Agenda item

To brief the re3 Joint Waste Disposal Board on progress in the delivery of the re3 Joint Waste PFI Contract.

The Board considered a report on progress in the delivery of the re3 Joint Waste PFI

Contract. The report covered:

·        Covid-19 Global Pandemic and re3 Services

·        Booking System

·        Site Operation

·        Off-site, Highways, arrangements

·        Ongoing Operation of the site as Covid-19 Measures Evolve

·        re3 Waste Statistics

·        Covid-19 Communications

·        Awards nominations

·        Glass recycling

Since the Board last met in January 2020, there had been a number of changes and issues.

When looking to reopen the sites, once Government had allowed this to happen, two principle objectives had been taken into account. The first was public health and ensuring that residents were safe and being safe and taking them into account and making sure that the potation queues were managed, as the sites were very busy. Prior to lockdown, there were 3 visitors every minute at both sites.

The approach was to offer a booking system to give sufficient access to residents and to prevent queuing and the minor public order incidents that had occurred at other sites when they had reopened. The sites were reopened on the 18 May 2020, with 460 slots a day available per site and a full range of services, which was different to other areas who had limited their services. An extra hour a day has since been added to the opening times. Initially there had been off site support on the highways to make sure that the refuge freight could still get into the sites.

Since the reports had been published, there was now 470 booking slots available per day at each site, to give context West Berkshire who were only offering 320 slots at their biggest site.

Given the ongoing social distancing, it was recommended that the booking system be kept till the end of 2020 but kept under review at the Board meetings and should there be an end to social distancing then the system would be reviewed immediately.

The response from the general public regarding the booking system had been positive, and the Board Member had received very few complaints.

Officers reported that there had been no incidents at either site to date, the public had taken and adhered to the new rues very well. In regards to people that do not have IT, they were able to phone and book a slot.

Since starting the booking system, the days had been profiled to fit in with the truck scheduling at both sites and the booking slots amended accordingly.

The Board were very complementary of the Click and Tip communications.

The Board stated that it was very important to recognise the staffs hard work during this period, both on site and in the refuge vehicles and thanked the Officers for organising extra bottle banks and collections for glass over the lockdown period.

RESOLVED that

       i.          Members note the contents of the report.

      ii.          Members endorse the retention of the booking system for the remainder

of 2020, as described at 5.30 of the Project Directors report.

     iii.          Members agree to review access to the HWRCs at each subsequent JWDB meeting, and until the end of social distancing, as described at 5.32 of the Project Directors report.