You can read the paper on the Council Website here -

www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/media/4324/C...m=637408859859070000


Transcript below -

The proposal will see an end to “free” collections of Garden Waste which is not a statutory material for collection purposes.

Lower income households may be affected by the introduction of a charging scheme


EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCILCABINET
26 November 2020
Report by Director of Environment
GARDEN WASTE CHARGING PROPOSAL
PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.To advise the Cabinet on proposals to commence charging for the collection ofGarden Waste from 1st April 2021 to generate income and help avoid service cuts.

RECOMMENDATIONS
2.It is recommended that the Cabinet:

a)Approve in principle the charging for services proposal outlined in the report;

and b)Note that a further detailed report will be submitted to the Cabinet prior toimplementation of the scheme.

BACKGROUND
3.Councils have a statutory duty to collect household recyclates including food wastefrom domestic properties. However, they do not have a statutory duty to collect gardenwaste from domestic properties and several local authorities now charge or intend to chargea supplement for collecting this waste stream.

4.Currently garden waste is collected alongside food waste in the same bin on aweekly basis.

5.The Head of Accountancy (Chief Financial Officer) in a report to the Council on 28October 2020 highlighted the challenging financial position facing the Council for 2021/22and beyond. In particular the report identified that an initial budget shortfall of £11.828million had been identified for 2021/22 and that Directors had been asked to identify potential savings up to that level.

6.In addition the Audit and Scrutiny Committee recommendations with regard to commercialisation and income generation were approved by the Cabinet in September2020.

7.A particular recommendation from the Committee and approved by the Cabinet was to support the ongoing development of proposals (subject to submission of further reports where appropriate) by the Environment Department to generate new income or maximise potential from a range of existing arrangements including annual garden waste collection arrangements.

REPORT
8. Given the context outlined above this report proposes the introduction of a charging scheme for the collection of garden waste from 1 April 2021.

9. The scheme would be optional. Residents could choose to opt in or decline the service and make their own arrangements.

10.In terms of the scheme it is proposed that residents will continue to receive a weekly collection of Food Waste through their Brown Bin but will no longer be entitled to deposit garden waste within it unless the household has paid a supplementary charge.

11.A permit scheme will be applied and residents who accept the charge will be provided with a bin sticker which clearly identifies their participation in the scheme.

12.Refuse Collection Operatives will actively check brown bins without stickers for compliance with the scheme and will not uplift them should garden waste be present within the bin.

Non-compliant bins will either have to be emptied by the residents themselves or can be uplifted by Neighbourhood Services.

There would be a charge for emptying brown bins containing Garden Waste from non-members of the scheme of £35 on each occasion, to cover the cost of sending vehicles back out to service these bins.

Residents could however choose to take their waste to one of the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres, or alternatively participate in the scheme.

13.Most Councils who have introduced Garden Waste Charging have seen uptake of between 50-70 percent of households.

14.The proposed scheme is more generous than many others operated by the Scottish councils and will offer a 50 week service with the only shut down being between the two weeks during the festive period.

15.The proposed fee per household would be £40 per annum ( for the start of the scheme only one bin per household would be permissible in order to assess uptake of the scheme. However, the possibility of additional garden waste bins per property will be investigated as soon as possible).

16.Preparations for the scheme will have to start on approval of this report in order to implement a payment system, produce permits, recruit additional administration/operational staff and communicate the scheme to members of the public.

17.Christmas trees will be collected as part of the scheme but non-members will require to pay a fee of £15 per tree if they wish their tree collected.

18.The scheme would require to be a high quality and totally reliable service for customers. This would require some additional investment in fleet and staff.

In addition, there would be some costs associated with the management, operation and supervision of the scheme.

However, after taking these into account the scheme could generate a net income around £800,000.FINANCE AND EFFICIENCY19.The following matters are relevant;

•A charge of £40 per household with an approximate take-up of 25,000 households would achieve an annual net income of around £800,000

•An additional charge for uplifting non-compliant bins should the customer request this would be levied at £35

•Christmas tree collections would be charged at £15 per tree for non-members of the scheme

•As Garden Waste collections are deemed as an additional service there would be no exemptions for those households receiving universal credit or benefits

•The Environment Department requires to find substantial savings for 2021/22CONSULTATION

20.Preliminary discussions have taken place with IT.

