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The Committee received report ES/2326 from the Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Environment who acknowledged that Better Recycling would be a big change to people’s routines and a huge amount of work was being done to hopefully make it a smooth transition.
The Cabinet Member explained that the Council was working with Suffolk Waste Partnership to deliver the changes and it was possible that all Suffolk Councils would start with the food waste and extra recycling launch at the same time in June 2025. The Engagement Strategy would include radio adverts, signs on the Council's trucks, social media and TV across the whole region with specific little tweaks where Councils might be doing something slightly different. There would also be physical visual reminders such as printed calendars and stickers on bins with information in different languages. She assured the Committee that everything had been thought about very carefully and a huge amount of work had been done on a Suffolk wide scale. She concluded that the Comms for the project would be huge, not just digitally but also physically for those that did not understand or did not go online.
The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services explained that an app was being developed that would tell residents what bin was due to be collected and when, so they did not need to remember that food was weekly and there were two recycling collections and a residual bin collection. He explained that the app was not just about bins but would also be a way for people to report issues to the Council eg they would be able to take a photo within the app to report issues which was a lot easier than going to the website and filling in a form. Longer term, the aim was for around a third of households to have the app which would be really helpful as it could also be used to push notifications eg if a round was not complete because the crew ran out of time, a message could be pushed out to say when they would be collected. At the moment, however, residents called to say their bin had been missed and they took it in so when the crew returned it did end up being missed. The Cabinet Member added that the app could be used in future to message about other things such as play areas, however, he acknowledged there was a need to be careful about what it was used for. He concluded that he hoped that the new unitary would want to adopt the app.
The Cabinet Member for the Environment stated that explaining and promoting the changes was very complicated as there were lots of difficult to reach people and narrow terraces/lanes where Officers would need to work out how recycling and waste would be collected. She stated that the broader publicity campaign would be suitable for the majority of households but more would need to be done to target difficult areas/issues eg about nappies. She concluded that it would take time and effort to look at the difficult places to reach so work on this would start to happen really soon to see how they could get those extra collections of food waste/recycling.
The Chair thanked both Cabinet Members and reminded the Committee that this review was about the public engagement strategy rather than the Better Recycling decisions. He invited questions from Members and the following responses were received:
- Whilst Better Recycling did not include litter, there was a knock on effect. It was hoped that litter picks would be held on the A12 and A14 shortly but it was difficult to close the roads off and there was a need to get an exemption for procurement purposes. A good Comms campaign was needed because people threw items out of their cars and picking up litter could be quite dangerous for staff to collect.
- The Council already worked with a lot of schools on litter projects, although it was acknowledged more could be done in the run up to Better Recycling and afterwards as parents might then hear messages about the changes through their children.
- Litter picks were taking place around Council offices and tools were available for community groups and individuals to carry out their own litter picks.
- The Council and the Suffolk Waste Partnership would be at the Suffolk Show where a mini MURF would demonstrate how a can could be recycled. It was intended to have machines in supermarkets shortly which would hopefully stop a lot of littering.
- Two staff in the Contract Management Team visited schools already so Better Recycling would be included in their talks once it was live.
- It was likely the Council would be paid against how well we performed against others so there could be a loss of income unless performance increased.
- These were big changes for some people, especially those that did not have English as a first language so it was hoped that the visual stickers would help. The aim in the first instance was to educate and encourage people through the Comms campaign so this would explain what could and should not be put in bins but if people were repeat offenders then action would be taken eg talking to them and putting stickers on bins to say they would not be collected.
- Enforcement was incredibly difficult and nationally very few Councils did. Industry bodies were lobbying for stronger legislation but in the meantime bins could be removed and collections stopped as a last resort. Legislation on flytipping was stronger and there were more prosecutions for this.
- Previously, the Harbour Ward in Lowestoft had significant issues of contamination in blue bins resulting in whole loads being rejected at the transfer station so residents had been sent a letter and staff knocked on doors to educate people on what should not be put in each bin but if an item was still in the wrong bin the next week then that bin was not collected. This action had significantly decreased contamination rates but it required the full support of Officers and Members to uphold it and adopt a consistent approach because the Council could receive a lot of negative publicity from such action.
