Issue - meetings

Forward Plan Ref: 2016/027

Contact: Owen Jenkins, Service Manager for Highways, Transport & Waste Tel: (01865) 323304

Report by Deputy Director for Environment & Economy (Commercial) (CMDE6).

Oxfordshire County Council has been asked to become a founding signatory to the Courtauld Commitment 2025 due to our national reputation in waste management.  The Courtauld Commitment 2025 is an ambitious voluntary agreement that brings together a broad range of organisations involved in the food system to make food and drink production and consumption more sustainable. All Oxfordshire authorities have been invited to sign the agreement, and agreed at the Oxfordshire Environment Partnership (OEP) on 11/03/16 to take similar reports to their appropriate decision making committee and to report back to the next OEP meeting on 14 July 2014.

As a Waste Disposal Authority Oxfordshire County Council is responsible for, and pays for the processing of food waste. The district authorities, as the Waste Collection Authorities, all provide facilities for residents to deposit their food waste separately to the residual bin for processing at specialist facilities.

Processing food waste at an Anaerobic Digestion plant is significantly cheaper than sending it (in the residual bin) to landfill or the Energy Recovery Facility at Ardley. Better yet, the prevention of food waste in the first instance would create significant savings, both in collection and processing

The Courtauld Commitment 2025 will help bring together local authority partners with the private sector to help drive further action in this area. It does not commit the council to any additional financial expenditure or considered to raise any legal implications. The Council is already meeting the spirit of the commitment, which is in line with the agreed joint municipal waste management strategy for Oxfordshire so no additional staff time would be needed. 

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to sign the Courtauld 2025 Commitment Voluntary Agreement

Approved and signed

Due to its national reputation in waste management Oxfordshire County Council had been asked to become a founding signatory to the Courtauld Commitment 2025 a voluntary agreement bringing together a broad range of organisations involved in the food system including local authority partners and the private sector to make food and drink production and consumption more sustainable. The report pointed out that as the County Council was already meeting the spirit of the commitment through the joint municipal waste management strategy for Oxfordshire no additional staff time would be needed nor did it commit the council to any additional financial expenditure.

Therefore recognising the increased potential to improve services whist being cost neutral and having regard to the arguments and options set out in the report before him the Cabinet Member confirmed his decision as follows:

to sign the Courtauld 2025 Commitment Voluntary Agreement.

Signed………………………………….

Cabinet Member for Environment

Date of signing………………………..