Lands Neil Brown, GM City Infrastructure and Public Works

Transcription

1 57 Item 11 City Infrastructure & Public Works Committee on 15/07/2014 Status: Public Waste and Recycling Services Policy and Operating Guideline [ 2013/02895] Strategic Outcome: Program & Value Proposition: Outcome 1 City of Great Places City Sustainability and Park Lands The City Sustainability and Park Lands Program will foster the enhancement and enjoyment of the Park Lands and support the city and its community in using resources wisely and adapting for climate change Program Contact No: Approved: Adrian Stokes, PM City Sustainability and Park Lands Neil Brown, GM City Infrastructure and Public Works RECOMMENDATION That the City Infrastructure & Public Works Committee recommends to Council that Council: 1. Notes the summary of public consultation responses in Attachment A to Item 11 on the Agenda for the meeting of the City Infrastructure & Public Works Committee held on 15 July Endorses the Waste and Recycling Services Policy in Attachment B to Item 11 on the Agenda for the meeting of the City Infrastructure & Public Works Committee held on 15 July Notes the Waste and Recycling Services Operating Guideline in Attachment C to Item 11 on the Agenda for the meeting of the City Infrastructure & Public Works Committee held on 15 July 2014, subject to adoption by the Executive Leadership Group. Page 1 Item 11

2 58 BACKGROUND 1. Council currently does not have a single policy that stipulates the waste and recycling services it provides. Policy positions relating to services provided and entitlement arise from a collection of Council decisions over several years. 2. On 31 March 2008, Council resolved to adopt the kerbside three bin waste collection system and quarterly hard waste collection service. 3. In October 2004, Council resolved to provide weekly kerbside collection of cardboard to small businesses. There is some ambiguity in the eligibility of businesses for this service and maximum volumes that can be presented. 4. The current contract with Solo Resource Recovery for the collection of kerbside waste and recycling, including hard waste, expires on 8 December The current contract with Visy Recycling for the collection of commercial cardboard expires on 8 December Council is not legally obliged to provide waste and recycling services to businesses but historically has been providing some form of waste management service since On 12 November 2013, Council endorsed a review of waste and recycling policies and a draft Waste and Recycling Policy and Contract Project Brief. 8. In accordance with the Project Brief, on 11 February and 4 March 2014 CEO Briefings were held with Councillors, to provide information on current services and challenges and to receive initial feedback on policy directions. 9. On 22 April 2014, Council endorsed for public consultation the draft Waste and Recycling Services Policy and Operating Guideline. 10. The draft Waste and Recycling Services Policy and Operating Guideline were open for public consultation from 1 May 2014 to 6 June A number of community engagement methods were used as part of the consultation process. 11. This report provides a revised draft Waste and Recycling Services Policy for Council s endorsement, and a revised draft Waste and Recycling Services Operating Guideline for Council s noting (subject to adoption by the Executive Leadership Group). SUPPORTING INFORMATION Policy Context Waste Management 12. Outcome 6 of the City of Adelaide Strategic Plan is for an environmentally sustainable City and contains strategies to conserve water, energy and natural resources and minimise waste. Page 2 Item 11

3 The Waste Management Action Plan has an objective to position the City and Adelaide City Council to use resources efficiently and increase recycling. It sets the following targets (with current achievement in brackets): Recycle 50% of kerbside waste by 2015, on the way to 60% by 2020 (2012/13 recycling rate was 34%, or 41% when commercial cardboard included) Increase participation in kerbside green organics service to 25% by 2015 (2012/13 participation rate by residential customers was 21%). 14. Strategies established in the Waste Management Action Plan include: 14.1 Maximise waste diversion from landfill by continuously improving recycling services provided to our community Prepare the City for the urban form envisaged by the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide Manage risks and opportunities arising from legislative changes, changes to service expectations and rising waste disposal charges. 15. Since the introduction of the kerbside bin system in 2008 there have been changes to legislation regarding provision of services to the community and significant increases in the State Government Solid Waste Levy. 16. The 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, Council s Strategic Plan and the Capital City Development Plan Amendment all envisage more apartment and high density residential developments in the City. 17. A new policy that establishes the services to be provided is required prior to the procurement for a new contract and roll out of new services. Policy Drivers 18. Some of the current waste and recycling services offered by Adelaide City Council are proving to be poorly suited to a medium/high density capital city environment, particularly the standard kerbside three bin system. Administration has been piloting alternative waste management options for the last two years, in partnership with the community. To achieve both environmental sustainability and vibrant city outcomes it is timely to amend Council s policy to enable provision of appropriate waste and recycling services in this urban form. 19. In 2013/14 Council spent approximately $2M on kerbside waste management services. With increased expectations and changing cost structures, this is predicted to increase significantly. The Policy has been developed to provide a mechanism to provide a flexible and fair service that mitigates risks of cost escalation over time. 20. There was a significant increase in recycling rate after Council introduced the kerbside three bin system, from 20% to 41 42% (including cardboard). This has now plateaued and Council is unlikely to achieve its targets (50% by 2015 and 60% by 2020) without fundamental improvements. A policy is needed that positions Council to realise another waste diversion uplift such as that achieved through the kerbside three bin system, while capitalising on changing market dynamics whereby recovered resources become a tradeable commodity rather than a cost burden. This has recently been achieved by the City of Onkaparinga. Page 3 Item 11

