But, the need for more kerbside recycling services and the current lack of green waste collections was highlighted by inspectors as possible areas for improvement.
”The council is able to manage its future budget in this area with a large degree of certainty. “
– Audit Commission
Inspectors David Bryant and Kevin Whiteside have rated the borough’s environmental services as being a high-performing two star service and said they believe the council has excellent prospects for future improvements.
Reading’s environmental directorate serves a population of more than 144,000 people in an area that covers some 40 square kilometers and has an annual budget of 15.678 million for the current financial year. The council is in the search for a new waste management contractor as part of a Private Finance Initiative partnership with neighbouring Wokingham and Bracknell Forest (see letsrecycle.com story).
The council’s recycling and waste minimisation came under the spotlight of the Audit Commission in November, along with planning and integrated transport which also form part of its wider environmental services.
On course
The final report says that the council is on course to meet the national recycling targets with levels of household waste reducing. The latest figures published by Defra show that Reading beat its 16 per cent target for recycling household waste by two per cent in 2003/2004.
Reading has reduced both the amount of household waste collected (per household) and the percentage that goes to landfill. The amount of waste collected fell from 509 kilograms per head in 2002/03 to 482 kilograms in 2003/04. Over the same period, the percentage of waste collected that went to landfill fell from 86 per cent to 82 per cent.
Inspectors praised the council for its strong and effective attitude to local consultation and said that there were many examples of effective partnership working. They criticized the fact that kerbside recycling was “not yet fully developed” and there is no collection of green waste in the borough.
PFI
However, they also acknowledged that Reading is working closely with neighbouring Wokingham and Bracknell Forest councils to develop the 37m Private Finance Initiative contract that would offer long term waste management solutions.
” We know there is still much to be done but we have clear plans for developing the service in the future.“
– Cllr June Orton, Reading BC
The report said: “The waste PFI is a project that should deliver good value for the council. Apart from the benefits of scale of a contract covering three councils will enable the council to deal with the increasing costs of putting waste to landfill and the potential penalties of not meeting the biodegradable waste targets.
“As a result the council is able to manage its future budget in this area with a large degree of certainty,” said the inspectors.
Recognised
Despite this, the report says that Reading has excellent prospects of securing a top level three star grade for environmental services in the future because of its proven commitment to improvement and its commitment to organisational development and better procurement.
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June Orton, lead councillor for environment and consumer affairs, said: “A lot of hard work has been put into ensuring that our recycling and refuse collection services have improved over the last few years and it’s good to have that recognised in this report.
“We know there is still much to be done but we have clear plans for developing the service in the future.”
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