Issue - meetings

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member for Environment (Councillor Dean Cohen), the Strategic Director for Growth and Environment (Pam Wharfe), the Housing and Environment Lead Commissioner (Declan Hoare) and the Acting Waste Strategy Manager (Michael Lai) for the item. 

Finance

The Acting Waste Strategy Manager advised the Committee that the North London Waste Authority (NLAW) levy for 2013/14 was £2.146 million or 11.5% higher than in 2012/13.  £1.079 million of the increase was attributable to the Council’s decision to consign its co-mingled dry recyclates to the NLWA from October 2013 rather than make its own arrangements for treatment.  It was expected that the increase of £1.079 million would be offset by an estimated income of £1.028 million for 2013/14 and 2014/15 as a consequence of Barnet qualifying for payments that will be made by the NLWA under its Commingled Income Payment Scheme.

The Committee were informed that the Council were currently benchmarking the cost of their waste streams against other council’s costs.  It was reported that the Landfill Tax was due to rise next year.

Procurement – Waste Services Contract and Fuel Use Contract

The Acting Waste Strategy Manager updated the Committee on the NLWA procurement for two activities: Waste Services Contract (treatment of waste for disposal, recycling and composting); and Fuel Use Contract (fuel produced through the treatment of waste).  It was reported that the two procurement processes had been halted in September 2013 due to the pressure on local authority funding, changes in the projected lifespan of the existing Edmonton Energy from Waste facility, and changes in the planning environment.  The NLWA were working with the constituent boroughs on developing an alternative waste strategy based on using the existing Edmonton Energy from Waste facility up to 2025 and replacing it with a new facility.  It was reported that potential savings of up to £900 million could be achieved against the procurement options previously explored. 

Inter Authority Agreement

In relation to the Inter Authority Agreement, the Committee were advised that the previous draft agreement was in the process of being redrafted.  The NLWA constituent boroughs appear to be supportive of the introduction of menu pricing which would be reflective of the actual cost of treating the different types of waste streams. 

The Committee noted that the NLWA policy on the provision of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the North London area made a case for the provision of an additional two HWRCs in Barnet.  Additional facilities would increase Barnet’s recycling rate but it is likely that the costs would be largely borne by Barnet.

North London Waste Plan

Referring to the North London Waste Plan, the Acting Waste Strategy Manager advised the Committee that this was a planning document which set out polices for determining planning applications for waste facilities and future site requirements for waste management use in the area to meet London Plan requirements.  In relation to the Pinkham Way site, the Committee were informed that part of the site had previously been purchased from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8