Agenda item

9.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Tim Huggan, and formally seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, that this Council:-

(a)      believes that with the right support, Sheffield businesses have the opportunity to be leaders in green and sustainable technology;

(b)      believes successful local councils of the future will be those which adopt the ‘circular economy’ approach, which designs out waste, is regenerative by design and is powered by renewable energy; at its heart is the idea of reducing resource use through well-developed local plan policies that embeds reusing resources and materials that are in circulation in the economy and recycling as a last resort, which will help us meet our sustainable development goals;

(c)      believes a prime example of this is the EU ‘right to repair’ legislation which requires manufacturers to design longer lasting products and make spare parts readily available in a push to reduce waste and increase opportunities for small businesses in the after-sales support sector;

(d)      believes that Sheffield must have a huge and positive role to play in the transition to a circular economy;

(e)      notes that Sheffield has a recycling rate for household waste of 30.7% which is well below the highest performing English local authority, Three Rivers, of nearly 65%; and a radical improvement in the City’s recycling rate will therefore require the collection and recycling of food waste;

(f)       also notes that food waste is a hugely important economic and environmental issue for the country, with more than 600 tonnes thrown away by Sheffield households each year; and

(g)      therefore resolves to:-

(i)       publish the results of the consultation with local universities, charities and Ellen MacArthur Foundation Knowledge Partner organisations, that have experience of delivering circular economy projects with businesses and local authorities, as resolved at the Council meeting in December 2019;

(ii)       support the introduction of local deposit return and refill schemes for all food and drinks containers;

(iii)      make ‘evidence of environmental improvement’ a requirement for all businesses and organisations seeking grant funding or any other form of financial support from the Council;

(iv)      instruct the Executive Director, Place, to carry out a full study that quantifies the potential benefits of the circular economy approach to the city and report back to full Council within six months;

(v)      use best practice in conjunction with councils across the UK and beyond, to define a metric for progress made in the transition to circular economy;

(vi)      explore measuring food waste in all Council premises and support measures to communicate the importance of reducing food waste;

(vii)     develop proposals to introduce a pilot scheme for the collection of food waste from households to identify the issues and opportunities in a wider roll-out across the whole city, with the intention to roll out domestic food waste collection across the city to produce biogas energy via anaerobic digestion as soon as is practicable;

(viii)    support local businesses to transition to closed loop systems and eco-design approaches using the RESolve framework, with an emphasis on production of products that can last several lifecycles, that are easily repaired and are designed for easy disassembly and remanufacture;

(ix)      write to the Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ask them to introduce environmental taxation and introduce tax credits to incentivise efficiency of resource use, longer lifespan and remanufacture of products to reduce commercial and domestic waste; and

(x)      in consultation with local businesses, trial a reusable coffee cup scheme in Sheffield city centre, involving a cash deposit for a reusable coffee cup and a station where drops can be dropped for reuse.

9.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Mark Jones, and formally seconded by Councillor Dianne Hurst, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the addition of new paragraphs (a) to (c) as follows, and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (a) to (g) as new paragraphs (d) to (j):-

(a)      welcomes the revisiting of this motion brought in December 2019;

(b)      notes that in December 2019 we could not have foreseen that six months later we would have been in the grasp of a global pandemic which has cost this city, our nation and all of humanity so much, and:-

(i)       believes that, as we look to move to a ‘new-normal’ way of working, now is the time to revisit this critical issue; and

(ii)       notes the efforts of the dedicated staff at our household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) along with Council Officers who worked hard to keep our HWRCs open, showing councils up and down this land what can be done even in the face of such challenging times;

(c)      resolves to go on record and thank all those dedicated public servants who went above and beyond to keep our city working;

2.       the deletion of the new paragraph (h) [the original paragraph (e)] and the addition of a new paragraph (h) as follows:-

(h)      believes it is incumbent on all councils to reduce waste and drive up the recycling rates;

3.       the addition of the following words at the end of new paragraph (j)(i) [the original paragraph (g)(i)] - “and bring this report to the appropriate Transitional Committee at the earliest time”;

4.       the deletion of the new paragraph (j)(ii) [the original paragraph (g)(ii)] and the addition of a new paragraph (j)(ii) as follows:-

(j)(ii)    explore the introduction of local deposit return and refill schemes for all food and drinks containers; these local deposit schemes could be piloted at a local level though the Local Area Committees;