PARTNERSHIP WORKING

21.The Environment Department will require IT assistance to implement an administration and charging system.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROPOSALS

22.The proposal will see an end to “free” collections of Garden Waste which is not a statutory material for collection purposes.

Lower income households may be affected by the introduction of a charging scheme.

23.There will be some additional staffing implications.

There are no property, legal, IT or equality issues at this point in time.

However, a full equality impact assessment will be carried out prior to the further detailed report on the implementation of the scheme being submitted to the Cabinet.

CONCLUSIONS
24.Many local authorities are now, or will be, charging for Garden Waste collections.

25.There is an opportunity to generate significant income from a Garden Waste charging scheme while creating some additional employment to administer and operate the scheme.

26.This was recognised in discussions with the Audit and Scrutiny Committee in the context of commercialisation and income generation.

27.The proposal forms part of the Environment Department’s savings for 2021/22.

RECOMMENDATIONS
28.It is recommended that the Cabinet:

a) Approve in principle the charging for services proposal outlined in the report;

and b) Note that a further detailed report will be submitted to the Cabinet prior to implementation of the scheme.

Director of Environment
Further information can be obtained from: Andrew Corry, Head of Operations on 0141 577 3458 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Convener contact details

Councillor Alan Lafferty Home: 0141 621 1113(Convener for Environment)Mobile: 07812 214366

November 2020

Published The Extra On Line -

East Renfrewshire Council consider garden waste collection charge to safeguard frontline services

East Renfrewshire Councillors are set to consider a proposal to introduce a charge for garden waste collection in order to protect essential services.

By Dawn Renton
Tuesday, 17th November 2020, 6:40 am

The proposal, which if approved would come into effect on 1 April 2021, will help avoid cuts to other important frontline Council services, such as keeping our household waste recycling centres open, street cleaning and special uplifts.

East Renfrewshire has led the way with waste collection and recycling in Scotland since 2016, and while Councils have a statutory duty to collect household waste, including food waste, this does not include garden waste.

The Council chose to provide this free of charge to residents, however, with the Council facing an £11million budget shortfall, savings need to be identified.

It is proposed that an opt-in permit system would be introduced whereby residents who wish to have their garden waste collected will pay £40 per year, for a weekly collection, excluding a fortnight at Christmas.

This amounts to less than £1 a week. Residents not requiring their garden waste to be collected would still be able to use their brown bin for food waste.

The permit will also include collection of Christmas trees.

If approved, East Renfrewshire would join more than a third of Scotland’s councils which already charge for collecting garden waste.

East Renfrewshire Council’s Environment Director, Andy Cahill, said: “The Council is facing a significant budget shortfall for the coming financial year and savings must be identified.

We are proposing an opt-in system for a garden waste permit.

The proposed charge amounts to less than £1-a-week for a service which will be offered for 50 weeks of the year.

Our priority is to protect frontline services for our residents and if the proposal is approved by Councillors then the income generated from this scheme would help meet some of the budget shortfall.”

This proposal will be considered by Councillors at a meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday 26 November.

Published Barrhead News On Line -

19/11/2020

News

4 hrs ago

East Renfrewshire Council plans £40 fee to collect garden waste

By Norman Silvester Reporter

EAST Renfrewshire residents are set to be charged £40 a year to have their garden waste collected.

The controversial move is being planned by East Renfrewshire Council in a bid to help tackle an £11million budget black hole.

Collections of brown bins are currently made once a week, free of charge but the local authority says the £40 levy is necessary to protect frontline council services from cutbacks or closure.

However, the plans have been slammed by Rena McGuire, secretary of Barrhead Community Council, who said many people who can’t afford the £40 charge would end up dumping their garden waste – adding to the problem of fly-tipping.

