Community Liaison Group Minutes

Notes from the meeting of Community Liaison Group on Tuesday, 14 November 2023, at 6pm at the Manvers site.

Attendance

Non-members

Apologies

Written updates from Renewi, BDR, the CELO and JWSMedia had been circulated previously. Brief summaries and further updates were given verbally at the meeting and CLG members had the opportunity to ask questions.

1. Welcome and introductions. The acting chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced new CELO Alistair Beattie who will be covering for Abi Reid during her maternity leave.
2. Notes from the last meeting on 16 May 2023. These were agreed as a true record.
3. Issues arising. The acting Chair informed the meeting that a member had written to say he was resigning from CLG. The member had been a founding member of the group and now felt it was time to step down as it had achieved many of its original objectives. He wished CLG well for the future.

The acting Chair said the CLG Chair was normally a group member but that no one had agreed to take on the role at present. He said the BDR managers were happy to chair the meetings in the interim, but suggested the issue could be addressed as part of a wider recruitment drive to attract new members to the group. BDR offered to support CLG members to look at new ways to promote the group in local communities and asked members to contact the Community Education Liaison Officer to take ideas forward.

A CLG member asked about the attendance of Local Authority councillors at the CLG meetings and whether representatives were expected to attend. The acting chair said the issue could be addressed as part of the wider work to raise the profile of CLG. It was also agreed now was an opportune time to consider the future direction of the group and to review its remit.

Action: BDR Manager to review the Terms and Conditions and Standing Orders of the Community Liaison Group and to approach local councillors about working with the CLG and attending future meetings.

Action: CELO and JWSMedia to raise the profile of CLG and promote recruitment to the group.

4. Renewi BDR Ltd update

The Renewi BDR Contract Director summarised and updated his written report. He reported that Covid infections had reduced to very low levels over the past five months with zero infectionsrecorded in the last two months.

There had been a small increase in Contract waste volumes over the last four months against the forecast. Inbound tonnages had been 0.9% above forecast with a total of 68954 tonnes received against a target of 68345 tonnes. The overall annual forecast stood at 206,000 tonnes.

Recycling had improved from 13.33% quarter one to 13.93% in quarter two. Overall, recycling had been affected by interruptions to both plastic and glass/stone off take. Both issues had been resolved although glass and stone tonnages had been reduced to improve the quality of the material stream.

Fines recovery had improved leading to a better performance in the Anaerobic Digestion plant. Moisture loss remained strong averaging over 30% a year, to date.

Processing through the pasteurisation tunnels in the Anaerobic Digestion plant had recommenced in July after a break of eight months. A problem with the structural concrete had been identified in 2021 leading to a partial closure of the Anaerobic Digestion facility due to structural safety concerns.

A revised lithium-ion battery campaign had been launched in September by the Environmental

Services Association. The campaign had raised awareness of the dangers of throwing batteries of this type into the general waste stream. As the batteries lay dormant for a period of time until broken or damaged by the processing of waste in the facility, the phrase ‘zombie battery’ was used. The items were regarded as a key fire risk in the waste industry.

Ferrybridge FM1 had attempted to undertake repair works to the tipping bays in October but work had been suspended due to a major tube leak in the boiler, requiring additional resource to repair. The tipping bay problem had been rescheduled for early January.

Action: Quarterly figures on waste received and amount recycled to be reported at each CLG meeting.

Renewi, Contract Director.

5. The Councils’ BDR Team update

The BDR Manager summarised and updated his written report. The BDR councils had continued to successfully deliver waste services and collect all waste streams as scheduled.

Heavy rains had seen some localised disruptions, but collections had returned to normal.

The councils had continued to see the predicted lowering of household waste tonnages collected back to pre-Covid levels.

