Questions and Answers

Questions on the MRS and General Comments

Is the document statutory or merely guidance?

The material resources strategy is joining up some major documents, some of which are statutory, some are not. The key statutory part is the Minerals and Waste Development Framework. However the whole document will have been put together in an integrated way with all these documents linked and sharing the same major principles which has not happened before.

Are there any ‘quick wins’ to encourage people and process?

Yes, we need quick wins to demonstrate that the MRS concepts can be put into practice. Reporting on these quick wins will form a vital part of the communications process throughout the development of the strategy. The are a number of current projects that fall into this category and we will prepare a briefing paper on them.

Request for Mineral Stakeholder Report, and how it will fit with the Material Resources Strategy. and What has happened to the minerals element of the strategy?

The minerals stakeholder report will contribute to the MRS for example the principles which were established in that process have already contributed to the development of MRS principles. More significantly to the ‘delivery on the ground’ element of the MRS. The planning officers at Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council are familiar with the outputs of the minerals stakeholder dialogue process and as such would be incorporating stakeholder views into the Minerals and Waste Development Framework which will replace the Minerals and Waste Local Plan.

The Minerals stakeholder report will be made available on the MRS web site.

How will the BPEO be incorporated into the MRS?

BPEO stands for Best Practicable Environmental Option which has been defined in Waste strategy 2000 as:

‘a BEPO is the outcome of a systematic process and consultative decision making procedure which emphasises the protection and conservation of the environment across land, sea and water. The BPEO procedure establishes, for a given set of objectives, the option that provides the most benefits or the least damage to the environment as a whole, at acceptable cost, in the long term as well as the short term.

Using this approach to the BEPO it is necessary to:

Take account of the National and Regional Policy Framework.
Consider the Waste Hierarchy.
Have regard to the Proximity Principle
Take account of local environmental, social and economic preferences.

The MRS establishes the framework for all of these issues to be taken on board.

How will the public be engaged?

The MRS will establish an outreach programme to engage the wider public through a communications strategy, which is currently under development. The MRS web site is also in the process of being created. The MRS Team are also are working with Community Strategy officers from throughout the County to ensure that the views of the public (recorded through the Community Strategy process) are taken into consideration and incorporated into the MRS.

Why are we not using the media more to appeal to wider public?

This is a very good point and one that we need to action. We are developing a MRS communications strategy, which will tackle the use of media and identify the most appropriate and effective ways of communicating messages to the wider public.

What are other authorities doing?

Hampshire is the first geographic area that we are aware of to be tackling material resources in this way. Some other county councils are expressing interest in the approach and we have offered to collaborate and share our experience with them. There are also other examples of good practice, we will communicate these to the stakeholders as we learn about them.

Is Hampshire the right scale? Regional approach? Is this the start of a process that could go wider than just Hampshire? How can we link this with other Local Authorities? Counties?

Hampshire is of a scale in terms of population and size comparable with many regions in Europe. This gives us a very good basis to work from, although it is important that we collaborate with neighbouring counties and the South East region where necessary. Such collaboration could be over shared facilities or pre-processing plants that have to be on a regional or larger scale for commercial viability.

Fragmentation of Local Authority sectors - how will this be overcome?

We have to work within the local government system and getting all local authorities, and indeed other public, private and community organisations, to work together is the key to success. Hampshire has, through Project Integra, one of the most successful local partnerships in the UK on municipal waste management. It is proposed to build on this foundation, and the wider Hampshire Natural Resources Network that involves all sectors, to develop and implement the MRS.

Acronyms - please reduce - as far as possible - clear message.

We will make a concerted effort to minimise the use of acronyms and propose that a list of frequently used acronyms be built up in the same way as the glossary at stakeholder workshops and posted on the MRS web site.

What are the cost implications of doing this approach (also of not doing it)? and How will this be funded - can council tax increases be expected? and How do we convince the funding bodies that they will receive value for money?

By joining together a number of major documents, and consultations through the MRS there are many opportunities to save time and resources in preparation.

The issues of cost and affordability in terms of strategy options are part of the process of determining the BEPO.

However, we have to recognise that to a large degree change is inevitable as a result of new laws and regulations. We cannot carry on as we have done in the past. This will also be reflected in waste management costs which will rise significantly, for example through the planned increases in the Landfill Tax, even if we were to do nothing

If we can obtain links between household and commercial waste streams, create new jobs and economic development activity these will be important factors to be considered in mitigating the impact of future cost increases.

What is the meaning of ‘holistic’ in this context?

Holistic in material resources management terms means we have to look at the whole life cycle of materials and products, rather than just look at the minerals and waste management aspects as we have done in the past. For example, we cannot look at recycling in isolation from stimulating the markets for recycling products and waste prevention depends importantly on better product design as well as changes we as individuals may make in our purchasing habits.

Ensure the council is practising what it preaches - influencing public sector and ensuring they change business.

Agreed. It is key for all the partners in developing the MRS process to take the opportunity and actively lead by example through, e.g. sustainable procurement, waste minimisation and recycling where possible.

General comments

Major issue obtaining planning permission for waste transfer stations.
Need to make the economics of recycling waste in Hampshire more cost effective than transporting the waste across to Surrey for landfill.
Could Hampshire have maximum impact (after municipal) on say 10 key areas in 10 years?
Education - the human health and environmental (including nuisance to communities) risks - overcoming perceived risks, of waste sites.
Problems:

Can’t get anything repaired anymore - cheaper to throw away and replace.

Car Dumping - Cost of recycling could be on initial purchase price to pay for reuse at end of life of products, thus enabling recycling industry to develop.