She told the Barrhead News: “It’s unacceptable to charge this amount for collecting brown bins. It’s a lot of money for people such as pensioners who are on low incomes.

“People in Dunterlie, where I live, just cannot afford it."

The plans will be debated by councillors at a meeting of the cabinet on November 26.

If approved, the charge would come into effect next April and would have to be paid upfront.

A council spokesman said: “It is proposed that an opt-in permit system would be introduced whereby residents who wish to have their garden waste collected will pay £40 per year, for a weekly collection, excluding Christmas.

“The permit will also include collection of Christmas trees.”
Council chiefs have said those who don’t apply for a garden refuse permit can still use their brown bin to have their food waste collected.

If the plans get the green light, East Renfrewshire will join more than a third of councils which already charge for collecting garden waste.


Councils have a statutory duty to collect household rubbish, including food waste, but that does not include garden waste.

Andy Cahill, East Renfrewshire Council’s environment director, said: “The council is facing a significant budget shortfall for the coming financial year and savings must be identified.

“We are proposing an opt-in system for a garden waste permit. The proposed charge amounts to less than £1 per week."

MINUTE of CABINET
Minute of virtual meeting held at 10.00am on 26 November 2020

GARDEN WASTE CHARGING PROPOSAL

The Cabinet considered a report by the Director of Environment, regarding proposals to commence charging for the collection of garden waste with effect from 1 April 2021 to generate income and help avoid service cuts.

Having confirmed that councils did not have a statutory duty to collect garden waste from domestic properties and that several already charged or intended to charge a supplement for collecting this waste stream, the report commented on the challenging financial position facing the Council for 2021/22 and beyond.

Reference was made to a particular recommendation made by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee, and approved by the Cabinet, supporting the ongoing development of proposals by the Environment Department to generate new income or maximise potential income from various existing arrangements, including the collection of garden waste.

In this context, the report proposed the introduction of a charging scheme for the optional collection of garden waste with effect from 1 April 2021.

It was confirmed that all residents would still continue to receive a free weekly food waste collection.

The report summarised how the scheme could operate in practice through the application of a permit scheme, and the options residents had who did not wish to participate.

It was clarified that there had been an uptake of between 50-70% of households in local authority areas which had introduced such charges, that the proposed scheme was more generous than those operated by many others Scottish councils, and that the service would be offered for 50 weeks per annum.

The proposed fee was £40 per annum for one bin per household, to allow uptake to be assessed, but the possibility of additional garden waste bins per property would be investigated as soon as possible.

The position on the collection of Christmas trees was clarified.It was explained that, subject to approval of the report, preparations for the scheme would have to start in order to implement a payment system, produce permits, recruit additional administration/operational staff required, and communicate the scheme to members of the public.

The report emphasised that the service required to be of a high quality and totally reliable, requiring some additional investment in fleet and staff.

Although there would be some costs associated with the management, operation and supervision of the scheme, it was anticipated that net income of around £800k could be generated.

It was clarified that the proposal formed part of the Environment Department’s savings proposals for 2021/22.

Having emphasised the context within which the proposal was being made, the Director of Environment commented on the scheme in detail, including the operational arrangements, related capacity issues and preparations required in advance of the service commencing.

A wide range of issues were discussed, including the overall financial position of the Council; and the lack of clarity on the 2021/22 financial settlement the Council would receive which would remain unclear until early in 2021.

Other matters raised and discussed in detail included resource and operational issues regarding the scheme;

some reservations regarding the proposal which Elected Members felt merited further consideration at this stage and prior to the proposal being approved; and

challenges associated with implementing the scheme by April 2021 without advance preparation starting shortly.

It was confirmed that the scheme would be discussed by the Budget Strategy Group.

The Cabinet, following detailed consideration, agreed:-

(a)that the Director of Environment be authorised to progress further work on the implementation of the operational arrangements for the garden waste charging scheme; and

(b)to note that the decision on whether or not to implement the scheme would be taken at a future meeting in conjunction with overall budget proposals when the Council’s financial position was clearer.