(a)

the Waste Collection Re-organisation Business Case was due to be discussed at Cabinet on Tuesday 12 August 2014;

(b)

Councillors had already had an opportunity to comment upon the business case at briefing sessions however there was still work to be done in further developing the policy and engaging with members of staff, trade unions and the community;

(c)

the focus of change and development in the business case linked to the reorganisation of the refuse and recycling collection routes, the waste collection policies and the assisted collection arrangements;

(d)

the current refuse and recycling collection rounds were considered to be inefficient as refuse vehicles visited the same area of the city on different days in what was considered to be a ‘scatter gun’ approach;

(e)

current policies regarding waste collection were inconsistent; the proposal to charge individuals for the delivery of replacement bins other than the receptacle would be included;

(f)

approximately 9000 residents had opted for assisted collection in which refuse collectors would access the customers property to retrieve and return the waste bin, however it was considered that several people no longer required or were entitled to this service therefore this needed to be investigated;

(g)

officers accepted that more work was needed to tackle the issue of ‘side waste’ – in specific areas of the city residents were placing bags of rubbish beside their bin as the bags would not correctly fit inside; side waste was not collected by refuse collectors and it was considered that the majority of side waste could be recycled;

(h)

the Council’s call centre received approximately 5000 calls a month regarding waste collection and disposal; Officers were anticipating a 50% increase in calls regarding waste issues during the implementation of the reorganisation however were hopeful for a significant drop in calls once the reorganisation was embedded;

(i)

there was considered to be a proliferation of bins in the city, which were requested as replacement bins however were not used by residents or required;

(j)

it was proposed that there would not be a charge for replacement bins however there would be a delivery charge; residents had the option to collect a replacement bin free of charge from the depot. Replacement waste bags would be delivered free of charge with the refuse lorry;

(k)

Officers were investigating the feasibility of storing replacement bins and bags at different locations across the city, including libraries and community centres,  to help alleviate residents’ frustration;

(l)

having undertaken a benchmarking exercise with other local authorities in the Council’s family group it was recognised that the majority of authorities had some sort of charging regime for replacement bins;

(m)

bins would only be emptied if the lid was closed; it was considered that if the lid  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.