Local Authorities call for more vital data on Covid-19 impact on waste services
Led by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT), local authority network groups are asking local councils to complete the second waste impacts survey.
Networks including the Local Authority Recycling Advisory committee (LARAC), the Local Government Association (LGA) and the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO) have combined forces to understand the changing status of waste services across England, and the continuing impacts of Covid-19.
Speaking on behalf of these key networks Ian Fielding, Chair of ADEPT’s Waste Group said: “I would like to thank all those who took time to respond to our first survey and would ask them to keep us updated, it is essential work.
“We need to understand the impacts on service provision on a weekly basis to inform our work with Defra. It is imperative that we provide timely and accurate data so that we can report on how waste services are adapting and what further measures may need to be put in place.”
The first survey received responses from over 200 councils in only 2 days. It showed a mainly positive picture of continuing residual waste and recycling services, albeit with over a third of councils reporting staff absence levels in excess of 20%. Over 90% of responding councils are maintaining their recycling services as normal and no significant disruption to waste disposal and treatment services such as energy from waste incineration and landfill.
The survey has been designed to take one minute to complete and local authorities will continue to receive emails providing details of how to access the survey and the information to be captured.
The results of the first survey are available on the ADEPT website: https://www.adeptnet.org.uk/documents/covid-19-waste-survey-results-wc-30-march-2020