Cllr Canver (Cabinet Member for Environment) will attend to respond to panel questions within the Environment portfolio.
Minutes:
Councillor Canver, Cabinet Member for the Environment, attended to respond to member questions within this portfolio. Prior to taking member questions, the Cabinet member welcomed the work of the panel to help increase recycling in the borough and also made a number of points:
§ The roll-out of fortnightly collection had helped to improve the recycling rate from 26% to 32% and is currently above contractual target for year end 12/13;
§ The Council had been given money from Defra for a food waste collection system for flatted properties and this would be developed over the coming months.
Reuse and Recycling Centre
In response to questions around the transfer of the Reuse and Recycling site from Hornsey High Street, the panel noted that planning consent and a waste management license were being sought for the new site at Cranfield Way. The panel noted that there was no intention for the loss of this facility during the transfer. The panel requested that further information (a briefing) is provided on the Reuse and Recycling Centre transfer process.
Agreed: That a briefing is prepared on the transfer of the Reuse and Recycling Centre in Hornsey High Street to Cranfield Way (e.g. plans, planning approval, timescales and risks).
Waste and recycling collection
In relation to the roll-out of fortnightly waste collections, there was a perception that there were still ongoing problems which were not being resolved quickly enough, particularly in relation to side waste and overflowing bins at specific properties and locations. The Cabinet Member acknowledged that whilst the overwhelming majority of households had complied with the new collection system, problems remained with about 5% of households. Veolia and Single Front Line were taking steps to monitor and engage such households.
The panel noted that there should be a range of policy options at the disposal of the Council to encourage more people to comply with the new waste and recycling collection systems, including both incentives and enforcement options. To encourage people to make the necessary changes to their behaviour would require the use of a range of different policy tools by the Council.
The Cabinet Member also noted that recycling contamination rates were also relatively low in Haringey; currently this was about 0.5% of loads. This was also confirmed in the panel visit to Materials Recovery Facility where it was noted that contamination rates from North London Waste Authority areas was low. Nonetheless, the panel noted that the service continued to ‘drill down’ to identify localities where contamination occurred and further engage local residents.
The panel noted that one year on from the new collection system there were still ongoing problems (too many bins on the street and overflowing bins) at one of the case study sites (Milton Road and Milton Avenue, N6). It was acknowledged that there were ongoing issues with the Miltons (N6) and that the service continued to work with local residents to find a solution. The panel noted that a further consultation with local residents was planned in April 2013 to ascertain views on the current system and to identify any further action required.
Agreed: That the panel to be kept informed of the outcomes from the follow up consultation with the Miltons (N6).
The panel noted that there were also ongoing problems with waste collection from Winchester Place (a student accommodation block). In this location, access was restricted and waste collection by standard collection vehicles (26 tonnes) was not possible and this was causing problems with side waste. Despite a number of enquiries, it was not clear if there was a smaller vehicle (12 tonnes) in the Veolia fleet which could collect rubbish from this site.
Agreed:That Single Front Line would further investigate the availability of a smaller vehicle for collection of rubbish from the student accommodation block on Winchester Place.
Further to the monies obtained by the Council (from Defra) to assist in development of food waste collection from flats, it was noted that this included all flatted properties in the borough including those managed by Homes for Haringey, other Registered Housing Providers and privately managed apartment blocks.
School recycling
The panel indicated that it intends to look at recycling in schools within its future work programme. To assist the scooping of this work, the Cabinet Member agreed that a briefing could be provided which outlined current and future work of both Veolia and Single Front Line to promote recycling in schools.
Agreed: That a briefing is prepared on current and future work planned by both Single Front Line and Veolia to promote recycling in schools.
Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)
The panel noted the visit to the Biffa operate MRF on March 18th 2013. One of the issues arising from this visit was the pay and conditions of those working on this site (workers were paid the national minimum wage not the London living wage and were required to work 12 hour shifts). It was agreed that the panel would write to NLWA outlining its concerns.
Agreed: That the panel would write to NLWA to outline its concerns on the employment and pay of staff at the Biffa MRF (the letter would be circulated to Overview & Scrutiny Committee for approval).
Street recycling
In response to questions about the recycling of street waste, the panel noted that there were plans in place by Veolia to introduce new recycling bins in each of the eight village areas in Haringey. Whilst it was acknowledged that there are problems with recycling contamination from street waste, it was anticipated that the planned investment would help to increase the volume of street waste that was recycled.
Hazardous waste
In response to questions about the disposal routes for hazardous chemical waste (e.g. asbestos, chemicals etc) the panel noted that the City of London Corporation run a collection service for all London residents which can be booked through the corporation. Other waste such as paint can be disposed of at local Reuse and Recycle Centres. The panel noted that further details were available through the Council website.
HGV use of Ladder (Harringay)
In response to questions about Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) using the ladder in Harringay Ward and the problems that arise for local residents, the panel noted that this was a very complex situation particularly in relation to enforcement of any controls and the prospect of displacement of traffic on to other streets. The panel noted that a number of possible solutions were being investigated, including the use of number plate recognition technology and temporary cameras.
The panel noted that there were particular problems with HGVs and other vehicles at the junction of Hewitt Road and Green Lanes, with traffic continuing to turn right and causing an obstruction to the main traffic flow on the Green Lanes corridor. The Cabinet Member noted that a meeting with Hewitt’s Road Residents association is being planned with traffic engineers to help find a local solution.
The Cabinet Member also noted that there were plans for the development of the Green Lanes traffic corridor, which may provide a further opportunity to find a holistic solution to traffic issues in this part of the borough. The panel indicated that it would like to receive a briefing on planned future developments to assist transport and traffic in the Green Lanes corridor.
Agreed: That a briefing is prepared for the next meeting of plans to develop the Green Lanes corridor.