- People not taking their bins in was a problem that street scene engagement helped identify eg by assessing how many properties there were then looking at solutions such as offering smaller bins or co-mingling bins but that brought wider issues, and some people might choose to use sacks because they were easier to store or to share bins. It would not be possible to offer a dozen different solutions so the first step was to identify how many properties were affected, as part of the modelling process, to see if a different collection regime was possible.
- Currently, East Suffolk Council was the Collection Authority and Suffolk County Council was responsible for disposal so we had to collect it and take it to the transfer station which was where our responsibility ended. Under Local Government Reorganisation there would be a single waste authority.
- A good example of commercial viability was tetrapaks - these were not collected in blue bins because the value for selling that material on was not worth it at the moment. The value of what we currently recycle was not whether we could do it but whether it was commercially viable.
- There was a subsidy for collecting refuse and costs were offset against recyclability and market value as most things collected had a marginal resale value. Offsetting the bin costs etc would average out with Better Recycling.
- A lot of people would only be interested in being told why we were doing it, which bins would be collected and that food would be collected weekly, rather than about bio gas etc.
- East Suffolk was working collectively with other Councils on a combined Comms plan that would be agile for each Council but would not have any duplication.
- A Project Group had been set up and a project plan was being developed for what it looked like for East Suffolk and another part for wider Suffolk. £217K central Government funding was available but it was not yet known if this would be enough. The Project Group would look at the budget in detail.
- The changes were not as complicated as most people thought - the only extras were the weekly food collection and another bin for paper. Residents would be given a calendar showing bin collection dates and the app would be available, as well as a leaflet with clear colours to show the collection cycle but this would not include dates. Details would also be included in the Residents Magazine.
- Many Councils across the country were already doing this successfully and had better recycling rates, so the Council would be looking at best practice for disseminating the information in a simple and easy to understand way that was visual. Information would also be available online.
- The draft timelines for the campaign depended on bin delivery and distribution dates which were currently unknown because of procurement issues as everyone was trying to purchase lorries and bins at the same time. It was hoped to start possibly in June but until it was known when the infrastructure would be ready a start date could not be fixed.
- The most recent residents magazine had a 2 page spread and news stories about recycling but it was acknowledged that a holding page on the Council's website with FAQs would provide residents with reassurance and tell them it was coming down the line soon. Every residents' magazine going forward would also include reference to it.
- Consideration was being given as to how information would be presented including leaflets and a printed calendar but there would also be other ways of informing people.
- Officers would explore the feasibility of whether to generally offer bins for neighbours to share from the outset but there might be problems with this later on if, say, a neighbour moved and the new neighbour wanted their own bin, but sharing would be offered as an option for those living in hard to reach areas, as well as having smaller bins/sacks.
- The Council would be communicating progress to try to encourage people further.
- As part of the Suffolk Waste Partnership, a new County-wide planning document was being explored because planning was such a big issue eg can dustcarts get round estates, did houses have adequate bin storage etc. A new trend was that developers did not provide bins which was a bit of a grey area so it was hoped the document would help with this but the Council would still provide three bins.
- Both the Council and ESSL would communicate with refuse staff as part of the set up given they could pass on to residents what was happening if asked. ESSL staff and management were also involved in delivering the project which included various work streams, including staff recruitment as this was already an issue and another 50 staff would be needed to crew 18 food waste trucks.
- The app would remind residents that their bin would be collected the next day and what bin it was, as well as any exceptional situations where there was a change.
- Contamination was a huge issue so the purpose of having a new paper/cardboard bin was to get good quality recyclate.
- A press launch would be made of the initial changes, what put where and when each bin would be collected but the Comms would go on forever with a regular focus on specific elements of the campaign eg contamination, but the key was that people broadly understood what was happening at the start.
- Campaigns for elements that would not be affected by the changes such as contamination could continue to happen before Better Recycling was implemented.
- Bottle banks were likely to be removed because glass would be collected kerbside which would be far more efficient and economical.
- AirBnBs should have a trade collection. The Council had a list of second homes and this would need to be addressed at some point but there was no capacity at the moment.