All councils had continued to seek improvements and efficiencies in their current collection service. This included: undertaking detailed Route Round Optimisation to ensure the most cost-efficient routes that crews can take - saving on fuel and time and reducing their carbon footprint; enhancing the collections by offering more recycled material collection at the kerbside, such as introducing collection of recycling materials for businesses; seeking to tackle and prevent contamination of recycling through engagement and education of residents.

From 1 October the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) had reverted to their winter timetable. This was different for each council and meant later opening hours and earlier closing times due to reduced daylight. All three councils had awarded new HWRC Service Provision Contracts to H W Martin (previously the contractor was FCC Environmental). The new service provision had commenced on 28 October. Barnsley and Doncaster had let a joint 8-year contract. Rotherham had let their own contract and would be taking their service in-house in three years’ time. All contracts would bring investments into the service, see new skips, ramps, and site improvement.

The Government had recently announced new initiatives and changes to its environmental policies. They would still be introducing Extended Producer Responsibility, and a Deposit Return Scheme, but had also announced a new “Simpler Recycling Policy.” The policy was still very much in its infancy, and not all the information and direction had yet been announced. Councils were still digesting this new information and were seeking/awaiting further clarity and confirmation. The BDR councils initially felt they were in a strong position to fulfil the aims, requirements, and specifications of the new Government directive, but were still in the process of confirming and analysing the finer details. CLG would be advised of the outcomes for Simpler Recycling as more information emerged.

A CLG member asked if weekly food waste collections would be introduced by BDR. They were informed that because current disposal practices diverted food waste from landfill and into composting BDR had been granted a transitional period.

A CLG member asked if the new, separate HWRC contracts would affect residents being able to dispose of waste at neighbouring authority sites. They were informed that the new contracts were currently bedding in and that officers would be looking at how they could work best together in future.

A CLG member asked if there were plans for dedicated paint disposal facilities at the HWRCs. They were informed this would be part of the new contract. Sites should have skips for the disposal of water-based paints which would be collected for onward processing. The skips would not accept oil- based paints as these are classified as a hazardous substance. The future disposal of oil-based paint was under consideration.

A CLG member asked if there were plans for the kerbside collection of ‘zombie’ lithium batteries.

They were informed there were no plans at present and that residents should continue to dispose of the batteries at existing collection points in places such as supermarkets and electrical retailers.

The BDR Manager said he would report back on the new HWRC contract at the next meeting.

Action: The BDR Manager to report back on the new HWRC contract at the next meeting. BDR Manager/Senior Contract Officer

6. Community Education Liaison Officer update

Since the last CLG meeting (May 2023) regular content about reducing, reusing, recycling, and composting had been posted on social media pages. Information, posts, and press releases covered some of the following topics:

• Love Food Hate Waste – money and energy saving tips and advice
• Local Re-use projects – e.g. Re-read
• International Compost Awareness Week
• Home composting
• That doesn’t belong in my bin
• Recycle Week – link in with WRAP’s national ‘The Big Hunt’ campaign in October
• ESA Take Charge campaign – with coverage of the Zombie batteries press release in Doncaster Free Press (25/10/23)

In early September, a temporary CELO, was welcomed into the Renewi-BDR Partnership team, to cover the CELO’s maternity leave, which began in mid-September.

In September, a written report on Phase 1 of the Food Waste project was completed. (The project began in 2022/23, to assess the understanding and practice in fresh produce storage). The project report highlighted the effectiveness of each intervention (Fresh Pod, Reveal Wheel, and WRAP Toolkit) in comparison to the control and other interventions, and detailed the responses from the 19 households that agreed to in-depth interviews. The report noted that key lessons were learned in terms of the success of incentivised surveys, the timings and workload of surveys, partnership working, scaling up for Year 2, and the waste composition analysis. Year 2 of the project remains postponed.

During October, a waste composition analysis of residual waste collected at kerbside, and Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), was completed. Results of this analysis would be available in early 2024.