4 The draft Policy and Operating Guideline have been developed using an extensive benchmarking and evidence based approach, in particular the following: KPMG (March 2014) Hard Waste Management Options Report KPMG (March 2014) Service Demand Planning: Waste Management The Ship (February 2014) Business Waste and Recycling Survey Report 22. Council has no legislative obligation to provide regular waste management services to businesses. Community Engagement 23. An Integrated Communications Plan (ICP) was implemented to deliver broad scale communication methods to residents and businesses, as well as targeted communications with key groups and individuals. 24. Public consultation on the draft Policy and Operating Guideline opened on 1 May 2014 and closed on 30 June Major ICP activities undertaken included awareness raising and consultation through: a consultation pack which summarised proposed changes, including frequently asked questions, a feedback survey form and fact sheets on the proposed implications for various sectors (business, residential, high density/mixed use buildings) was available on the ACC website, ACC libraries and community centres; social media and media releases; direct mail out and notifications to specific industry associations, State Government departments, the City Precinct groups, City residents groups and strata management companies; advertisements in The City and City North Messenger newspapers and InDaily; the establishment of a telephone hotline for community inquiries; a total of eight drop in sessions at Council s Customer Service Centre, South West Community Centre, Town Hall Meeting Hall, City Library, Box Factory Community Centre and North Adelaide Community Centre; a workshop for representatives of the waste industry; on site meetings with businesses including back packers, hotels, cafes and small supermarkets; and enabling written or online responses (Your Say Adelaide). Page 4 Item 11

5 Direct contact was made with a cross section of the community via the methods in Table 1. Table 1: Direct Contact Engagement Sector Number contacted Method by Council Kerbside waste and recycling customers 11,000 Bin tagging with a postcard seeking input into waste and recycling services. Medium/high density residential buildings 1,500 Letterbox dropped postcards seeking input into waste and recycling services. Businesses 3,500 via the Enterprise Adelaide newsletter database. Businesses 2,000 Postcards included with the Land Use Survey delivered to businesses Religious premises letter 29 of the 43 were followed up with a telephone call. Backpackers 10 On premises meetings Retail and Hospitality 13 On premises meetings City Precinct Groups 11 Letter and follow up to Presidents / Coordinators of precinct groups. Waste Industry people from waste service companies attended a briefing held on 23 May Government, industry bodies, business associations, educational institutions and community 42 groups Strata / Body Corporate Managers medium / high density 18 s and follow up telephone calls to strata management companies 8 drop in sessions people attended TOTAL 18,175 Consultation Responses 27. The draft Waste and Recycling Services Policy and Operating Guideline consultation webpage on Your Say Adelaide was visited 801 times during the consultation period. 28. A total of 126 documents were downloaded from the Your Say Adelaide website, primarily the consultation pack and the draft Waste and Recycling Services Policy and Operating Guideline. 29. A total of 85 written comments were received during the public consultation period comprising: online through Your Say Adelaide feedback forms submitted by mail s online Question and Answer that did not follow the format of the feedback form. Page 5 Item 11

