Bridgnorth district council's environmental services are 'fa;ir' with uncertain prospects for improvement, according to an Audit Commission report published last week. The commission gave the council just one star out of a possible three, for responsibilities including waste management and recycling but also littering and public areas.
The main criticisms of the report were of elements of the council's policies and policy making processes. It stated: “the council has improved policy and decision making, and is starting to monitor its performance, but that information is not timely enough to allow councillors to take decisions or remedial action.”
Last year, Bridgnorth council signed up to Shropshire's draft joint waste management strategy with the four other district and borough councils and Shropshire county council. The report said: “The countywide draft joint waste management strategy sets challenging targets for decreasing waste and increasing recycling. However, the councils own objectives and plans for improving the range of environmental services are unclear and the targets set for improving services are not challenging.”
The report recommended that the environmental service department “produces clear project plans and policies to ensure commitment and engagement to reach all objectives, national targets and address local people's concerns”.
The report praised the council for its prioritisation of waste and recycling issues. The council's current recycling rate is 17.7%, a significant increase from 12.1% last year and close to its target of 18% for 2003-04.
The report's recommendations included further development of the kerbside collection scheme and bring banks including additional material streams to be collected for recycling. It also said that the council should concentrate on education and waste minimisation as its waste production is currently increasing by 4% per year, higher than the national average.
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