Reporting Person: Sarah Beck, Joint Waste Solutions
Minutes:
The Chairman introduced Sarah Beck, Operations Manager, and Jo Chauhan, Head of Operations, who presented the Joint Waste Solutions (JWS) item. JWS provided waste and recycling services to Woking Borough Council and its neighbouring authorities. An overview was provided on the contract management, waste and recycling performance, service improvements and future aspirations.
The contract was managed and reviewed by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and include data such as missed collections and the quality of recycled waste. The contract also sets out an Annual Service Plan which was driven by the KPIs, addressed any service improvements that had been identified throughout the year, health and safety concerns and community involvement. JWS develop a programme of work to meet the objectives for residents to reduce waste and recycle more.
The knock-on effects of Covid-19 were discussed and included challenges with maintaining frontline services, which was assisted by utilising agencies to provide service cover when staffing was impacted by sickness and absence. There had been a sufficient increase in the amount of waste across all services due to residents spending more time at home. The team adapted to the increased waste and different tier restrictions, advised residents on how to deal with waste if required and also appeared on Channel’s 4 Britain’s Unsung Heroes following the essential work that had been undertaken.
Ms Chauhan touched on the IT incident in that occurred in December 2020 that prevented residents of Woking and Surrey Heath being unable to report waste collection issues and make payments on the usual platforms available. The team reacted quickly and created a temporary online form on the JWS website, and garden waste payments could be able online and by the phone, for bulky waste collections and additional refuse bins could be arranged by calling the contact centre. Following investigations, there was no evidence to suggest that any personal data had been impacted however Amey would continue to investigate.
Ms Beck shared the statistics on the waste and recycling performance over the past five years, the data showed an increase in waste collected, especially in the last ten months where the average had risen from 3,000 tonnes per month to 3,500 tonnes per month. Another graph showed that the recycling rate (including food and garden waste) had dropped during the summer of 2020 but recent data shows a steady increase despite seasonal variations. The missed bins target was set to under 80 bins per 100,000, the graph detailed a dip in performance from December 2019 to February 2020 due to vehicle and staffing issues with Amey however since the new depot team had been introduced in August 2020 figures had continually improved. The details of the processes that had been implemented to improve service delivery was shared and future aspirations for JWS.
Members praised the work undertaken by the teams involved and noted that feedback from resident’s had been more positive than previous years. Following questions on the IT issues, it was confirmed that payments could be made over the phone, online and by cheque.
The process following blocked access to areas was explained and frequently monitored, and it was effected by more people being at home with their cars, however teams were always required to return to collect the waste.
The rules for contaminated waste were mentioned, as well as the recent work that Ms Beck had done with the collection crew to understand the context with contaminated waste. Cllr Whitehand questioned where there had been a development with option to recycle tetra-pak, however Ms Chauhan advised that it could not be collected kerbside at the moment for recycling.
The key messages that JWS spread to the team and the public on how to recycle is very important but also underpinning the source of unnecessary packaging was important too.
The Chairman asked whether there had been any developments as to additional materials that could be collected or recycled however there was no update to the list of recyclable materials but work had been done at communal sites by providing more the facilities to ensure better quality of recycled waste.
Some members felt that the KPI’s that were reported in the Green Book did not portray key information, this topic had been discussed before and would be picked up with Cllr Davis as Portfolio Holder.
Looking forward, JWS and Amey had scope within the contract to incorporate commercial waste collections however the organisations focus was to improve services for residents, before looking to expand. It was suggested for JWS to liaise with the Vyne on food recycling to avoid waste.
The Chairman thanked Ms Beck and Ms Chauhan for their detailed presentation and assistance with questions.