6 The majority of respondents indicated that they were a resident (42), City property owner/manager (24) and/or business owner/operator (14). 31. Consultation feedback to the draft Policy and Operating Guideline is summarised in Attachment A. Key issues raised by respondents, and consequential changes to the Policy and Operating Guideline, are discussed below. Changes have been highlighted in Attachments B and C and these highlights will be removed after endorsement of Council. Council s Role as Service Provider 32. The consultation confirmed strong support for Council s role as a waste and recycling service provider. 97% of respondents indicating they agree or strongly agree that Council should protect public health, enhance public amenity and movement, support city living, assist micro and small business, capture economic benefits of resource recover, and support attainment of an environmentally sustainable city. Basic and Enhanced Services 33. With 76% agreeing or strongly agreeing, there was strong support for the establishment of Basic and Enhanced services to enable additional services above existing levels on a feefor service basis. 34. The majority (61%) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with Council establishing the option to charge a fee for service for enhanced services. Comments from respondents who disagreed or strongly disagreed (16%) included charging would be a deterrent and my business pays Council rates and I expect the rubbish collection to remain unchanged. 35. Respondents supported weekly comingled dry (yellow bin lid) and organics (lime green lid) recycling services and the provision of larger bins. Additional comments outlined a need for an ongoing community education campaign to ensure Basic and Enhanced service allowances are understood. The draft Policy and Operating Guideline have been amended to reflect this need. 36. Because of the high level of support for the establishment of Basic and Enhanced services, no changes are proposed to these components of the draft Policy and Operating Guideline. Residential Hard Waste 37. Consultation feedback indicated that the current approach to illegal dumping does not address community concerns. 38. While 46% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the proposed change from four fixed date hard waste collections per year to two booked services for residential premises, another 40% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the proposed change. 39. Respondents that disagreed or strongly disagreed expressed concern that booked hard waste collections would result in daily presentations of hard waste across the City. However, this is not the intent of the proposed change: booked hard waste collections would be grouped on a nominated day, and the service frequency would typically be limited to a monthly collection. This would seek to balance convenience for residents with protecting local amenity. 40. For these reasons, no changes are proposed to the proposal in the draft Policy and Operating Guideline for two booked hard waste collections per year for residential premises. Page 6 Item 11

7 The draft Policy and Operating Guideline have been amended to embed education and compliance as integral components of the service design. A comprehensive program would be developed with Council in 2015 to support correct and effective use of Council services to reduce illegal dumping. Education and Compliance 42. Consultation feedback indicated that consistent and regular educational materials need to be delivered to ensure that the transient population within the City are familiar with the waste and recycling services provided by Council. 43. The draft Policy and Operating Guideline have been amended to embed education and compliance as integral components of the service design. Not for Profit Sector 44. Under the proposed draft Policy and Operating Guideline, not for profit premises would come under the provisions and allowances of a Business Waste Management Service, and would therefore have access to increased total service. 45. A total of 43 religious premises were contacted during the consultation. 46. Respondents confirmed that the Basic service would be sufficient for the functions of most religious premises, however waste volumes increase substantially with additional activities such as hall rentals. 47. Larger and highly utilised churches indicated that garden organics (floral arrangements) was a regular component of their waste stream. Religious premises that generate large volumes of such waste expressed concern that they would no longer be eligible for services. 48. Rather than change the draft Policy and Operating Guideline specifically to respond to this issue of services to churches, it is proposed to consider these requirements during implementation of the Policy and Operating Guideline when determining Enhanced services (e.g. an organics service) and a schedule of fees for such services. High Density Residential 49. Despite active engagement and repeated contact with building managers and residents in apartment buildings, limited comment was received from this sector during the consultation period. 50. Feedback that was received indicated broad support for the flexible services proposed in the draft Policy and Operating Guideline. 51. Advice from Zero Waste SA supported the use of waste generation rates to inform service design in high density residential settings. It was recommended that an updated generation rate estimate be used to ensure standardisation within the development industry. 52. The Operating Guideline has been amended to incorporate updated waste generation rates from Zero Waste SA. 53. To support implementation in this sector, Administration will prepare a standard template for a Waste Management Plan and Waste Management Service Agreement, to provide guidance on Council s expectations when agreeing to provide a waste collection service. Engagement with key stakeholders will be undertaken to ensure that the template is relevant to operators of these buildings. Page 7 Item 11

