As Per Document

TO: JOINT WASTE DISPOSAL BOARD

3^rd March 2022

PROGRESS REPORT

Report of the re3 Project Director

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The purpose of this report is to brief the re3 Joint Waste Disposal Board on progress in the delivery of the re3 Joint Waste PFI Contract.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 That Members note the contents of this report.

2.2 That Members instruct Officers to develop and implement a trial, in which single deposits of trade waste can be accommodated at the re3 recycling centres, as described from 5.10.

3 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

3.1 None for this report.

4 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

4.1 The purpose of this report is to brief Members in relation to progress in delivery of the re3 Joint Waste PFI Contract.

5 PROGRESS IN RELATION TO WASTE MANAGEMENT

re3 and Council Performance Statistics

5.1 The provisional recycling rates for April to January are presented below, with a comparison with 2020/21 shown in Appendix 1.

	Apr-Jun	Jul-Sept	Oct-Dec	Jan	YTD
BFC	58.4%	57.0%	55.8%	53.1%	56.7%
RBC	53.0%	51.8%	51.0%	48.8%	51.7%
WBC	55.3%	57.4%	52.0%	50.4%	54.6%

5.2 As recycling rates are often lowest in quarter 4, the full year recycling rates for 2021/22 are likely to be slightly lower than those set out above. However it is anticipated that all three councils will have recycling rates of more than 50%.

5.3 The recycling rates for the re3 recycling centres are 68.4% for Longshot Lane and 74.2% at Smallmead. They are shown in Appendix 1, alongside a comparison from last year.

HWRC Trade Waste Service

5.4 At the Meeting of the Joint Waste Disposal Board in October 2020, Members approved that the acceptance of trade waste at the re3 recycling centres be retained as a permanent service, following the successful completion of a trial.

5.5 Officers reported at this time that traders were not using the recycling centres on a frequent basis and were having no impact on the core services operated to residents. As a result, Members agreed that the limit on the number of participating traders should be increased from 50, to 100.

5.6 Officers have continued to promote the service and the Partnership approached the limit of 100 registered businesses at the end of 2021.

5.7 As applications for places on the scheme continue to be received, Officers have analysed the usage of the service in order to identify ways in which administration of the scheme could be further optimised.

5.8 Of the 83 businesses who had registered prior to the start of November 2021, 42 (51%) did not utilise the service at any point during 2021. Of the 41 active traders, 15 (37%) only came to the site on one or two occasions during the year.

5.9 To investigate why a number of traders are only using the facilities on an infrequent basis, Officers have produced a survey for the businesses who are currently registered for the scheme. This should provide some useful feedback about the usage of the service and ways in which we might be able to improve. Officers hope to share the provisional findings with Members during the meeting in March.

5.10 Officers believe that some local businesses may be better situated to a service in which they can apply to visit on a one-off basis, as and when they need to, rather than applying for an annual permit. Officers are consequently liaising with the Contractor about how single deposits of trade waste could be accommodated, alongside the existing service. This should free up some capacity on the existing permit scheme, which was designed for more regular or ongoing usage, whilst also providing a service for infrequent users. Officers propose that this would run as a trial initially, working with a limited group of traders, so that demand can be assessed and managed. The final details of the scheme will be considered once the results of the survey are known.

5.11 In the meantime, users who have did not visit at anytime in 2021 will be contacted and removed from the existing scheme. The removed businesses will be able to reapply if they need to, or to make use of any trial that takes place.

5.12 Officers will keep the proposed trial under review to take account of the final details in the anticipated secondary legislation for the Environment Act.

5.13 Future legislation is likely to place greater emphasis on enabling small businesses to easily dispose of their waste. The re3 service is designed to provide a facility for small mobile businesses that generate too little waste to warrant paying the minimum charge at a transfer station - or who are without premises at which to accommodate a bin. It is also designed to promote recycling.

Data Protection

5.14 The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became UK law in May 2018 and placed an emphasis on provisions that promote accountability and governance. These measures were designed to protect personal data and minimise risk of breaches, such as loss or theft.

5.15 Although each of the re3 Partners is subject to Data Protection procedures within their own organisation, it is sometimes necessary for personal data to be transferred between the re3 Partners. For example, this may occur when drafting a response to a complaint or query from a resident. In 2018, Officers liaised with internal colleagues working in information governance to draft a procedure intended to ensure that the partnership had a shared set of guidelines relating to this transfer. This was agreed by each of the four partners.

5.16 In order to ensure that the document remains consistent with best practice, a review was carried out by Officers of all four partners in February 2022. As a result of the review, the document was updated and recirculated. Sharing the document with appropriate staff is a useful reminder of expectations and can help ensure that a common set of practices is maintained.

