleansing and bulk waste collections;

2)    How it is now easier for people to report mis-collections through IT systems

3)    How agency staff are used; and

4)    Action plans for the West of the Borough e.g. Weavers; Spitalfields and Whitechapel.