8 64 Services to Business 54. Council has no legislative obligation to provide regular waste management services to businesses. Council is currently the only Capital City in Australia that provides a free waste management service to businesses. To contain Council s financial exposure to waste and recycling service provision, the draft Policy specifically proposed tightening the criteria to focus support on micro and small business. 55. Respondents from the business sector commented that waste and recycling services should be provided to all business premises from existing Council rates, which they state is a significant cost for business. Some indicated that a higher collection allowance should be provided as businesses pay higher Council rates than residential premises. This sector also indicated low levels of support for enhanced services being provided on a fee for service basis. 56. Some City Precinct Groups and residents indicated that bins not being returned to premises between collections impacts on the amenity of streets and footpaths. 57. Comments supported reducing the number of bins presented on street to improve the amenity of the City, however some business operators commented that they do not have adequate space to store bins within their site. 58. Given that it the responsibility of a business to ensure that adequate bin storage space is available within its premise for waste that it generates, the draft Policy has been amended to stipulate that businesses requesting a Business Waste Management Service must have an appropriately sized bin storage area. This would assist with reducing the number of Council bins that could remain on street between collections. 59. Administration recommends that Council does not significantly expand the eligibility criteria for waste services to businesses, because this would: significantly increase Council s waste management costs, through direct collection and treatment costs and through increased liability of the State Government Solid Waste Levy; be inconsistent with Council s proposed role of focussing assistance on micro and small businesses; increase the number of bins presented for collection on footpaths; reduce visual amenity; and impact on pedestrian and vehicle accessibility. 60. No changes have been made to the Business Waste Management Service allowances in the revised draft Policy and Operating Guideline. Kerbside Commercial Cardboard Collections 61. There was very high support (74% agree and strongly agree ) to change the kerbside commercial cardboard collection service to presentation in larger (up to 360 litre) capacity comingled recycling bins. Support was strong from the residential sector and there was opposition from some businesses who generate large volumes of cardboard and would exceed the capacity of Council s Business Waste Management Service. Page 8 Item 11

9 The two medium/large businesses owners/operators that did not agree with the change of service stated businesses generate large volumes of cardboard that is not practical to handle with wheelie bins and large pieces of cardboard are difficult to fit into bins and will probably get left on the kerbside and that a 360 litre bin would not provide sufficient volume to dispose of their cardboard. 63. One City Property Owner/Resident commented that the advantage of the existing system is that cardboard is removed without a bin remaining on the street following collection. 64. No changes are proposed to the draft Policy and Operating Guideline, as the proposed recycling service would: remove loose cardboard from footpaths; manage Council s risks associated with waste management service provision, including trip and fire hazard; be compatible with requirements of a micro or small business; and assist with transitioning medium and large businesses to commercial service providers that have the capability to effectively manage large waste volumes without public realm impacts. Provisions Regarding Timing of Implementation 65. Adoption of the Policy will result in all previous Council decisions regarding kerbside waste and recycling services and allowances being superseded. This will result in some recipients of kerbside waste management services no longer being eligible for a Council service, and some premises not currently receiving a Council service will become eligible. 66. Amendments to the draft Policy and Operating Guideline have been made to clarify processes for the transition to new services, and to clarify when new provisions and allowances will apply. In particular, full implementation of the Business Waste Management Service will commence with the new Waste and Recycling Services Contract on 8 December 2015, following a transition period. Next Steps 67. After Council has endorsed the Policy, the next step is to procure waste and recycling collection services to deliver on the provisions of the Policy. This process will commence immediately and continue until late Opportunities for an early transition in some locations to the provisions and allowances of the new Policy will be sought, for example in medium high density residential settings. 69. A significant amount of time will be required prior to the commencement of the new contract in January 2016 to prepare the community for changes in Policy, including the new allowances and collection frequencies. Page 9 Item 11

10 66 IMPLICATIONS Policy Implication Applicable Comment Business Plan Objectives / Outcomes or Services Consultation YES YES YES New Policy; addresses aspects of the Waste Management Action Plan and City of Adelaide Strategic Plan It is a key action of the 2014/15 City Sustainability and Park Lands Action Plan and Business Plan and Budget to implement appropriate actions and undertake procurement for the new Waste and Recycling Services Policy and Operating Guideline. Public consultation on the draft Waste and Resources Services Policy and Operating Guideline held from 1 May June Resource YES Will be delivered within existing resources. Risk / Legal / Legislative YES There are legislative obligations to provide waste and recycling services to residential premises. A risk assessment has been developed for the project. Budget / Financial Implications 14/15 Budget Allocation YES Strategic Operating Projects $50,000 14/15 Budget Reconsideration Proposed 15/16 Budget Allocation Ongoing Costs (eg maintenance) Life of Project / Life Expectancy of Asset NO YES NA NA $50,000 Strategic Operating Project ATTACHMENTS Attachment A Waste and Recycling Services Policy Consultation Summary Attachment B Waste and Recycling Services Policy Attachment C Waste and Recycling Services Operating Guideline Page 10 Item 11