5.       the addition of new sub-paragraphs (j)(xi) to (xv) as follows:-

(xi)      explore the introduction of a Carbon Impact Assessment to accompany all decisions, and report to the appropriate committee at the earliest date possible within 6 months;

(xii)     recognising that Sheffield’s HWRCs are no longer fit-for-purpose, establish a working group to explore the delivery of new generation of HWRC Supersites, incorporating: Reuse Shops, Electrical Equipment Banks for repair and reuse, Waste Transfer Sites to facilitate greater recycling, making the experience of recycling more pleasant for citizens and workers alike; again, bringing this to the appropriate committee at the earliest date possible within 6 months;

(xiii)    work across the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority to enhance recycling options for Sheffield and our neighbours, exploring where we can co-deliver recycling sites and where we can leverage in economies of scale, enabling the establishment of ‘new’ recycling sectors as economically viable opportunities;

(xiv)    look beyond existing waste streams and explore with partners like Yorkshire Water the establishment of biogas production from sewage, looking to examples like the BioBus and determine if this is a viable and environmentally responsible way forward; and

(xv)     explore the establishment of green-house systems to cultivate food in a sustainable way locally, and use biproducts of Enzymatic Digesters to cultivate value food crops, like mushrooms.

9.3

It was then formally moved by Councillor Angela Argenzio, and formally seconded by Councillor Paul Turpin, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the deletion of sub-paragraph (g)(x) and the addition of a new sub-paragraph (g)(x) as follows:-

(g)(x)  support local businesses who offer reduced prices and other incentives when people use their own cups to be refilled;

2.       the addition of new paragraphs (h) to (k) as follows:-

(h)      believes that the low regulation, low tax policies typical of free market and neoliberal economics has been the single biggest driver of climate change and the pollution of our water, air and land;

(i)       recognises that environmental pollution is intrinsically linked to the climate crisis and a joined up, holistic approach is needed to tackle it, not politically motivated isolated concepts;

(j)       recognises that since the Co-operative Executive has been formed, sustainability has been written into economic grant recovery schemes, obliging applicants to consider how they will address the climate emergency, for example, in terms of transport, energy use and single use plastics;

(k)      resolves to:-

(i)       develop a Climate Impact Assessment for every decision;

(ii)       look into how waste is dealt with in order to drastically reduce the amount of fossil CO2 produced at the incinerator and will investigate how to deal with food waste in more sustainable ways;

(iii)      work with businesses to help them reduce their carbon footprint and eliminate single use plastics and will promote businesses that are, or seek to become, carbon neutral and/or plastic free;

(iv)      work with businesses to help research and set up procurement partnerships to reduce the cost of recycled and/or compostable packaging; and

(v)      look to introduce more free-to-use water fountains to reduce plastic waste and protect people from heat waves.

9.3.1

(NOTE: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the mover of the amendment (Councillor Angela Argenzio), the amendment as circulated at the meeting and published with the agenda was altered by the replacement of the word “promote” with the word “support” in the new sub-paragraph (g)(x) referred to in Part 1 of the amendment.)

9.4

It was then formally moved by Councillor Penny Baker, and formally seconded by Councillor Barbara Masters, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the addition of new paragraph (g) as follows:-

(g)      believes that, as residents’ shopping habits have changed during the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the amount of cardboard many residents wish to be recycled through their household waste recycling collection and often the blue bins are of insufficient size;

2.       the re-lettering of paragraph (g) as a new paragraph (h) and the addition of new sub-paragraphs (h)(xi) and (xii) as follows:-

(xi)      request the co-operative executive to bring forward proposals so that households are given the option of requesting a larger capacity blue bin to recycle their paper and cardboard; and

(xii)     request the co-operative executive to review capacity for cardboard and paper at local recycling sites.

9.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Mark Jones was put to the vote and was carried.

9.5.1

(NOTE: 1. Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Richard Shaw, Sophie Thornton, Ann Woolhouse, Tim Huggan, Mohammed Mahroof, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Vic Bowden, Alan Woodcock, Roger Davison, Barbara Masters, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Kevin Oxley, Penny Baker, Vickie Priestley, Richard Williams, Alan Hooper, Mike Levery and Ann Whitaker voted for Parts 1, 3, 4 and 5 and against Part 2 of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.

