Appendix 1 1 Supporting Information

Access for Vans and over height vehicles

1.1 Prior to the Covid-19 network shutdown, most types of vans and over height vehicles were admitted on any day provided they were carrying the residents own household waste.

1.2 Upon reopening the network in May 2020, to try to ensure as many vehicles could access the sites as possible, vans and over height vehicles were initially not able to access sites but from July they were limited to two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) with Saturdays added in October. An additional benefit of this is that Veolia site staff can more rigorously administer Trade Waste inspection checks 3-days a week when the barriers are opened, with the barriers being closed the other 4 days a week.

1.3 From a 2022 Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by Veolia that sought the views of 1,004 people, when asked ‘Since Covid, vans have only been allowed to use the HWRS sites on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Are you happy for this restriction to continue?’ 87.2% said they with either happy for this to continue or had no opinion. Of those responding to the Question ‘Why haven't you never used a HWRS in this area?’ 2.6% said it was because they ‘Can't use van, trailer etc’.

1.4 East Sussex Household Waste Recycling Sites have height barriers at their entrances (2m / 6ft6in high) which are one of the network’s in-built trade waste Controls. We recognise that some residents use vehicles such as small camper vans etc and we request that residents with these vehicles visit on van days when the height barriers can be opened. Blue Badge holders with over height vehicles can attend on any day and site staff will open the height barriers.

1.5 On van days, all vans and the waste are checked, and driver and vehicle details are recorded for monitoring and enforcement purposes. The following details are taken:

· Vehicle registration number.

· Driver’s name and address.

· Company name from vehicle livery.

· Waste type and quantity.

· Date and time of visit.

1.6 The collected data enables East Sussex County to monitor aspects such as extremely frequent network usage and suspected trade waste abuse and write to the user directly. East Sussex County Council would like to continue with the 3-day-per-week access regime for vans and over height vehicles to continue.

1.7 The reasons for continuation of the system are –

· Efficiency, as vans can often take much longer to unload than a car.

· Trade waste control by deterring traders to visit the sites.

1.8 Since the new system of recording of van visits began from July 2020 onwards:

· Over 34,000 van entries have been supervised with trade waste checks administered.

· 68 enforcement investigation actions have been carried out.

· 55 letters have been sent to van users suspected of bringing trade Waste to HWRSs.

· 4 individuals have been restricted from entering the HWRS network.

· 35 individual van users have been identified as being frequent users of the network and have been sent an advisory letter.

1.9 The system of recording van details and asking for official ID (driving licence) is a deterrent to traders attempting to use the sites in the first place.

2.0 Cashless transactions for paid for services

2.1 The HWRS network offers a small number of paid-for services including

· on-site sales of ‘Progrow’ products (compost etc)

· re-use shop sales

· charges for non-household waste

2.2 Charges for the disposal of certain types of non-household waste – soil, hardcore, plasterboard, tyres and asbestos – were introduced in 2018. Prior to the Covid-19 network shutdown, disposal charges could be paid for by cash but upon re-opening, the cash option was removed in order to reduce contact during transactions. Government consulted on potential restrictions on Councils’ charging for non-household waste earlier in 2022 and we await the outcome of that process. In the meantime, and until we are provided with further direction from Government, we continue to apply the Controlled Waste Regulations (2012) which allow us to charge for non-household waste. The table below shows the split of cash and card transactions for non-household waste prior to the stopping of cash payments.

2.3 Of the neighbouring authorities that have their own charging schemes for non-household waste, Hampshire, Kent and Surrey all run theirs on a card-only payment basis and West Sussex County Council who only charge for tyres also only accepts card payments.

2.4 From a 2022 Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by Veolia, when asked ‘The Chargeable Waste Scheme went cashless in 2020. Are you happy for payments to continue to be made by card only?’, 87.4% of respondents to that question said yes, they were happy to continue using the cashless system with 12.6% of the 143 respondents to this question saying they were unhappy to continue with the cashless system.

2.5 Franchised sites continue to accept cash payments for their re-use shop sales and also sales of ‘Progrow’ products. These will continue to accept cash for these two services. Non-household waste transactions at all sites - franchised and non-franchised - will continue to be cashless.

2.6 Removing the option of paying by cash at non-franchised sites provides a number of benefits including that it removes the cost to East Sussex County Council of paying for the secure transport of cash takings and provides full electronic documentation of all transactions which is helpful concerning regulated activities such as waste disposal.

2.7 Removing the option to pay by cash does however raise concerns that residents without bank accounts are not able to use the chargeable waste scheme. The Equalities Impact Assessment (Appendix 2) covers this in more detail. The lack of a cash option is largely mitigated through an ability to use pre-paid (https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/budgeting/prepaid-cards-explained) which are a means of financial inclusion. As the charging applies to a small number of non-household waste streams commonly associated with significant renovation projects, it is likely that the cost of disposal of waste is only a part of the total budget for the improvement or renovation project being undertaken.

2.8 The table below illustrates the total number of chargeable waste transactions carried out before and after the Covid-19 shutdown. Total transactions have increased each year, and this combined with the lack of complaints demonstrates that residents are accepting of the cashless service.

3.0 Financial Implications

3.1 Van and oversize vehicle access to Household Waste Sites on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only.

There are no financial implications associated with this access policy.

3.2 Cashless Transactions.

Each electronic transaction incurs a fee. The table below illustrates the saving from cashless transactions despite an increase in transaction processing fees.

Cost of 2021-22 electronic transaction fees that would have likely been cash transactions prior to Covid-19	£2,908	A
Cost of annual secure cash collections prior to Covid-19	£10,000	B
Annual saving realised - secure cash collection cost minus increased cost of processing increased electronic transactions (B - A)	£7,092