Having complied with the advance written notice requirement in Standing Order 18.1 and the subject requirement in Standing Order 18.2 of the Chichester District Council Constitution, the following motion will be proposed by Adrian Moss (Fishbourne) and, if duly seconded, it will then be discussed at this meeting:
MOTION
‘This Council commits to working towards making this District plastic free, supporting plastic free initiatives within Chichester District by:
(1) Phasing out within the next two years the use of single use plastic from Council premises.
(2) Supporting Surfers Against Sewage in its goal to have a plastic free coastline.
(3) To explore how the Council can involve local environmental groups and businesses to create a robust strategy to encourage local businesses, other organisations and residents to go single use plastic free.
(4) An Overview and Scrutiny-led Task and Finish group be set up to oversee how these objectives can be achieved and to make appropriate recommendations to the Cabinet including assessing what resources will be required.
Minutes:
The Chairman introduced the final substantive item on the agenda, which was a motion on a new matter submitted by Mr Moss (Fishbourne).
Mr Moss read out his motion in full as set out on the face of the agenda, namely:
‘This Council commits to working towards making this District plastic free, supporting plastic free initiatives within Chichester District by:
(1) Phasing out within the next two years the use of single use plastic from Council premises.
(2) Supporting Surfers against Sewage in its goal to have a plastic free coastline.
(3) To explore how the Council can involve local environmental groups and businesses to create a robust strategy to encourage local businesses, other organisations and residents to go single use plastic free.
(4) An Overview and Scrutiny-led Task and Finish group be set up to oversee how these objectives can be achieved and to make appropriate recommendations to the Cabinet including assessing what resources will be required.’
Mr Moss formally proposed his motion.
Mr Morley (Midhurst) seconded Mr Moss’ motion.
Mr Moss presented his motion. He expressed concern about the future of the environment locally and nationally. He cited facts about the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans and the alarming projected estimate in a 2015 study of the likely quantity of plastic pollutant in the seas by 2050. He said this state of affairs must not be allowed to continue and CDC had a responsibility to take a lead by phasing out single-use plastic (SUP). In doing so it should work collaboratively with groups such as Surfers against Sewage to deal with the damaging impact of plastic waste on the district’s and country’s beaches. CDC needed to engage with and exhort residents and other organisations to be highly proactive in addressing this very serious scourge. An organisation such as LitterAction did important work but much more was required to address the gravity of the situation. The manner of support to be given to Surfers Against Sewage (a group which was already doing a great deal) would be in whatever way deemed appropriate and this would be considered by the envisaged task and finish group. Having outlined the four aspects of his motion, he commended the same to the Annual Council for its support.
The Chairman called on Mr Connor (Cabinet Member for Environment Services), who wished to present a counter motion.
Having thanked Mr Moss for his motion and the case he had submitted in support of it, Mr Connor said he wished to amend Mr Moss’s motion so that it read as follows (the text below carries a slight amendment which was made later in the debate and was duly seconded by specifying ‘the October 2018’ meeting of the Cabinet rather than merely ‘a subsequent’ meeting):
‘That this Council commits to:
(1) Continue its work to remove SUPs from Council premises and encourage ‘plastics free’ initiatives supported by appropriate campaigns across Chichester District.
(2) Continue its on-going support for locally led community anti-pollution groups working towards making Chichester District and its coastline a ‘single-use plastics’ free area; and where appropriate to appoint a member to represent the Council at meetings of such groups.
(3) Task Officers with preparing a report on the issues in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment for the October 2018 meeting of the Cabinet, following scrutiny of the report by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.’
Mr Connor formally proposed his counter-motion
Mr Dignum (Leader of the Council) seconded the counter-motion.
Mr Connor shared entirely Mr Moss’ concern about the terrible effects of plastic pollution in the oceans and said that he was sure everyone endorsed the broad objectives behind the motion. This was an issue which greatly concerned CDC and was being taken very seriously but those objectives and how to address them had to be considered in the context of CDC’s role, remit and resources. CDC had for some time been seeking to reduce and as far as possible eliminate the use of SUP at its premises (now almost entirely free of them); deploying bio-degradable bags in the dry recyclate waste bins and recyclable paper cups at committee room water fountains; and providing fresh milk only rather than long-life milk in small plastic containers. Other SUP alternatives were being explored on premises and across the district eg the postal packets used for members’ agenda papers; how to improve internal recycling and waste disposal; what SUP items were being used by members and staff and how they disposed of them; ways to encourage suppliers not to use SUP; and how to promote the use where possible of recyclable materials. Overall CDC’s initiatives on household waste and recycling, when taken with the new anti-litter policy, were designed and expected to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment. He hoped (this was confirmed by Mrs Shepherd and Mr Frost during the debate) that a progress report could be brought to the Cabinet in autumn 2018 after consideration first by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Whichever motion was approved, he would welcome ideas and initiatives from members.
During the debate members welcomed the opportunity to discuss this subject and they expressed a range of views for and against the competing motions, both of which were acknowledged generally to have merit.
One of the principal points made against the counter-motion was that it did not contain timescales or targets, which given the urgency of the situation were very important and served to give a focus, sharpen resolve and set a high-profile lead. In addition it was felt that it did not specifically mention working with business and organisations. It was felt that the counter-motion would have a watering-down effect.
Those in favour of the counter-motion considered that it reflected the reality that CDC was already taking and being seen to be taking and that a timescale was not a critical criterion because this was an ongoing objective being delivered over the short-, medium- and long-term and it was better not to set targets or timescales which it might not be possible to achieve. It was also felt to be unhelpful for the motion to name one specific group (with which CDC was already engaging) when there were others also doing valuable work in this regard.
The following points among others were made: (a) persuade local supermarkets and the horticulture and agriculture industries to stop their extensive use of plastic; (b) the admirable example already being set by some local suppliers of cafés; (c) the damage done to marine life by plastic waste shed by cruise and commercial shipping; (d) support research into better types of recyclable plastic; and (e) the opportunity should be taken by CDC to encourage other local authorities and groups to take similar action and to put pressure on the government to take action to tackle this issue.
At the close of the debate Mr Moss made closing remarks in support of his motion. He said that he had worked hard on the wording, which was based on a similar one passed by Harrogate Borough Council. He had shared the text of his motion with Mr Connor in advance and invited him to suggest changes if he thought fit. He felt that his motion most suitably reflected what CDC ought to be doing, was forward-thinking and would engage communities. The counter-motion, however, was in his opinion not adequately framed to signal that CDC would be seen as a leader on this issue.
The Chairman called for a vote first of all on Mr Connor’s counter-motion, which was passed by a majority and so Mr Moss’ motion was not put to a vote.
Decision
The Annual Council voted by a show of hands on the counter-motion by a majority of 26 votes in favour to 13 against with no abstentions and so made the resolution set out below.
RESOLVED
That this Council commits to:
(1) Continue its work to remove SUPs from Council premises and encourage ‘plastics free’ initiatives supported by appropriate campaigns across Chichester District.
(2) Continue its on-going support for locally led community anti-pollution groups working towards making Chichester District and its coastline a ‘single-use plastics’ free area; and where appropriate to appoint a member to represent the Council at meetings of such groups.
(3) Task Officers with preparing a report on the issues in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment for the October 2018 meeting of the Cabinet, following scrutiny of the report by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.