Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 This report details the Council's proposed Waste Strategy and includes a 5 year action plan for the period 2005 - 2010

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 The Waste Strategy and five year action plan be approved and recommended to Council as part of the Policy Budget Framework.

2.2 The significant financial issues arising from national and European requirements be noted and refer consideration of the issues to the Service Planning and Financial Planning process.

2.3 Delegates the authority to make decisions required to progress the Waste Strategy to the Executive Member for Sustainability and the Environment, subject to budget availability.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 On current projections this Council could face costs of at least an additional £33 million over the 15 year period if it does not act to divert most waste from landfill. It is believed that current year pressures can be managed within existing resources.

3.2 The cost of managing our waste will increase significantly throughout the strategy period due to increases in costs of waste disposal, waste volume growth, increases in landfill tax, service developments to increase recycling and the development of new waste treatment processes.

3.3 The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme will also have significant financial implications for Waste Disposal Authorities. This scheme sets limits on the amounts of biodegradable waste that each local authority can landfill and these limits reduce each year in line with the EU Landfill Directive targets. If the authority landfills more than its permitted amount, then it must either purchase additional permits at the going market rate or be fined £150 per tonne.

3.4 The avoidance of permit purchases or fines, selling surplus permits and limiting waste growth will be elements in the underlying business case for service developments which will increase recycling and procure new waste treatment processes.

3.5 The approved Financial Plan recognises waste as a significant cost pressure and includes the following additional revenue provision:
2006/07 £263K
2007/08 £314K
2008/09 £218K

3.6 It is not possible at this stage to provide detailed financial costings for all the actions contained within the Waste Strategy but it is likely, given the scale of external requirements, that the above sums will not be sufficient. Costings will be developed as the strategy is progressed and will be considered as a key element of the Service Planning and Financial Planning process this autumn and in future years. This will ensure that the priorities of the Strategy and the speed by which they are implemented will be matched to resource availability. The action plan for the Corporate Plan Improvement Priority of Reducing Landfill will need to be reviewed and realigned accordingly.

4 THE REPORT

4.1 The EU Landfill Directive requires the UK to divert increasing amounts of bio-degradable waste away from landfill. The Council aspires to a vision of "zero waste" in the longer term. This Waste Strategy details the approach that the authority plans to take in managing its waste towards 2020 in line with the principles of zero waste. A 5 year action plan, to be reviewed annually, includes proposed service developments to help meet the Council's landfill diversion targets.

5 RISK MANAGEMENT

6 RATIONALE

6.1 The Council is required to meet targets laid down by the Government to reduce the amount of bio-degradable waste that is sent to landfill sites. The achievement of these targets will depend on developing our services, engaging the public and investing in new collection, treatment and disposal infrastructure. The strategy sets out the direction of travel which the Council will take in order to achieve these targets and action plans to deliver specific changes.

7 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

7.1 None.

8 CONSULTATION

8.1 Executive councillor, Overview & Scrutiny Panel, Trades unions, Other B&NES Services, Service users, Local Service users, Stakeholders/Partners, Other public sector bodies, Section 151 Finance Officer, Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer

8.2 Extensive consultation has been carried out during the development of the Waste Strategy. This has included Workshops, Stakeholder meetings, publication of draft documents for comment and through scrutiny by the relevant O&S Panel.

9 REASONS FOR URGENCY

9.1 Not urgent.