The Renewi-BDR Corporate Responsibility Fund was publicised through local media sites in August 2023. There had been no applications made to the fund. It was concluded that the fund, and its’ publicity mechanisms, required an overhaul and refresh. This will be looked at in the development of the CELO plan for 2024/25. In the meantime, a similar roll-out of the funding to that of 2022/23 was agreed, whereby three projects fulfilling the CSR fund guidelines were chosen and presented to the Renewi-BDR management and CLG for approval. The three suggested winners of a grant were:

• Barnsley: Community Fridge Barnsley – Darton East (S75 6AD)
• Doncaster: Cambeth Community Project – Community Fridge (Dunscroft, DN7 4JP)
• Rotherham: The Learning Community – Community Fridge (Dinnington, S25 2JS)

Since the last CLG meeting the project with Hubbub had been completed. This had involved each council provided with a tailored animation and leaflet designed to promote their waste collection and recycling systems. This project was originally launched just over 18 months ago, and was therefore, well over-due completion. Each council will start to use these tools from the end of November.

It was anticipated that with a full cohort of CELO staff, from January 2024, plans can be developed to restart tours, talks and school sessions within the 2024/25 CELO plan.

A CLG member asked if the offer of voluntary BDR/Renewi officer time to help support local community projects was still available. They were informed the offer was still available and requests should be sent to the CELO for consideration.

A CLG member mentioned a community-based recycling project in the Doncaster area that had been set up to help local residents and businesses to recycle more. The BDR Manager said the recently produced BDR Hubbub leaflet - designed to encourage better recycling across the BDR catchment - would give the group detailed information about recycling in their area, complement their work and help avoid any duplication.

CLG members discussed ideas for the future distribution of the Corporate Social Responsibility Fund.

It was agreed the proposed review and refresh of the CLG would be an excellent opportunity for members to work closely with local communities on new ways to use the CSR Fund.

The BDR Manager informed CLG that the councils were pushing to provide waste and recycling facilities to deal with commercial waste.

Action: The BDR Manager to provide Hubbub leaflets to CLG member for distribution to Doncaster community recycling scheme.

Action: CELO to discuss the provision of voluntary hours for a Doncaster community project. Temporary CELO

Communications update

Over the past six months press releases, website and social media messages had been issued covering key waste reduction topics. Over the summer there had been a focus on ways to reduce food waste and save money. Areas covered included information on the correct use of fridges and freezers to prolong the shelf life of foods and hints and tips on how to save on the weekly food shop by planning ahead.

Over the spring and summer, the environmental and economic benefits of turning garden waste into home compost was promoted. International Compost Week was also supported which this year campaigned around the link between healthier soil and healthier food.

The potential danger to waste staff and equipment from disposable BBQs placed in recycling bins was highlighted over the summer. A press release, news blogs and social media covered key messages about correct and safe disposal. The campaign also warned of the potential threat to the environment from these BBQs.

Over the summer we promoted this year’s Corporate Social Responsibility Fund, inviting local community organisations to bid for a share of the fund.

In the autumn we supported the national Recycle Now Big Hunt waste reduction campaign. This year the focus was about items that sometimes get overlooked for recycling such as shampoo bottles and yoghurt cartons. The press release advised residents to check their council website for what could and could not be recycled in bins.

We also supported the national ESA Take Charge zombie batteries campaign which co-incided with Halloween. The campaign warned residents about the dangers of placing dead ‘zombie’ batteries in waste bins which could cause fires putting lives at risk and leading to serious incidents.

JWSMedia.

8. Any other business

The acting chair placed on record his thanks to the member who has stepped down for his help and contribution to CLG over the years.

A CLG member asked if the Manvers site was accepting extra waste from a contractor on Saturdays. They were informed the plant accepted some waste deliveries most Saturdays.

A CLG member asked if plans by Renewi to fit solar panels on the roof of the Manvers plant were progressing. They were informed Renewi was working with the councils on funding for the project but that all local authorities were facing budgetary constraints. Renewi and BDR remained committed to looking at long term carbon reduction improvements to the Manvers site.