The 10 authorities are due to sign a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ which would provide greater security over how waste is collected and treated in the county.
The decision would bring it closer in line with other formal waste partnerships in England, such as in Somerset and Dorset.
While non-legally binding, the MoU recommends that all eight Staffordshire districts, including the county council and unitary Stoke-on-Trent city council, work together to ‘mitigate financial pressures being widely felt’.
The Understanding focuses primarily on the transfer of the 14MW Hanford energy from waste plant by current operator MES Environmental to Stoke-on-Trent council in 2020.
The 210,000 tonnes-per-year Hanford EfW is described in a committee report to executive councillors in Stoke-on-Trent as a ‘major asset in the region’s waste disposal infrastructure’.
It continues to treat around 180,000 tonnes of residual waste each year on behalf of Stoke. Around a further 130,000 tonnes of refuse is sent to Veolia’s Four Ashes treatment facility under a 25-year deal signed with Staffordshire county council.
The report notes that many councils are interested in how the transfer is handled, and by Stoke councillors signing the MoU, the county council might be able to share in any financial benefits resulting from the exercise.
Collections
As well as financial savings, the MoU could also see the authorities collaborate on efficiency and economies of scale in waste collection, as agreed in the refreshed Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy adopted by all Staffordshire councils in 2014.
Under the agreement, they would ‘pro-actively’ investigate the potential for shared arrangements, such as procuring joint contracts and strategies – including county-wide three weekly residual waste collections.
However, a number of councils have already set out fixed waste policy positions they would not be willing to change under a more formal partnership.
Both Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire will not consider introducing new charges for domestic waste collections, and East Staffordshire will not consider any outsourcing solution for collections.
Stafford borough council’s commissioning and procurement of a new long-term contract from February 2018 will also ‘limit the opportunity for joint change’.
The report states: “Previous attempts at increased collaboration on waste collection and disposal across Staffordshire have not been taken forward. In part, this appears to be because there was insufficient recognition of the policy positions / formal decisions of individual local authorities which prevented a larger scale collaborative approach to be taken.
“Whilst there is no desire to limit the options that may be examined as part of this work, it is prudent to set out as part of this MOU any currently fixed waste policy positions of individual local authorities.”
Timetable
Once the councils have signed the MoU by the end of January 2016, the Joint Waste Management Board and Staffordshire Waste Officers Group will complete a full baseline assessment on which to base future proposals for the county. The findings will be presented in October.
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