Agenda item

Briefing on:

·        Waste Management Group and EHSP

·        Contamination Policy

·        Community Environmental Champions

·        Enforcement reporting App

·        HGV automated number plate recognition – business case.

TO FOLLOW

At the previous meeting, an update was requested on a number of issues relating to services within Frontline.

Out Haringey App

Officers gave a short presentation on the Our Haringey APP, a reporting tool for smart phones for street based issues (e.g. potholes, fly tipping, rubbish and pavement repairs). The system uses GPS to pinpoint the location of reported item, allows details to be recorded (including a photo) and can be used with iPhone and Android operating systems (via free download).  The APP can be used by local residents, community groups as well as front line and all other council staff.

Reports generated through the APP go the contact centre at Veolia and directed to the appropriate Haringey service (e.g. NATs or Highways). Residents (or other reporter) will receive an email update when report is received and a confirmation when the job is closed.

The panel noted that whilst this APP did allow pictures to be sent to support the report, it was not encouraged to use this facility to report ‘in-situ’ contraventions such as fly tipping.   Aside from the personal risk of reporting such instances, it was not clear if such material could be used as evidence to support any prosecutions.

It was confirmed to the panel however that if there were suspicions of illegal or unauthorised dumping, details could be checked within NAT to ensure that there was an appropriate license to support this (trade waste), and if necessary, appropriate enforcement action taken.

Waste Contract Management Group

A briefing prepared for the panel was discussed.   It was noted that this group was no longer functioning as it was perceived that this duplicated the contract management function of the Partnership Board.

The panel indicated that the current arrangement did not allow for sufficient member involvement for a service which was of particular importance within the community and is a significant contributor to local casework. The panel agreed that it would be useful if data could come to the EHSP as this may help bring further accountability and inform further scrutiny work.

Contamination Policy

The Panel noted that where contamination was present in recycling, this could potentially contaminate the whole truck, which may mean that the entire load being rejected and incorporated in to residual waste.  A contamination policy was developed in April 2013 to minimise such occurrences.  The panel heard that NAT deployed a three step approach to tackling contamination with offending residents; this was a balance between education and enforcement. 

Prior to April 2013, contamination reports totalled (on average) 500-600 per week or 0.7% collections.  Despite an initial increase after the introduction of the policy (where possibly more cases were being reported), contamination reports had reduced to back to original levels (500 reports per week).

Analysis undertaken by Veolia over the period late July to 13^th October 2013 indicated that there were 9,200 contamination reports that involved 7,450 individual properties.  The overwhelming majority (83%) of these reports related to the first contamination incident (12% of reports were for a 2^nd incident, 3% for 3^rd incident,   1% for a 4^th incident and 1% for a 5^th incident.  This would seem to infer that most households comply after one incident and that there is not a significant core of repeat offenders.

In the 3 months to November, it was noted that there were just 100 households with 3 or more contamination notes. NAT was preparing FPNs under the Environmental Protection Act (section 46 Notice) which would incur a £65 fine to offending households.  HMOs would be dealt with under provision within the Town & Country Planning Act (Section 215).

Community Environmental Champions

The panel understood that up to 30 local residents would be trained as environmental champions developed across Haringey.  Environmental Champions would:

·        Help to report environmental crime in their area;

·        Cascade environmental information across the community;

·        Act as a reference or focus group to discuss environmental issues within Haringey.

The panel noted that the initial training and recruitment day was being held on the 20^th November 2014 and would initially seek at least one community environmental champion from each ward. The panel indicated that it would be useful if members could be notified of local environmental champions, to be able to offer them support and links to other local groups. 

 Agreed: It was agreed that members would be notified of the environmental champion for each ward

Heavy Good Vehicles (Automatic Number Plate Recognition (HGV – ANPR)

7Further to previous panel discussions and the successful business case presented, it was noted that HGV ANPR was being procured and would commence operation in January 2014.  As this was a mobile unit (not fixed but not a car), there was a possibility that this could also be used for other traffic enforcement issues, for example, on ‘zig-zag’ lines near schools.