2. Councillor Lewis Chinchen voted for Parts 1, 3, 4 and 5 and abstained from voting on Part 2 of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

9.6

The amendment moved by Councillor Angela Argenzio, as altered at the meeting, was then put to the vote and was carried, with the exception of paragraph (k)(ii) which was negatived.

9.6.1

(NOTE: 1. The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards) and Councillors Chris Rosling-Josephs, Denise Fox, Bryan Lodge, Karen McGowan, Talib Hussain, Mark Jones, Safiya Saeed, Ruth Milsom, Mary Lea, Zahira Naz, Abdul Khayum, Abtisam Mohamed, Cate McDonald, George Lindars-Hammond, Josie Paszek, Terry Fox, Anne Murphy, Ben Miskell, Jack Scott, Sophie Wilson, David Barker, Mike Drabble, Dianne Hurst, Dawn Dale, Peter Price, Garry Weatherall, Mike Chaplin, Tony Damms, Jayne Dunn, Julie Grocutt, Ben Curran, Mick Rooney, Jackie Satur and Paul Wood, voted for Part 1 and paragraphs (h), (i), (j), and (k)(i), (iii), (iv) and (v) in Part 2,  and against paragraph (k)(ii) in Part 2 of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.

2. Councillor Lewis Chinchen voted for paragraphs (i) to (k) in Part 2 and against Part 1 and paragraph (h) in Part 2 of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

9.7

The amendment moved by Councillor Penny Baker was then put to the vote and was carried.

9.7.1

(NOTE: The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards) and Councillors Chris Rosling-Josephs, Denise Fox, Bryan Lodge, Karen McGowan, Talib Hussain, Mark Jones, Safiya Saeed, Ruth Milsom, Mary Lea, Zahira Naz, Abdul Khayum, Abtisam Mohamed, Cate McDonald, George Lindars-Hammond, Josie Paszek, Terry Fox, Anne Murphy, Ben Miskell, Jack Scott, Sophie Wilson, David Barker, Mike Drabble, Dianne Hurst, Dawn Dale, Peter Price, Garry Weatherall, Mike Chaplin, Tony Damms, Jayne Dunn, Julie Grocutt, Ben Curran, Mick Rooney, Jackie Satur and Paul Wood, voted for Part 1 and paragraph (xii) in Part 2, and against paragraph (xi) in Part 2 of the amendment, and asked for this to be recorded.)

9.8

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      welcomes the revisiting of this motion brought in December 2019;

(b)      notes that in December 2019 we could not have foreseen that six months later we would have been in the grasp of a global pandemic which has cost this city, our nation and all of humanity so much, and:-

(i)       believes that, as we look to move to a ‘new-normal’ way of working, now is the time to revisit this critical issue; and

(ii)       notes the efforts of the dedicated staff at our household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) along with Council Officers who worked hard to keep our HWRCs open, showing councils up and down this land what can be done even in the face of such challenging times;

(c)      resolves to go on record and thank all those dedicated public servants who went above and beyond to keep our city working;

(d)      believes that with the right support, Sheffield businesses have the opportunity to be leaders in green and sustainable technology;

(e)      believes successful local councils of the future will be those which adopt the ‘circular economy’ approach, which designs out waste, is regenerative by design and is powered by renewable energy; at its heart is the idea of reducing resource use through well-developed local plan policies that embeds reusing resources and materials that are in circulation in the economy and recycling as a last resort, which will help us meet our sustainable development goals;

(f)       believes a prime example of this is the EU ‘right to repair’ legislation which requires manufacturers to design longer lasting products and make spare parts readily available in a push to reduce waste and increase opportunities for small businesses in the after-sales support sector;

(g)      believes that Sheffield must have a huge and positive role to play in the transition to a circular economy;

(h)      believes it is incumbent on all councils to reduce waste and drive up the recycling rates;

(i)       also notes that food waste is a hugely important economic and environmental issue for the country, with more than 600 tonnes thrown away by Sheffield households each year;

(j)       believes that, as residents’ shopping habits have changed during the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the amount of cardboard many residents wish to be recycled through their household waste recycling collection and often the blue bins are of insufficient size;

(k)      therefore resolves to:-

(i)       publish the results of the consultation with local universities, charities and Ellen MacArthur Foundation Knowledge Partner organisations, that have experience of delivering circular economy projects with businesses and local authorities, as resolved at the Council meeting in December 2019 and bring this report to the appropriate Transitional Committee at the earliest time;