User Satisfaction

5.17 The annual User Satisfaction Survey for the re3 Recycling Centres was conducted between the 27^th October and 18^th November 2021 and the statistical results were presented to the meeting of the Joint Waste Disposal Board in December.

5.18 Members will recall that there was a high level of Satisfaction at the re3 sites. At Smallmead the number of respondents rating their overall satisfaction levels as 4 or 5 out of 5 was 91%, whilst at Longshot Lane, this figure was 88%.

5.19 In addition to the questions that generated numerical outputs, respondents were also asked if there was anything re3 could do to improve their next visit. At Smallmead, approximately 39% of residents left positive comments or stated there was nothing we could do to improve the next visit. Approximately 22% of residents left recommendations or suggestions, whilst the remaining respondents skipped the question.

5.20 At Longshot Lane, approximately 37% residents left positive comments or stated there was nothing we could do to improve the next visit, whilst 22% of residents left recommendations or suggestions.

5.21 Officers have analysed the feedback to identify some areas for further consideration. These include the following:

- Ensuring that all residents feel welcome and comfortable on site.

- Provision of staff assistance in unloading vehicles and depositing waste over barriers.

- Traffic management within the recycling centres during busier periods.

- Ensuring it is clear what can be recycled in the various locations of the site.

- Ensuring floors are free of debris.

5.22 Officers have liaised with the contractor and identified some suitable actions. These include:

- Toolbox talks with staff.

- A review of site signage.

- Retention of some of the traffic management measures implemented at Smallmead during the COVID pandemic.

- Review of the bag splitting operation, when it is reintroduced, to consider options to maximise education and communication of residents.

- Production of an online map of the sites.

5.23 In addition, some actions have already been undertaken. These include filling the pot holes at the Longshot Lane site and updating the IT services at the meet and greet areas to make the check in process more efficient.

5.24 Officers will monitor implementation to ensure that high levels of satisfaction are maintained at the site.

Communications

5.25 Over the previous period, re3 social media engagement was up by 6.15%. Residents have particularly been engaging with ‘real life’ photos of the re3 centres, such as photos that show contamination within the recycling brought into the Smallmead centre.

5.26 The re3 Re3cylopedia App is due a massive upgrade, which will allow users to scan the barcodes of over 4000 items. In January 2022, we had 11,462 searches on the Re3cylopedia app – our highest ever number to date. Generally, over the past year, our number of searches per month have stayed very consistent at between 10 – 11k searches per month. Trends show that each month our Re3cylopedia searches are slowly but steadily increasing every month. Moreover, on average, 70% of users who search for one item on the app also access additional recycling information.

5.27 In March, re3 will be launching a new ‘Food Waste Awareness’ marketing plan to coincide with National Food Waste Action Week, which commences on March 7th. The aim of this marketing campaign is to reduce the amount of food waste going into resident’s food caddy’s, in order to lower the amount food waste being sent to the Energy from Waste facility. The plan will consist of a social media marketing plan, a special ‘food waste’ newsletter and an online booklet. These communications will extend beyond March and continue throughout the rest of 2022, to ensure communications around food waste are consistent and clear.

5.28 A series of informative videos are currently being planned, with the aim to educate residents about what happens to their recycling when it reaches the re3 centres.

Reuse of Bicycles

5.29 As Members may recall from previous reports, the re3 Recycling Centres receive bikes from residents, many which could be reused with some maintenance/repair.

5.30 At present, bikes may be donated to the partnership’s charity partner, Sue Ryder, or a local reuse company, Precycle.

5.31 Bikes were also part of the first re3 Reuse Pop-up Shop that was held in Reading, in October 2021. Officers are planning for future events within Bracknell and Wokingham.

5.32 Officers will review the reuse of bikes and the terms under which they can be made available for other reuse interests.

5.33 It is important to ensure that appropriate care is exercised in the case of bike reuse. Accordingly, the review will include:

· legal considerations, to ensure that both Contractor, councils and any recipients are appropriately protected and/or informed.

· The capacity of the councils to support other potential reuse partners and terms under which applications to receive bikes from the re3 Recycling Centres might be made and administered.

5.34 Officers will bring a proposal back to the next re3 Board meeting for consideration and approval.

6 ADVICE RECEIVED FROM ADMINISTERING AUTHORITY

Head of Legal Services

6.1 None for this report.

Corporate Finance Business Partner

6.2 None for this report.

Equalities Impact Assessment

6.3 None.

Strategic Risk Management Issues

6.4 None

Climate Impact Assessment

6.5 None.