Agenda item

North Warwickshire

Richard Dobbs informed the partnership that they had six new refuse vehicles coming imminently and this should provide better efficiency, more capacity and add resilience to the service moving forward. An in-cab system was being installed as a tool for the crews to use. NWBC were still experiencing some staffing pressures. The dry mixed recycling arrangements for the MRF off taker were being reviewed. Bin collection was moved for the bank holiday on 19^th September, residents were notified by post so there were minimal complaints. There were 2-300 fewer garden collection subscriptions due to the cost of living. The MRF process contractor started their operations.

Nuneaton & Bedworth

Glen McGrandle informed the group that they are focusing on a five-year vehicle replacement plan which has been submitted for the short-medium term financial plan. To support this an assessment on alternate vehicle fuels was carried out. The specifications needed for the current fleet meant diesel will be used with the option of building in carbon emission reduction to comply with their climate change commitment. This will be continually reviewed. The next tranche of replacement vehicles should be more technologically advanced so they would be more likely to be greener vehicles. An enforcement education day was held on Nuneaton High Street to tell residents what they needed to do with their waste. A lot of residents had questions, and these were answered by staff. The event was well received, and a similar event was planned for before Christmas. New recycling vehicle livery with a clearer message for what was on offer for residents has been agreed. A communication plan following the boundary configuration for refuse collection was being developed to inform residents by February 2023.

Rugby

Claire Preston informed the group that green waste subscriptions were down because they could not advertise it with the strike action going on. RBC were due to have a free review done by the Energy Savings Trust in December 2022 the review looks at waste collection fleets to see whether they could be low emission vehicles. RBC were planning to replacing some vans with electric ones. A study was ongoing to help with the transition of collecting food waste separately. New software called Web Aspects was to be used for in-cab software and route optimisation. A new education position will educate residents of waste contamination in bins.

Richard Dobbs noted that the Crown Commercial Front Services Framework was going to release a price list for HVO as a more environmentally friendly fuel and suggested that some of Warwickshire’s authorities could bulk buy it together; WFRS were looking at buying this too. Richard Dobbs would share this information when obtained. Claire Preston noted that engines do not need changing to use HVO, it costed 50p per litre more than other fuels and the Energy Savings Trust said it was not always as good for the environment as purported.

A discussion followed about HVO, its origins and production in terms of being environmentally friendly.

Warwickshire

Ruth Dixon informed the group that they were set to visit 18 schools in Warwickshire this term to talk about recycling, home composting/composting at school, waste free lunches, reducing single use plastic etc. The team will engage with 5000 pupils, and these will take home a sticker plus leaflet or email explaining what they have been taught. The team were planning a series of home composting workshops in communities, including in Bedworth and Kenilworth. An online workshop will be trialled too. The sales of subsidised compost bins were going well. The team attended Ecofest held in Leamington and were also planning to attend other events scheduled across the county. Lots of social media activity was taking place with a focus on reducing food waste. A new producer compliance scheme (Valpak) had been appointed since the last meeting. Further procurement updates will come to the December’s meeting.

Stratford and Warwick’s update was covered in item 5