Report
to:
Lead Member for Transport and Environment
Date of
meeting: 21 November
2022
By:
Director of Communities, Economy and Transport
Title:
Policy relating to use of vans and cashless transactions at East
Sussex County Council Household Waste Recycling Sites
Purpose:
To formalise and continue policy changes across the East Sussex
Household Recycling Site network
RECOMMENDATIONS: The
Lead Member is recommended to:
(1)
Approve continuing
restricting vans and oversize vehicle
access to Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRS) to Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays only; and
(2)
Approve all HWRS
continue with cashless transactions for non-household waste which
includes hardcore, soil, plasterboard, asbestos, and
tyres.
1
Background Information
1.1.
The collection and disposal of waste is one of the most visible
services that councils provide. It is one of a small number of
services that every resident benefits from on a weekly basis.
Whether it is rubbish or recycling, or garden waste being collected
from residents’ homes, streets being swept, or visiting a
Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRS), everyone uses the service
on a regular basis.
1.2.
Due to this reach, managing waste and recycling is a complicated
and expensive service. It is the biggest single contract held by
East Sussex County Council. However, service does not include the
collection of waste and recycling or street cleaning, which is
handled by five Districts and Borough Councils.
1.3.
Controlling what East Sussex spends on waste and recycling has some
significant limitations. The Council has a legal duty to dispose of
or recycle all the household waste our residents create. As
residents we all, to a greater or lesser degree, create waste and
recycling for councils to collect and dispose of.
1.4.
The network of 10 HWRS in East Sussex is an important part of the
service provided by East Sussex County Council and is popular with
residents. The sites receive 1.6 million visits per year and handle
about a quarter of the total waste that East Sussex residents
produce. The sites also recycle, compost, or reuse almost 60% of
the materials that are brought to them by residents and accept up
to 36 different types of materials.
1.5.
The network, in line with Government guidance, temporarily closed
in March 2020 for approximately 11 weeks due to the Covid-19
pandemic. Reopening the network brought a period of challenge. The
sites experienced high levels of demand but were operating a
restricted service to provide a safe environment for our residents.
During this time, the Council needed to reassess some of the entry
policies and restrictions, this is when changes were introduced to
van and oversize vehicle access arrangements. Details around the
amended policy which restricts vans and oversize vehicle access to
Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRS) to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturdays only is reflected in Appendix 1. The currently operating
Van and Oversize Vehicle Access Policy for our Household Waste
Recycling Sites is referenced in Appendix 4.
1.6.
East Sussex County Council is required, under s51 of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990, to provide residents in its area
with reasonably accessible HWRS for the free disposal of household
waste. Trade waste is not allowed at these sites. There is no
specified minimum number of sites or mandatory opening times,
although they must be open for part of either Saturday or Sunday.
There is also no obligation to accept waste other than household
waste, delivered by our residents, for free at the HWRS. The Act is
silent on how the sites should be accessed and so authorities have
developed their own approaches to how they manage vehicle access to
their sites.
1.7.
Upon reopening the Household Waste Site Network after it’s
temporary Covid-19 closure, the Council also considered how charges
for non-household waste and products such as compost could be paid
for. Non-household waste transactions at all sites - franchised and
non-franchised – changed to become all cashless with only
electronic means of payment accepted. Appendix 1 outlines the
benefits of moving to this model and some background context of how
neighbouring authorities accept payment for non-household
waste..
1.8
We wish to maintain these changes and have completed Equality
Impact Assessments for both amended access policies. The Equality
Impact Assessment for Cashless Transactions can be found in
Appendix 2 whilst the Equality Impact Assessment for Vans and
Oversize Vehicles can be found in Appendix 3.
2 Conclusion
and Reasons for Recommendations
2.
2.1.
The Lead Member is recommended to:
(1)
approve the continuation of access of Van and oversize
vehicles to Household Waste Sites on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and
Saturdays only as this allows more thorough Trade Waste checks to
be carried out.
(2) approve the continuation of cashless transactions for
non-household waste.
Director of Communities, Economy
and Transport
Contact Officer:
Anthony Pope
Tel. No. 07714 481648
Email: anthony.pope@eastsussex.gov.uk
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