Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 May 2018 were approved and signed by the Chairman.

No declarations of interest were made.

David Eaton, the Environmental Protection Manager for Teignbridge District Council, programme lead of ‘Zero Heroes’, led a presentation with Lizzie Burston, one of the recycling officers supporting the project. The project’s focus was on the Council’s response to Single-Use Plastic, as opposed to the general recycling service performance which had regular updates on the Clean Scene presented to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meetings.  He commented on the changing perception of plastic as a disposable resource and of Teignbridge District Council’s efforts to eliminate single-use plastics across all of their sites by reducing waste and recycling more from all of the Council’s operations and buildings.

David Eaton outlined the work to date and referred to the ‘Zero Heroes’ project team, which, with colleagues from the Economy and Assets team were working together to audit and action a reduction of the level of single-use plastics such as plastic bottles and cups, coffee cups and lids, plastic cutlery, straws, bags, and even decanting cleaning products from larger containers.  He highlighted a number of particular initiatives including the reduction of the use of the take-away cup working with the Seasoned Kitchen catering staff at Forde House by promoting the use of branded reusable cups which could easily be identified and collected back up.

Lizzie Burston updated Members on a number of projects including:-  

·         The Litter Innovation Fund in Teignmouth was part of a six month project funded by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to reduce marine litter from litter bins on the sea front and from general waste collections from properties on sack collections, with a trial of different containers in an effort to deter seagulls. Teignmouth was selected as it had the right mix of town and seafront. There were other opportunities to work with residents and local businesses to increase awareness and ultimately reduce green litter. 

·         A team had been working with volunteers to manage and prevent litter on the Back Beach at Teignmouth, with new signage and compartmentalised bins.

·         A litter campaign had commenced to reduce litter particularly thrown from cars and highlighting the reporting and enforcement process.

·         The Ocean Recovery Project was working with Exeter City Council to collect marine plastics and recycle at the Materials Recovery Facility in Exeter.  Additional bins on beaches including an A Board promotion incorporating a litter picker and sacks to encourage a two minute beach clean.  A request received from Councillor Clarence for the A Board in Shaldon to be replenished with sacks would be actioned. As part of this initiative, additional bins had been placed at the Fish Quay in Teignmouth to collect any recycling waste from local fishermen.

·         The Resorts Team had also been working to make Teignmouth, plastic straw free with a commitment from local businesses for a reduction in use of over 30,000 straws.

·      The Economy and Assets team and the Newton Abbot Town Centre Manager had been working to reduce the amount of single use cups and had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Members anticipated receiving an update of the forward Plan with confirmed dates, and looked forward to a number of reports coming through to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Resolved that the Committee noted the Executive Forward Plan.

to identify any areas of work for future meetings of the Committee.

It was noted that the Chairman would liaise with officers to ensure there were items for future meetings. 

The Chairman referred to an email he had received from Tony Mansour, the Council’s lead officer in relation to the Housing Reduction Act offering to provide an update for Members in the autumn.

The Work Programme for the remainder of the year was noted.