Agenda item

To consider a report (which includes a confidential appendix) by the Waste Contracts, Procurement and Strategy Performance Officer (copy attached) which seeks the Committee to examine the effectiveness of the contract in place for managing and operating the Council’s household waste recycling centres.

11.30am – 12.15pm

The Lead Member for Environment & Transport introduced the Household Waste Recycling Centres report (previously circulated) alongside the Corporate Director: Economy and Environment, Head of Highways & Environmental Services, and the Waste Contracts, Procurement & Strategy Performance Officer. The report provided details of the progress achieved with respect of the contract let by the Council in 2022 for the management and operation of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). The Contract was jointly procured with Conwy County Borough Council (CCBC) and awarded to Bryson Recycling Limited.

The Committee were guided through the different elements of the report, and the key areas that the contract was aimed to deliver, which were –

·         Financial Cost Savings - the Contract was forecast to deliver significant cost savings on its predecessor, and this was being borne out. More details on the actual savings were contained in Appendix A to the report, which was confidential and excluded from being publicly available. 

·         Recycling Performance – whilst recycling rates in Denbighshire were at a high level before the start of the contract, the slight improvement achieved was significant as legislative changes had reduced the range of materials Denbighshire could recycle.  Data for 2024/25 showed a downturn in recycling of around 4%. This was mainly due to increased volumes of residual waste received at Recycling Parks during Q1 and Q2 following the launch of the new kerbside collection service rather than a downturn in the Contractor’s performance. This still placed Denbighshire in the second quartile (9^th out of 22) for HWRC recycling in Wales.

·         Customer Satisfaction - officers outlined customer feedback received emphasising and clarified that a direct comparison with the previous contract was not possible. However, the results of a customer satisfaction survey, undertaken in April 2024, had recorded that 96% of site visitors were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service received. Conwy CBC administrated the booking system, and satisfaction ratings were also high for this service, averaging 4.7 out of 5.

·         Complaints - no numerical data was available on complaints. However, the complaints received were infrequent.  The main points of concern raised related to the requirement to make bookings to use recycling parks, inconsistencies regarding charges for non-household waste, and staff attitude/behaviour at the sites.

·         Booking System - The requirement for residents to make bookings to use the Recycling Parks was a key part of this Contract. There was a very high level of acceptance, and the appointment system contributed to the benefits in terms of cost and recycling performance. The booking system was a cross-border system; residents could use their preferred site irrespective of which Council area in which they lived. Roughly 275 bookings were made by Denbighshire residents at Conwy sites each month, and a further 200 were made at Plas Madoc in Wrexham.

·         Re-use Shop - the re-use shop at Marsh Road Recycling Park in Rhyl had not yet reached the expected business levels. Third-sector partners had experienced difficulties in recruiting and were not able to offer a consistent service.  Since Bryson had taken over the operation of the re-use shop in April 2024, it had benefitted from consistent staffing levels and a more professional approach.

During the ensuing discussion, the following points were raised –

·         that members and probably residents were not aware that the system operated across county borders and that you could book for sites in either Conwy or Denbighshire. Members suggested that bolstered communications on the matter would be beneficial to the residents who used the recycling centres. Officers agreed with the suggestion of increasing communications on the matter and would investigate the matter.

• it was emphasised that the report did not relate to the new trolley box kerbside recycling system, which was rolled out,  However, officers were happy to discuss those matters relating to that service with members at the relevant time.
• concerns with the booking system, and how it could be improved to ensure that the elderly could access it when they did not use the internet, and possibly a method for them to book at the entrance to the site could be investigated.  In addition, when elderly or infirm residents attended the recycling centres that staff should offer to assist with the removal of any waste they were bringing. Responding, officers stated they would look into these issues, there may be areas where the system could be more practical.  Regarding assistance it was generally dependent on the staff who were on duty, However, officers would relay these concerns to staff and advise them to ask if residents required assistance on entry to the centres.
• it was confirmed that no provision was currently available locally for medical ‘blister packs’ to be recycled, apart from via certain supermarkets and chemist chains who were willing to accept them.  They were regarded as relative low volume waste, but their make-up was extremely difficult to extract and segregate.  
• with respect of the profit share element of the contract, officers advised that they currently did not have an estimated date for the threshold to be met to trigger this element.  The purpose of this clause within the contract was to limit the service-provider’s ability to realise an unacceptable level of profit from the provision of a statutory service.  If the threshold was met all profits over and above the threshold would have to be re-invested by both counties into the waste service.
• The Lead Member and officers confirmed that they were happy with the contract and the work carried out so far by Bryson Recycling Limited to date and that their ambition was to achieve savings from having the contract in place.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee:

Resolved:  having considered the contents of the report and its associated appendices, and subject to the observations made during the discussion –

(i)   to acknowledge the progress made to date to deliver cost savings whilst improving and sustaining recycling and customer satisfaction levels since the commencement of the household waste recycling centres contract with Bryson Recycling Limited; and

(ii) recommend that further promotional work is undertaken with respect of the availability and accessibility for Denbighshire residents to utilise household waste recycling centres operated by Bryson Recycling Limited regardless of whether their geographical location was in Conwy County Borough Council or Denbighshire County Council’s area, subject to appointments booking arrangements. 

(iii)                request that Highways and Environmental Services liaise with the Communications and Marketing Service to promote the services available at the Household Waste Recycling Centres and the success and benefits of the contract in place with Bryson Recycling Limited.