Agenda item

To receive the 2024/25 Annual Report (copy attached) from SERCO on their activities during the year. The report will cover SERCO’s performance in the key areas of refuse and recycling and management of street cleansing and grounds maintenance.

 

The item will be introduced by Rushmoor’s Environmental Contracts Service Manager, Ruth Whaymand and representatives from SERCO, Harry Oakley, Senior Contract Manager – West Region and Aaron Straker, Contract Manager.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Pride in Place and Neighbourhood Services, Cllr Christine Guinness will also be in attendance.

 

The Committee welcomed Ruth Whaymand, Environmental Contracts Manager and Aaron Straker, Serco Contracts Manager, who were both in attendance to report on the Serco Annual Report 2024/25.

 

The Committee received a presentation from Ms Whaymand which provided an overview of the Serco contract, including a background to the procurement, how the contract was audited, service changes, new legislation timetables and the introduction of ‘Simpler Recycling’. Mr Straker then gave a presentation which covered details on the workforce, the services delivered in Rushmoor (Collections, Street Cleansing and Grounds Maintenance), contract management and compliance, whitespace, Supatrak and onboard CCTV, health and safety and wellbeing, recycling, innovation, added value and the future.

 

The Committee discussed the presentations and raised the following issues:

 

·         Street Cleansing changes in some areas were considered to not be successful, in particular in the North Camp area, and as a gateway into the Borough for the forthcoming 2026 Airshow and Armed Forces Day, a request was made for attention to be given to all gateways into the Borough to ensure all were well maintained and clear of rubbish for these important events.

 

·         Food waste KPIs and what targets were considered realistic? - Mr Straker advised that work was underway to set realistic targets for food waste collections and advised he hoped these would be fairer in the future.

 

·         Simpler Recycling – how would residents understand what could and could not be recycled? – it was noted that the new recycling rules aimed to make it easier for residents, as all counties would be aligned with the same recycling requirements. It was reported that metals, plastics and glass would be co-collected, and paper and card would be collected separately to avoid co-contamination. Consideration was being given, by the Working Group, to the receptacle to collect paper and card, and a wheeled bin was thought to be most appropriate to avoid any cross contamination or manual handing issues. Members requested that the Group thought about space for wheeled bins, from a residents’ point of view, when deliberating the matter.

 

The Portfolio Holder advised that the cost of any new bins and vehicle infrastructure, due to changes as a result of Simpler Recycling, were currently being discussed with Hampshire County Council, as the disposal authority. Should the County Council order local authorities to make changes, they would be responsible for the additional cost, but at present the cost would be the responsibility of the local authorities.

 

In response to a query regarding the income from PackUK, the Governments chosen administrator for the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging programme, in relation to Simpler Recycling, it was estimated that the Council were expected to receive around £1m for 2025/26, however only £615k was guaranteed as it was dependent on the funds being collected from manufacturers by PackUK. The funds would be ringfenced for waste and recycling services.

 

·         Apprenticeships – in response to a question regarding apprenticeships leading to permanent positions, it was advised that this was not always possible but there was a potential to transfer to other sites in the area.

 

·         Bin Contamination – It was noted that the Serco Communications Team worked with the Council to help educate residents in relation to contamination of waste and recycling bins. It was understood that the Team thoroughly investigated bins, that were not collected due to contamination, to inform residents what the issue was so it could be avoided going forward. Tools were available to help with education, including posters, stickers, reusable bags and mailshots. Issues relating to food waste contamination could be from the use of thick or black plastic sacks instead of small thin bags. It was hoped that the new Simpler Recycling would help reduce contamination rates, as residents were already putting some of the new items into their recycling bin, which was contributing to contamination, for example, currently approximately 6% of contamination was plastic pots, tubs and trays which would be excepted for recycling under the new legislation.

 

·         Tracking data – a request was made for vehicle tracking data to be made more publicly available to residents.  It was noted that the system could not be accessed until after 15:00hrs and the info was shared with the Council’s Customer Services Unit, and the Contracts Team, so was available when residents called to report missed bins.

 

·         Electric vehicle maintenance costs – it was advised that the two vehicles in use currently were only on trial and any decisions to use electric vehicles permanently, going forward, would be for the Working Group to discuss and would ultimately be dependent on the details of the contract extension.

 

·         Business waste – in response to a query relating to waste from businesses being blown on people’s driveways/gardens, it was noted that it would be unrealistic to ask the street cleansing teams to litter pick on private property and many residents would not welcome it.

 

·         Bulky waste – it was commented on that the cost of bulky waste collections was not reasonable. The Portfolio Holder advised that consideration was being given to the cost depending on the number of items being collected.

 

·         Electrical waste – it was noted that the limiting factor for electrical waste was size. The pink bins had a limited size opening for items, and the kerbside vehicles only had a small cage to collect items in. It was advised that if the item fit in a standard supermarket bag the item should be accepted. With regard to laptops, mobile phones, tablets, etc. these were disposed on at the owners’ risk and the owner should be aware of potential data protection risks.

 

·         Clinical waste – It was noted that clinical waste collections could only be arranged if referred by a medical professional who would provide details on how to dispose of the clinical waste to the disposal authority. In cases where a medical professional referral was not possible, items should be able to be returned to the individuals GP.

 

Other issues raised included, broken wheelie bins, legionella flushing, commercial waste, proposed road tax increases, the Human Rights Bill and co-funded pay increases.

 

The Committee discussed the management of shrub beds since changes, driven by the climate emergency and cost savings were introduced in 2022. It was noted that the weeds had gone from being controlled with chemicals to stopping any kind of control. As a result, the brambles had now taken hold and were well established in the shrub beds. During discussions, it was suggested that a one-off intensive programme could be put in place to clear the weeds and brambles. However, this was considered to be a costly, significantly difficult and challenging manual task. The Committee also discussed pockets of grassland that had been left unmown to encourage biodiversity and data had been requested on the overall size of such areas.

 

The Portfolio Holder confirmed that the existing Cabinet Working Group was proposing to review the weed treatment of the Borough’s shrub beds, that had been reduced in 2022.

 

The Committee voted unanimously to support this review and RECOMMENDED that the reinstatement of a greater focus on weed treatment in beds should be prioritised in the Council’s contract negotiations with Serco.

 

ACTION:

Detail	By Whom	When
Provide data on the size of land left unmown (conservation grass) to encourage biodiversity.	Andy Ford, Parks Manager	January, 2026

 

The Chair thanked, Mr Straker, Mrs Whaymand and Cllr Guinness for their contribution to the discussions.