Agenda item

Under Standing Order 18 - Progress on the Use of Single Use Plastics

Councillor Diana Moore has requested that an item be placed on the agenda regarding progress on the use of Single Use Plastics, and to seek an update on the Motion adopted by Council on 24 April 2018 – see link https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/18qfCr9EqcADlLs7EBer?domain=committees.exeter.gov.uk

 

and particularly to the following : -

 

1. The progress and actions taken to implement the Council's policy to end single use plastics,

2. Details of the barriers to implementation and the proposed steps to overcome these, and

3. Information about further steps planned to further implement the policy.

 

 

Minutes:

Councillor Diana Moore requested an item be placed on the agenda under Standing Order 18 regarding progress on the use of Single Use Plastics, and to receive an update on the Motion adopted by council on 24 April 2018 – see link https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/18qfCr9EqcADILs7EBer?domain=committees.exeter.gov.uk

 

Councillor Sutton thanked Councillor Moore for raising this matter and reminded Members of the Council resolution and policy which was widely welcomed and supported and she was mindful of the commitment made. She undertook to address the requested information in the following terms:-

 

The progress and actions taken to implement the Council's policy to end single use plastics -

 

There had been a mix of progress with some positive changes and certainly Councillor Sutton was mindful that whilst there were a number of reusable cups in the Committee Room, the eradication of the one use cups available in the civic centre was not complete. There were areas where great progress had been made, but there was still more to do.  She welcomed the collection of tetra packs, which Councillor Moore had raised earlier in the meeting, and plastic and coffee shop paper cups which was possible at brightly coloured orange, collection banks in the city. Sometimes it was necessary to consider the way that products were used as it could actually take more energy to produce a paper bag, rather than a plastic one. Small actions such as for example, saying no more often to products like straws, may ultimately mean that less are produced, of course there was still a need for straws to offer choices particularly for people with additional needs. The Ocean Recovery Project and partnership with Keep Britain Tidy had made an impact to address some of the plastic waste on the beaches which come from the fishing industry. Bright orange containers had been placed on the harbour side at Bude and Padstow and marine plastics were being collected and brought back to the MRF in Exeter to be sorted and recycled into other products including for the construction of a stage at Glastonbury. She was proud to say that the City Council did not export any of the city’s collected recycling and that may not be the case with some authorities. 

 

A sustainable procurement stance at the City Council should be acknowledged, where before any procurement commenced, questions were already being asked about the procurement of the goods and services.  Although this was not entirely resolved, there was an awareness and Councillor Sutton looked forward to the launch for staff of a “”Plastic Less Fantastic” toolkit to work with suppliers towards the zero and single use plastic aim.

 

Details of the barriers to implementation and the proposed steps to overcome these -

 

Barriers did remain with some people not acknowledging that there were easy wins such as the correct disposal of their takeaway coffee cup.  A number of initiatives such as the Council’s Procurement Policy were working to overcome this.

 

Information about further steps planned to further implement the policy -

 

There had been some steps around the main strategic areas around carbon reduction and certainly it was all staff’s responsibility to ensure that this ethos was woven into the fabric of all that we do.  Staff had been asked to consider how they carried out their role, particularly in the move to the agile and flexible working culture, with more consideration of what was needed to do the job and what could be considered surplus to requirements. The Procurement Service Lead had been working hard with talking with the Council’s Human Resources and staff to develop the Procurement Strategy to see how that could be further embedded into the culture through the Council’s policies.  At the special Place Scrutiny Committee on 18 June, it was requested that a biannual Committee meeting be held to look at such matters and collate all of the work taking place as part of the Tackling Climate Change work. Members were very supportive of that approach and progress was being made but there was more to do.

 

Councillor Moore thanked Councillor Sutton for her reply and she appreciated the challenge as some areas were beyond the Council’s control.  The Motion was fairly specific about the activities within the Council’s control, and she was concerned about the attention to detail needed to reflect the bigger ambition. Nevertheless, she welcomed the helpful interim update and introduction of a Procurement Strategy, and looked forward to a further report back on progress.

 

Councillor Sutton would continue to discuss this with colleagues and make sure that this matter was presented to a future meeting.