There were no disclosures of pecuniary interest not already published on the websites of the four boroughs.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

Matt Club (Sutton - Acting Executive Head of Environment Commissioning) gave a summary of the report.

The outcome was not to set up an independent inquiry and Sutton Council will not be taking any further action.

The Committee NOTED the contents of the report.

 Andrea Keys (Kingston - SLWP Contract Manager) summarised the report:

• Viridor have converted 12% of waste
• New HRRC contract commenced 1 October.  No further work needed.
• Veolia started on upgrade programme
• Food waste and green waste continues to be processed in compliance with...
• Bids due back in next week on ...kerbside recycling
• Further drop in value of metal
• Drop in fuel prices - drop in value of plastics
• £230k generated in revenue

The following issues were raised:

• Are there any changes to the HRRC contract?

Response: There will be some basic site changes - the containers will be moved.  The use of gantries and steps instead of compaction containers should increase payloads.  There is no major construction.

• Recycling and composting rate at Factory Lane is well below the average.  When will it move to amber or green?
• Do any of the boroughs sell compost?

Response:  Historically we had a lower rate across all 6 sites.  September result was the final one before moving to the new contractor.  Target now set at 70% annual average.

Some sites offer free collection of compost but none sell it.

• Contamination - why does Sutton have a problem and how can it be improved?
• Is contamination a big factor as regards price we get?

Response: Quite a few factors affect this, such as higher textile content. The market is getting tighter so contamination is showing up more.  The issue is more about the processing facility.  Co-mingled has the highest contamination rate.  We collect more material as well.  Processing facilities take out the contamination, so there is no issue with co-mingled recycling.  5-10% is co-mingled.  A major recycling campaign has been delivered to all residents to advise what can and cannot be recycled.  From the response, it appears to have worked well and the level of contamination is reducing.

The Chair attended a Conference recently, where there was a discussion about boroughs being consistent in their handling of waste and recycling, such as colours of bins being uniform.  Matt Club responded that all artwork is generic across London so we see the same messages with the same branding.

Councillor Jill Whitehead mentioned that London Councils are likely to be adopting our campaign - SLWP will be in the vanguard of what London is doing. 

Having made these comments, the Committee NOTED the contents of the report.

Michael Mackie (Sutton - Head of Finance and Business Data Reporting) gave an overview of the report, mentioning several areas where there have been significant underspends.

 The following question was raised:

• How are we going to use the underspend?

Response:  We are currently looking at communications resourcing and how to better assess what we are doing as a partnership.

The Committee NOTED the content of this report.

Michael Mackie gave the highlights of the report:

• To agree the budget for 2016-17
• Budget contained within £495,500
• Only difference between September and now - allowed for £25,000 contribution for a communications officer but communication activity has reduced from £50k to £25k
• Residual waste procurement not changed

Councillor Stuart Collins stressed that communications are important to promote the good outcomes of the project.

Councillor Judy Saunders proposed changing the name from 'Phase C' to something the public will understand.

Councillor Stuart King seconded this proposal.

Councillor Jill Whitehead queried whether the partnership name should be changed as it is increasingly becoming an environmental partnership.  However, it was pointed out that it will be dependent on what governance arrangements are passed over to this committee.

The Committee AGREED:

1. the proposed budget for the core activities of the Partnership as set out in 2.1 and
2. the proposed budget for Residual Waste Procurement as set out in 2.7

Annie Baker (Merton - SLWP Strategic Partnership Manager) gave a summary of the report:

• Work is ahead of schedule
• Communications liaison group meeting on 22 October was not as well attended as the first meeting
• Newsletter delivery went well
• Next newsletter to be early 2016
• Recommended the report be combined with the update report in future

The Committee NOTED the progress on the ERF project.

Annie Baker reported that there are no red risks now.

The Committee NOTED the key developments on the Risk Register and the mitigation of these risks.

The date of the next meeting is Wednesday 9 March at 5:30pm in F10 at Croydon Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX.

It was agreed that the time will stay at 5:30pm unless there is another clash, in which case it will be at 6:30pm.