(ii)       explore the introduction of local deposit return and refill schemes for all food and drinks containers; these local deposit schemes could be piloted at a local level though the Local Area Committees;

(iii)      make ‘evidence of environmental improvement’ a requirement for all businesses and organisations seeking grant funding or any other form of financial support from the Council;

(iv)      instruct the Executive Director, Place, to carry out a full study that quantifies the potential benefits of the circular economy approach to the city and report back to full Council within six months;

(v)      use best practice in conjunction with councils across the UK and beyond, to define a metric for progress made in the transition to circular economy;

(vi)      explore measuring food waste in all Council premises and support measures to communicate the importance of reducing food waste;

(vii)     develop proposals to introduce a pilot scheme for the collection of food waste from households to identify the issues and opportunities in a wider roll-out across the whole city, with the intention to roll out domestic food waste collection across the city to produce biogas energy via anaerobic digestion as soon as is practicable;

(viii)    support local businesses to transition to closed loop systems and eco-design approaches using the RESolve framework, with an emphasis on production of products that can last several lifecycles, that are easily repaired and are designed for easy disassembly and remanufacture;

(ix)      write to the Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ask them to introduce environmental taxation and introduce tax credits to incentivise efficiency of resource use, longer lifespan and remanufacture of products to reduce commercial and domestic waste;

(x)      support local businesses who offer reduced prices and other incentives when people use their own cups to be refilled;

(xi)      explore the introduction of a Carbon Impact Assessment to accompany all decisions, and report to the appropriate committee at the earliest date possible within 6 months;

(xii)     recognising that Sheffield’s HWRCs are no longer fit-for-purpose, establish a working group to explore the delivery of new generation of HWRC Supersites, incorporating: Reuse Shops, Electrical Equipment Banks for repair and reuse, Waste Transfer Sites to facilitate greater recycling, making the experience of recycling more pleasant for citizens and workers alike; again, bringing this to the appropriate committee at the earliest date possible within 6 months;

(xiii)    work across the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority to enhance recycling options for Sheffield and our neighbours, exploring where we can co-deliver recycling sites and where we can leverage in economies of scale, enabling the establishment of ‘new’ recycling sectors as economically viable opportunities;

(xiv)    look beyond existing waste streams and explore with partners like Yorkshire Water the establishment of biogas production from sewage, looking to examples like the BioBus and determine if this is a viable and environmentally responsible way forward;

(xv)     explore the establishment of green-house systems to cultivate food in a sustainable way locally, and use biproducts of Enzymatic Digesters to cultivate value food crops, like mushrooms;

(xvi)    request the co-operative executive to bring forward proposals so that households are given the option of requesting a larger capacity blue bin to recycle their paper and cardboard; and

(xvii)   request the co-operative executive to review capacity for cardboard and paper at local recycling sites;

(l)       believes that the low regulation, low tax policies typical of free market and neoliberal economics has been the single biggest driver of climate change and the pollution of our water, air and land;

(m)     recognises that environmental pollution is intrinsically linked to the climate crisis and a joined up, holistic approach is needed to tackle it, not politically motivated isolated concepts;

(n)      recognises that since the Co-operative Executive has been formed, sustainability has been written into economic grant recovery schemes, obliging applicants to consider how they will address the climate emergency, for example, in terms of transport, energy use and single use plastics; and

(o)      resolves to:-

(i)       develop a Climate Impact Assessment for every decision;

(ii)       work with businesses to help them reduce their carbon footprint and eliminate single use plastics and will promote businesses that are, or seek to become, carbon neutral and/or plastic free;

(iii)      work with businesses to help research and set up procurement partnerships to reduce the cost of recycled and/or compostable packaging; and

(iv)      look to introduce more free-to-use water fountains to reduce plastic waste and protect people from heat waves.

9.8.1

(NOTE: 1. Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Richard Shaw, Sophie Thornton, Ann Woolhouse, Tim Huggan, Mohammed Mahroof, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Vic Bowden, Alan Woodcock, Roger Davison, Barbara Masters, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Kevin Oxley, Penny Baker, Vickie Priestley, Richard Williams, Alan Hooper, Mike Levery and Ann Whitaker voted for paragraphs (a) to (g), (i), (j), and (k)(i) to (ix) and (xi) to (xvii), and voted against paragraphs (h), (k)(x) and (l) to (o) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.

2. Councillor Lewis Chinchen voted for paragraphs (a) to (k) and (m) to (o) and against paragraph(l) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)