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Public performance reports

Waste management

The Council Plan Connect outlines the council’s priorities and outcomes for 2022-27. Connect Outcomes should not be seen in isolation, they interact with each other and as we achieve success in one, we move closer to success in others. In delivering our vision to ‘improve the lives and prospects of everyone in South Lanarkshire’ our priorities show how our work links with our partners including our Community Planning Partners. 

For daily updates, stories and what’s going on in your area, visit our information and news website South Lanarkshire View

Each year we produce Annual Performance Spotlights which summarise how we have performed in achieving our Connect Outcomes. To complement these we have created a suite of individual Public Performance Reports which focus on key areas of council business. This report outlines the performance in relation to our waste management service and how this links to our communities and environment outcome.

South Lanarkshire Council is responsible for domestic refuse and recycling collection, including special uplifts. The team is also responsible for the provision of household waste and recycling centres and the treatment, recycling and disposal of waste. For more information on our performance in relation to recycling, see the sustainable development public performance report.

Number of missed refuse collections per 100,000 collections – Target <108.8 missed refuse collections

What this means This indicator measures the number of missed refuse collections per 100,000 household collections within the year.
Why this matters Waste collection is one of the main environmental services provided by councils.  Assessing the number of bins successfully collected over the year is a simple way of assessing the effectiveness of the service.
Our performance and how we compare SLC Comparator 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Are we improving?
SLC 99.2 108.8 96.1 Yes
Scotland N/A N/A N/A
How we have performed in improving this public service

In 2021-22, the number of missed collections was lower than in the previous year.

Percentage of special uplifts completed on the day allocated - Target 95%

What this means This measures the percentage of special uplifts completed on the day allocated. The council uplifts bulky items that will not go in household bins.  Households are entitled to one free special uplift per year - subsequent uplifts must be paid for.
Why this matters The level of service provided through the council’s special uplift service compares favourably with other councils.  It is a service valued by the community and delivering it as quickly as possible reduces fly-tipping and ensures a clean, attractive environment.
Our performance and how we compare Comparator 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Are we improving?
SLC 96.7% 89.0% 95.0% Yes
Scotland N/A N/A N/A
How we have performed in improving this public service

This indicator previously set a 5 working day target for special uplifts; however, this was updated in 2020-21 to reflect a new booking system that was introduced to facilitate bookings 3 weeks in advance.  Demand for the uplift service has been high, however the target was achieved in 2021-22.

 How much household waste is recycled by my council? Target 50%

What this means

This indicator shows the amount of household waste that is recycled and composted during the year.  Household waste includes household bin collections, other household collections such as bulky uplifts, and waste deposited by people at household waste recycling centres and recycling points/bring banks.

Why this matters The council is working towards meeting the national household recycling target of 60%, with a local target currently set at 50%. 
Our performance and how we compare Comparator 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Are we improving?
SLC 46.4% 40.5% 40.4%   No
Scotland 44.9% 42.0% 42.7%

How we have performed in improving this public service

The percentage of total household waste that is recycled decreased slightly in 2021-22. At 40.4%, it is below the Scottish Average of 42.7%.

The amount of residual waste generated remained higher in 2021-22 than pre-pandemic levels. It is worth noting that the material collected in bulk uplifts continued to have a higher-than-normal quantity of non-recyclable waste (more black bag waste than normal) which meant that only 15% of the waste collected via the bulk uplift service was recycled.  These factors coupled with lower recycling rates at all HWRCs (which can be attributed to residents’ continued resistance to separate recyclable waste from residual waste at the sites despite the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions) has contributed to a lower household recycling rate.

Satisfaction data from the Scottish Household survey is not yet available for 2021-22.

Communication with the public has been key to encouraging our customers to participate in our new waste and recycling services. We inform residents about these services by advertising through the local press, various media campaigns and providing property-specific recycling guides with uplift schedules.

We will take forward the following key areas for improvement:

  • Improving the overall quality and value of recyclable material collected by the council

Resource Plans are prepared each year by all council Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. Performance and actions relating to the waste management service can be found in the Community and Enterprise Resource Plan.

Twice a year, performance reports are presented to council committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Outcomes are prepared. See Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 performance reports for further information.

More information on our outcomes can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way which will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.

The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (February 2023)