Issue - meetings

To consider the head of housing and environment’s report. 

To inform cabinet members of the current issues facing the council in modernising and sustaining the waste and street cleansing operational fleet, and to outline the process that officers will use for the future procurement of new waste collection and street cleansing vehicles.  The process is designed to ensure that vital waste collection and street cleansing services continue by providing suitable vehicles at the right time, in a way that the council can afford, whilst aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of the service where this can be realistically achieved by the technologies available and is within the capacity of the waste depot to support.

Recommendation:

That Cabinet note the contents of the report on why the council needs to be procuring new waste vehicles, and the factors which influence the future carbon footprint of the fleet and the process that officers will use for the future procurement of waste and street cleansing vehicles.

Cabinet received the Joint South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse Waste and Street Cleansing Vehicle Procurement Strategy report from the head of housing and environment. The report sought to inform Cabinet about the process officers used for the procurement of new waste collection and street cleaning vehicles.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Sue Cooper, presented the report and clarified that the report was not focused on detailing the specific number or type of refuse vehicles that would be needed in the future, or the technology behind them. Instead, the report was used to assess the market and would allow the council to select the best vehicle for the intended job, within budget, and producing the lowest possible carbon emissions. She also mentioned that the timeline was indicative, and that the strategy could be reviewed as the council got more clarity about its direction after the end of the current waste collection and street cleansing contract with BIFFA.

Cabinet noted that the policy set out the process by which refuse and street cleaning vehicles could be assessed for procurement but did not commit the council to buying any vehicle in particular and allowed them to keep their procurement options open.

On a question about a trial for electric vehicle (EV) refuse vehicles and the sources of funding for that trial, the chief executive informed cabinet that the council had made a bid through the Ministry of Transport’s Transport Research and Innovation Grants programme. If successful, the council would use these funds to run a 12-week trial for EV refuse vehicles and new route tracking and optimising software, starting in the autumn. The chief executive also highlighted to cabinet that South Oxfordshire would not be in receipt of new national funds for providing a new waste collection scheme as the council had been leading in this area for a number of years and in general was among the best performing districts in the country for waste collection.

Members discussed the developing nature of the waste collection industry and agreed that the council was taking the right approach and welcomed a trial of EV refuse vehicles and route optimisation software.

Cabinet, satisfied with the report, agreed that it be noted.

RESOLVED: to note the contents of the head of housing and environment’s report to Cabinet on 18 April 2024 on why the council needs to be procuring new waste vehicles, and the factors which influence the future carbon footprint of the fleet and the process that officers will use for the future procurement of waste and street cleansing vehicles.