Agenda item

Cllr Dr Peter Sudbury, Deputy Leader of the Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment & Future Generations, Bill Cotton, Corporate Director for Environment and Place, Rachel Burns, Team Leader Waste Strategy and Circular Economy, and Jamie Slagel, National Management Trainee have been invited to present a report on the Council’s Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Cllr Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of the Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment & Future Generations, had been invited to present a report on the Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan (the CES).  He was accompanied by Bill Cotton, Corporate Director for Environment and Place, Rachel Burns, Team Leader Waste for Strategy and Circular Economy, and Jamie Slagel, National Management Trainee.

Before the Cabinet member’s arrival, the Corporate Director for Environment and Place introduced the strategy and likened it to the old-fashioned concept of 'make do and mend', focused on resource conservation. The Team Leader for Waste Strategy and Circular Economy, the National Management Trainee, and their colleagues were commended for their broad thinking in putting together the strategy.

An emerging action plan was focused on the Council improving its own practices. The next steps involved working with district councils to manage waste and collaborating with partners across Oxfordshire to advance this progressive agenda.

The Team Leader for Waste Strategy and Circular Economy highlighted that the discussion revolved around the transition from a linear to a circular economy. The aim was to design items for longevity, using more sustainable, reusable, or recyclable materials, and enabling repair and disassembly at the end of life.

The CES was crucial for the Council to meet its Net Zero targets. The strategy increased resource-security and resilience, especially considering global events impacting activities and costs. It was noted that managing household waste costs around 6% of the Council's budget, a figure that was increasing. Transitioning to a circular economy could help control these costs. The CES would create between 6,000 and 7,000 jobs in Oxfordshire and could add £400m to £500m to the Oxfordshire economy.

The National Management Trainee emphasised the importance of translating strategy into delivery, and an action plan was developed concurrently with the strategy. The focus was on using less, using for longer, and reusing. Seven critical areas were identified for focus.

Procurement was a major focus, as the majority of the Council’s material and carbon footprint came from procured services. The Council was committed to embedding the concept of the circular economy in its new contracts.

IT equipment, made up of high-value assets reliant on critical metals, was another important area. Unused equipment could be redeployed within the Council, saving money and having positive environmental impacts by freeing up critical minerals and metals.

To ensure a successful transition from strategy to delivery, measuring and monitoring its impact would be key. The need to identify appropriate metrics for the Council and build processes to collect and report on this data was discussed. This was an emerging field worldwide, with no standardised metric, but work was being done with other councils to develop appropriate metrics for the Council.

The CES laid out the intention to work across the county on a partnership strategy with other councils, universities, the local NHS, businesses, landowners, and the voluntary and community sector. Agreement had already been reached with district councils in Oxfordshire to produce a countywide document.

The Committee discussed multiple issues which included:

·       Whether the Council was making the best use of Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) to reuse household waste and if such centres could become re-using centres feeing directly back to the community.

The HWRCs were quite space-constrained which made onsite re-use difficult.  Whilst there was considerable reuse offsite, it was acknowledged that the poor visibility of this work could be improved with a communication plan exhibiting the good work being done to reuse waste. The Council had approved a HWRC strategy last year, which had reuse at its core. The Council was considering its infrastructure needs and planning for future development, with reuse becoming an integral part, recognising the physical constraints of their current sites.

·       Concerns were raised about confusion around opening times of waste centres, and whether reciprocal arrangements with other Councils allowing Oxfordshire residents to access their waste centres would be arranged.

Discussions had been continually open with neighbouring authorities about restrictions that only allowed residents to use local sites. Whilst Oxfordshire HWRCs were open to non-residents, Oxfordshire residents were not permitted to use HWRCs in neighbouring authorities.  A reciprocal arrangement had been explored with one neighbouring authority but was deemed too expensive to implement given the amount that authority would have charged. The opening hours had been reduced after consultation with site staff due to low usage during late hours, but the sites remained open for 362 days of the year, including bank holidays and weekends.

·       The Committee stressed the importance of forming and working in partnerships within the local community. It was seen that greater partnerships would help embed the concept of a circular economy within the community and help the CES determine what the community needed to aid the circular economy of Oxfordshire, making it easier for waste to re-enter the household or economy. This included coordinating with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP).

A lot of work had been put into laying the foundations for a partnership strategy, which required extensive outreach. Conversations had been held with all relevant Council officers across the six councils in the waste board, climate, communities, and well-being colleagues. Conversations had also been held with all the chief executives, the Local Enterprise Partnership (the LEP), members of the health system, local academic experts, community groups, and some businesses. The next step was to focus on businesses, ensuring that the message to them was clear.

There had been some positive conversations about the LEP now that its functions were the responsibility of the Council. Consideration had been given to the manufacturing industry in Oxfordshire, its shape and size, and how it could be stimulated. There was a focus on green skills and jobs, reminiscent of the repair and remanufacturing skills of previous generations. The concept of industrial symbiosis was explored, where the surplus from one company becomes the raw material for another, saving everyone money. Discussions had been held about how, as a hub of innovation in the country, more circular materials and solutions could be developed and how Oxfordshire could host an accelerator programme for new business.

·       The Committee raised the point that the Council needed to ensure its procurement policies fitted into the idea of a circular economy. The Council needed to look at its own resources first when making a procurement decision and whether new purchases were necessary.  Whilst procurement was important, the Committee encouraged thought about what more the Council could do across the county.

·       The Committee was keen to encourage constant financial monitoring, with cost-based analysis against outcomes. It was hoped that the CES would save money and not create further expenditure The strategy had no budgetary requirements, but in fact saving should be expected if the Council reused items internally.

·       The report referred to a research paper.  It was confirmed that paper had been written but that the actions arising from it were not currently funded.  The Committee requested sight of the paper.

The Committee will request an update on the strategy and action plan in due course but, in the meantime, resolved to request the follow actions:

·       That the strategy, action plan, and research paper should be provided to members of the Committee

The Committee also resolved to AGREE recommendations to Cabinet under the following headings:

·       That the Council should arrange for improved communications, particularly about reuse, at Household Waste and Recycling Centres and in publicity about the same;

·       That the Council should seek to ensure that the outworking of the strategy results in reduced costs;

·       That the Council should continue to explore how reciprocal arrangements could be introduced with neighbouring authorities for the ease of residents;

·       That the Council should make explicit its role in the strategy as a lead partner and set out how it will build partnerships both within the county and across county borders;