Agenda item

To approve the adoption of a tipping away policy for waste collections by Gloucestershire Waste Collection Authorities.

Cllr Nigel Moor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, to give a verbal update on comments made by the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee at a meeting held on 8 October 2019. 

Cllr Nigel Moor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, set out proposals for the adoption of a Waste Tipping Away Policy to be used in the calculation of Waste Tipping Away payments made by the Council.

Cllr Moor also provided feedback on comments made at the Joint Waste Committee meeting on 8 October 2019, including the proposal that the Tipping Away Policy reaffirm the partnership commitment to working together on service changes and consider the impacts of climate change as part of the decision making process.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

Approve the adoption of a Waste Tipping Away Policy as set out in section 4 of the published decision report.

Cllr Nigel Moor, Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning, set out proposals for the adoption of a Waste Tipping Away Policy to be used in the calculation of Waste Tipping Away payments made by the Council.

Outlining the background to the decision, Cllr Moor explained that (under the Environmental Protection Act), the County Council could, where necessary, direct a district council to deliver waste to a point of disposal outside its administrative area. In so doing, the County Council would then be liable to make reasonable financial contributions to the district authorities in respect of any costs it reasonably incurs when complying with this direction and where the disposal point is unreasonably far from the district area. This is referred to as a “Tipping Away” payment.

Cllr Moor informed members that the council had no policy in place in which to formally calculate and apply Tipping Away payments. In many two-tier Local Authority areas, policies had been adopted to define both the circumstances in which payments are made and the methods for calculating payments. Such policies use a formula to calculate reasonable compensation to the district authority based upon the additional travel time and associated operating costs. Adoption of such a policy for Gloucestershire would provide transparency and improved levels of operational certainty to all parties where changes are made to waste delivery points.

The proposed adoption of a Waste Tipping Away Policy was discussed at the Cabinet meeting on 10 October 2018, whereby it was agreed to consult with the district authorities on the development of a waste tipping away policy based upon the formula developed by the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers.

Noting the outcomes of the consultation, (as detailed in the cabinet decision report), including the proposal to adopt the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers model as the basis for calculating future tipping away payments within Gloucestershire, the Tipping Away Policy proposed by the cabinet decision was considered at the Joint Waste Committee meeting on 8 October 2019 (the day before the Cabinet meeting).

Providing feedback from that meeting, Cllr Moor informed members that the Joint Waste Committee, (representing each of the district authorities), had made the following comments/proposals: -

1)    The Tipping Away Policy should reaffirm the Waste Partnership’s commitment of working together to consider service changes.

Responding to this comment, it was suggested that, in effect, the statement reflected the principle of partnership working in terms of waste. The proposal would not impact on the policy itself, but, if supported, a statement could be added to the policy to provide clarity and commitment.

2)    The impact of Climate Change should form part of the decision making process. The costs of the system and the impact of carbon emissions from a tipping away decision should be modelled.

This statement received support from officers. The need to consider the impacts of climate change and the wider costs involved in the service decision making process was acknowledged.

3)    The costs of change associated with a Tipping Away Policy should be addressed during the decision making process.

Noting that this suggestion had been raised during the original consultation, Cllr Moor reiterated that the proposed policy had been drafted to satisfy the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act by offering to make reasonable contributions towards Waste Collection Authority costs.

Questioning the required outcomes from the comments made by the Joint Waste Committee at its meeting on 8 October 2019, the Leader asked Cllr Moor to clarify whether the recommendation outlined in the decision report should be considered in its original form or if the proposal required further consideration before cabinet made its decision.

Cllr Moor reaffirmed the Joint Waste Partnership’s commitment to working together to consider service changes for waste disposal in Gloucestershire and proposed that the recommendation set out on page 101 of agenda, ‘to approve adoption of a Waste Tipping Away Policy, (set out in section 4 of the report), be agreed. Cllr Moor suggested that the comments made by the Joint Waste Committee on 8 October 2019 be noted and form part of the minutes for this item.

Having considered all of the information, including known proposals, alternative options and reasons for recommendations, Cabinet noted the report and,

RESOLVED to:

Approve the adoption of a Waste Tipping Away Policy as set out in section 4 of the published decision report.