No apologies for absence were received.

The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 16 November 2021 were agreed and signed by the Chair.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Committee were updated Members on the digital improvements to the Street Cleansing Service. 

The Assistant Director (Operations) and the Waste Projects and Compliance Officer guided Members through the report and highlighted the following key points:

Bartec Street Cleansing Module

• Move street cleansing to a smarter service, Bartec Collective System, where the council will be able to move towards a more intelligence based proactive service rather than a reactive driven service.
• Refuse, recycling, garden waste and trade waste collections had used this system since April 2019. It transformed the waste and recycling collections and was easier for the public to report their bins, when full.
• The system sends out automatic reminders for residents to pay their garden waste subscription for their garden waste bin. Before this system the Team would send out notifications manually and the service would never have managed this through the pandemic. 
• The Bartec Collective System is a software system. Over 100 councils use Bartec Collective throughout the UK and it serves over 2m households.
• There will be an improvement by removal of paper schedules. Paper tickets were not always reliable, could get lost and would not be available for audit purposes. 
• Jobs previously issued to crews, unless urgent, would have to wait until the following day to be completed. With the new system, a service request on Bartec, is immediately allocated to crews whilst already out on the road.
• Customers will receive a real time update on fly-tipping once the job is completed by the crews.
• To close the call, the crews will need to take photographs of the fly-tipping, before and after, to ensure the work is completed to a good standard.
• Litter bins will be mapped and logged once the bins have been emptied along with the capacity. This will enable the emptying regimes to be revised dependant on the fill level, over time.  
• Bulky collections – the system will deliver dynamic routing of the bulky waste collections and will immediately update the customer once the job has been completed.
• The Street Cleaning Manager and Business Apprentice are currently mapping all the bins and other assets.
• Training is currently taking place within the workforce and it is anticipated that the fly-tipping and bulky waste clearances will go live within the next month with the remaining of the cleansing functions by April 2022.

Following questions and comments from Members, the Assistant Director (Operations) and the Waste Projects & Compliance Officer explained that:

• Refuse crews did not have to be first aid trained but the Assistant Director (Operations) would review this. There are trained first aiders out on the road that could respond immediately to any incidents, if required.
• Operatives will be given sufficient time to undertake the training and if required, one to one training, would be offered. The new system is very easy to use, generally two or three clicks with reduced writing. Operatives needs to be confident in using the system and report back to Officers and Managers with any concerns.
• To ensure customers,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

The Committee were updated with the current and upcoming waste and recycling education campaigns. 

The Assistant Director (Operations) and the Waste Projects and Compliance Officer guided Members through the report and highlighted the following key points:

• Anti-Littering Campaigns – an opportunity to educate residents about recycling and waste.
• The Team worked closely with the Communications Team and Kent Resources Partnerships, with representatives across Kent, providing new bespoke signage around the borough.
• In the past the signage regarding waste, littering and recycling was generic. These new signs are more specific for certain areas. 
• In Spring/Summer 2021 signage for the rural areas, in conjunction with the Parish Councillors, were installed. 
• There are specifically different colours and designs for different areas. Orange is for the open spaces, green for the town centre and urban areas and purple for the rural part of the borough.
• In paragraph 2.4.1 of the report the signage welcomes visitors to the rural area and reminds them to take pride as people live and work here. It reminds them it is their responsibility to take their litter home. These will be trialled in rural locations in collaboration with Parish Council.
• The bespoke signage in paragraph 2.5 of the report will be trialled in three locations in Northfleet. 
• The signs are targeted at those leaving or dropping litter.
• The Team will work closely with Parish Councillors to trial these campaigns to see if residents and visitors get the message.

• Letter Drop – in September 2021, targeted letter drops pertaining to street sweeping and waste services information were trailed on the Dickens Estate.
• This was well received as local children were seen sweeping their own area into the street so the scarab could remove the debris.
• This will be repeated over the next few months and rolled out to streets around the Denton area imminently.
• A follow up letter was then delivered giving educational advice, explaining different services and waste collection days, having all the useful information in one place. 

• Excess Waste Bin Hanger – during the pandemic a decision was made to remove all excess refuse from properties in Gravesham owing to the increase in waste generated at home during the national lockdowns.
• An excess waste hanger has been designed and is being implemented from February 2022 to leave on the wheelie bin to limit the amount of refuse that can be contained within the 180 litre bin which is put out on a fortnightly basis.
• The bin hanger will remind residents to recycle more, and information about any additional waste that can be taken to the Pepperhill Household Waste Recycling Centre. 
• For large households, larger waste or recycling bins can be issued.
• The Team will remove as much recycling as each household leaves out, there is no limit. It is the right thing to do for climate change and is beneficial for the council to collect more recycling than general waste.
• The Assistant Director (Operations) explained that the Team and Planning Officers work closely with Letting Agents, Estate Agents  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.