- The expectation was that if people bought glass bottles they would take them home rather than litter them as it was not feasible to put bins everywhere but trying to get people to recycle whilst out and about was an issue.
- A survey of litter bins across the district would be carried out so that the Council could determine what was needed. Under the new regime, the Council might have to offer separate litter bins for plastics, glass etc and could possibly become a pilot for a national scheme on handling waste and producers of litter.
- Refuse staff knew where problems were but it was about collating the information and reporting between ESSL and the Council which did not always happen.
- The Comms Team would liaise with staff from our own services around the best way to communicate with elderly and vulnerable people to ensure that messages were as simple and understandable as possible.
- Calendars that hung from the bins would be returning.
- If residents had extra nappies or some difficulties then they would be supported as much as possible.
- The art of good Comms was about reducing contact and it was hoped that if people were informed enough that would reduce contact with Customer Services. It was normal with any campaign to consider what contact would be prompted and it was possible agency staff might be needed at the start but it was hoped to steer people online to the FAQs. There would also be a session with Members to disseminate information to residents.
There being no further questions, the Chair invited Committee Members to debate and make recommendations if necessary. He started by echoing earlier comments that there should be information about the changes on the Council's website immediately as residents were already asking about them.
Councillor Jepson stated that communicating the changes was a huge task but the Committee had an opportunity to shape this so it would be useful to know what KPIs there would be in relation to the communications and engagement campaign and the response to the channels being used to be able to measure progress and also the financial implications for the Comms campaign.
Councillor Bennett stated that producing a printed calendar was a simple and effective method of communication that would work well with the digital calendar. He also suggested cascading information about the changes through CPs. The Chair agreed and suggested involving Town and Parish Councils too and the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services agreed to explore this.
Councillor Cawley queried what the KPIs were measuring eg was it feedback from residents and it was noted that they referred to the outcome of Better Recycling but it was acknowledged that more thought was needed on how to assess the Comms Strategy without incurring huge amount of costs.
Councillor Smithson stated that this was about how the Comms was impacting on behaviour and suggested there were three steps - firstly to communicate and engage now so residents knew what was happening, do it again when the changes took place and then longer term, focus on improving recycling.
Councillor Gooch pointed out that contacting hard to reach people was difficult and she requested that Officers let Ward Members know what was being done in their areas so they were aware and could help.
Councillor Molyneux agreed with the earlier suggestion that a pre-emptive phase of communications about contamination etc should be undertaken to educate and encourage residents before the changes came in.
The Committee also agreed with the earlier proposal that an all Councillor briefing should be held on the Better Recycling with a focus on the Communications Strategy.
Councillor Lynch recommended that it be highlighted in any Comms that these were not really about big changes but residents should continue what they were doing with just a few additions.
On the proposition of Councillor Bennett, seconded by Councillor Hammond it was
RESOLVED
1. That the Committee be provided with further
information in relation to:
(a) the development of new KPIs to inform,
manage and measure the implementation of the communications and engagement
campaign, and the response to the channels being used, to be able to measure
progress.
(b) the financial implications to the Council
of the communications campaign for Better Recycling such as leaflets etc.
2. That the Cabinet Member with responsibility
for the Environment consider the Committee’s comments and suggestions including
the following:
(a) That any communication emphasise that the
changes were only minor as residents were being asked to continue their current
practices plus do a little bit more, and to promote the benefits of the changes
such as kerbside glass collection.
(b) That the Council’s website be updated ASAP
to provide details of the forthcoming changes.
(c) That Comms campaigns focussing on specific
elements of recycling, such as contamination, continue prior to the
implementation of Better Recycling.
(d) That information on the changes be cascaded
as wide as possible including Officers attending each Community Partnership to
give a brief overview and all Town and Parish Councils being contacted
directly.
(e) That a further briefing session be held
with all Councillors on the implementation plans.
(f) That Ward Councillors be informed of any
planned targeted contact with residents, especially hard to reach people,
within their area so they were aware and could help facilitate if
necessary.
(g) That, in addition to digital calendars
being made available, a printed calendar be distributed to every household
detailing all the bin collection dates.
The Committee adjourned for a comfort break from 8.25pm and reconvened at 8.35pm.