The Joint Waste Collection Services Committee met to discuss the performance of waste collection services across Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Surrey Heath, and Woking. The committee reviewed the quarterly performance report, the Amey improvement plan, and the Joint Waste Solutions work programme, and agreed to exclude the public and press to discuss confidential information relating to National Insurance and the Joint Waste Solutions budget.

Joint Waste Solutions Work Programme 2025-26

The committee received an update on the Joint Waste Solutions (JWS) work programme for April to mid-September 2025. The JWS team delivers the work programme, with input from officers from Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Surrey Heath, and Woking councils. From 1 April 2025, responsibility for delivering the Surrey Environment Partnership (SEP) work programme moved from JWS to Surrey County Council (SCC).

Key achievements highlighted in the report included:

• Improved collection services through collaboration with residents and stakeholders.
• Securing Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) funding for chewing gum cleaning.
• Informing residents of service changes through various communication channels.
• Progressing the procurement strategy for a new joint contract, with six companies participating in the Invitation to Submit Initial Tenders (ISIT).
• Supporting partner authorities in responding to national policy proposals, including guidance on packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) funding¹.
• Ensuring non-domestic premises comply with Simpler Recycling rules².

The report also detailed progress against specific objectives, including:

• Improving service efficiency and customer experience: Addressing customer enquiries and complaints, supporting the Amey improvement plan, and implementing IT and data management improvements.
• Delivering operational improvements: Reviewing collection services at existing developments, setting up collection services at new developments, and implementing recommendations from the Bring Bank Review.
• Ensuring residents are informed: Providing timely and accurate collection information, communicating service changes, and managing digital channels.
• Managing the joint waste contract: Monitoring operational health and safety, maintaining business continuity plans.
• Working with partner authorities: Adhering to decision-making and reporting requirements, managing risks, and networking with industry colleagues.
• Enhancing ways of working: Identifying savings opportunities, reviewing team efficiency, and pursuing grant funding bids.
• Strategic assessment: Developing joint contract priorities, executing the procurement plan, preparing data for re-procurement, and responding to new policy proposals.

The committee was asked to note the progress update and key achievements delivered during the period.

Quarterly Performance Report

The committee received a report updating them on recycling, residual waste, and operational performance for Quarter 1 of 2025–26 under the Joint Waste Collection Contract.

The report noted that across Surrey:

• Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR) tonnages fell by 1.1%.
• Food waste tonnages fell slightly by 0.6%.
• Garden waste declined significantly by 21.4%.
• Residual waste tonnages decreased by 3.7%.

The report also included a summary of performance across the joint contract authorities:

• DMR tonnages rose in Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Surrey Heath, but fell across all areas over the 12 months.
• Food waste fell sharply in Elmbridge, Mole Valley and Surrey Heath in the quarter, while Woking increased slightly.
• Garden waste declined in all areas throughout both periods.
• Residual waste fell in Elmbridge and Mole Valley in the quarter, but rose elsewhere.
• Surrey Heath continues to lead on recycling rates quarterly and annually.
• Flytipping trends were mixed.

The report also provided a summary of operational performance under the Joint Waste Collection Contract, against each of the 15 contract KPIs³.

The committee was asked to provide any comments on the report and the annexes.

Amey Improvement Plan Update

The committee received a presentation summarising Amey's key areas of work during the 2024/25 financial year in the joint contract area.

It was reported that there had been no RIDDORs (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) in this period and minimal time had been lost due to injuries. Amey informed Members it would continue to run a programme encouraging staff to highlight and report any close calls, in order to prevent potential accidents in the future.

All depots now had the same staffing structure. There had been a large spike in KPI penalties in December 2024 and this was explained as being mainly due to litter and detritus survey (LADs) failures in Mole Valley. However this was expected to significantly improve going forward.

Surrey Heath and Woking depots were performing well, after vehicle availability issues in Surrey Heath in June (2024) had been resolved. It had been recognised that Mole Valley had been understaffed for street cleaning, but this had been and was continuing to be addressed.

Elmbridge's workforce had also been increased for street cleaning and a new graffiti vehicle had recently been deployed. The older graffiti vehicle would now be used in Mole Valley.

Amey and JWS discussed street cleaning issues, including problems cleaning some streets due to parked cars. This topic would continue to be discussed outside of the committee meeting.

Long waiting times at the Leatherhead tip were still being reported, with queuing on the access road to get in being a particular concern. JWS believed that this had improved, but it was still happening. Both Amey and JWS agreed that communication on this issue had improved over the last few months. This issue would continue to be discussed with Surrey County Council (SCC). JWS reminded the Members that SCC had withdrawn from the inter authority agreement so no longer had a representative on this committee.

Amey presented its Improvement Plan 2025/26 and summarised:

• Its welfare system for staff
• Route round risk assessments were reported as progressing well
• Safety Stand Down days would be scheduled twice a year for each contract area and some had already been carried out.
• Garden Waste management was ongoing, and it was explained by Amey how having one start and end date per year could work. This is currently only used by Elmbridge.

Officers questioned the percentages used in the Improvement Plan and what these meant.

Woking questioned what had been done regarding the administration and IT provision of its Garden Waste subscription service. No update was provided but Amey agreed to continue to monitor and pursue this.

Whitespace was discussed and Mole Valley's streets had now been added to the system. Surrey Heath's streets were a priority to be added to Whitespace soon. Amey raised concerns about Whitespace, and the Committee questioned if Amey had the resources to deal with these potential issues. JWS and Amey to discuss this further outside of the meeting.

Mole Valley asked for an update on its litter bins and Whitespace.

Route Optimisation work in Surrey Heath and Woking was ongoing and a meeting with SCC was planned for the following week, that both Amey and JWS were due to attend.

Amey explained that its fleet and maintenance programme had been reviewed and continued to improve.

The Improvement Plan 2025/26 was noted by the Committee.

Exclusion of Public and Press

The committee resolved to exclude the public and press from the meeting to discuss the following items:

• National Insurance increase for employers
• Joint Waste Solutions 2025-26 Budget Update

The reason for exclusion was that the items involved the likely disclosure of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons, including the authority holding that information, as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.