The Climate Change & Nature Recovery Service Transformation Committee met on Monday 15 April 2024. The meeting agenda included the Future Waste Strategy, the Committee's Annual Report, and its Work Plan. The Committee noted the Future Waste Strategy. The Annual Report for 2023-2024 was received for information, and the updated Work Plan was noted.

Future Waste Strategy

The committee received an update on the Future Waste Strategy. Councillor Cyril Anderson, Cabinet Member for Community, informed the committee that the wrong report had been published with the agenda papers and was withdrawn, with a verbal update provided instead.

Chris Howell, Head of Waste, Cleansing and Parks, explained that garden waste collections were stopped for a trial period in December 2023 and January 2024, with resources redirected to other work streams. The service also collected Christmas trees in late January 2024. Consideration will now be given to making this trial permanent, confirming start and end dates, and identifying any necessary mitigating factors. To maximise resources, garden waste could potentially be collected alongside food waste in the future, freeing up garden waste vehicles and resources.

Trials for collecting additional kerbside materials, such as plastic film, cartons/tetra packs, textiles, and small electrical goods, will be conducted to assess viability, quantities, and service capacity. Discussions are ongoing with Welsh Government regarding the collection of plastic film in the autumn, and Swansea Council has volunteered to participate in a trial if it proceeds. Plans are also in place to organise collections if agreed.

Following concerns raised by councillors, the design of the glass and can container was amended to include a lid to prevent spillage. The council has secured a Welsh Government grant for their purchase, and the tendering process will commence shortly, with rollout expected to take a few months.

Committee members commented on the positive overall progress, the potential business opportunity to create compost from food waste, and current agreements. Concerns were raised regarding a lack of resources in the service and delays to collections due to vehicle failures and staff sickness. The committee noted the knowledge gained from the cessation of garden waste collections in January 2024 and the potential for additional savings by transferring food waste collections to coincide with black bag collections, thereby freeing up garden waste vehicles and resources. They also recognised the savings being made on plastic bags for glass and can collections and acknowledged that the rollout of new containers would be a slower process requiring more resources. The service aims to use resources effectively to ensure the service is robust and cost-effective. The committee discussed amending collection services by swapping black bag collections and garden waste collections, which would result in food, cans, glass, paper, and black bag waste being collected together, with pink bags, food, and garden waste collected the following week. The programme for distributing the reusable plastic cans and bottle containers was also discussed, as were the current arrangements for selling compost from garden waste.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member and the Head of Waste, Cleansing and Parks for the update, noting that an updated report would be presented at the next scheduled meeting.

Climate Change & Nature Recovery Service Transformation Committee Annual Report 2023-2024

Councillor Rebecca Fogarty, Chair of the committee, presented the Climate Change and Nature Recovery Corporate Service Transformation Committee Annual Report 2023-2024 for information. This report summarised the progress made in relation to the committee's work programme for the 2023-2024 municipal year. The work of the committee during this period focused on key aspects of Swansea Council’s approach to achieving net zero by 2030, covering nature recovery, sustainable transport, and waste management. The committee also received a presentation on the development of a Local Area Energy Plan for Swansea.

Work Plan

The Chair presented an updated Work Plan report and thanked the committee members and officers for their support throughout the municipal year. The contents of the report were noted by the committee.