The Culture and Environment Scrutiny Panel is scheduled to consider reports on the management of the borough's urban green spaces and waste and recycling services. The meeting will also review the panel's work programme for the upcoming year.

Urban Green Space Management

A report from Lisa Smart, Head of Urban Green Space, is scheduled to be presented. This report is expected to provide an update on the service's delivery, with a particular focus on addressing anti-social behaviour in parks. It will also outline the annual programme of works for the borough's parks, including maintenance and cleaning schedules. The report highlights that the service has moved to a planned programme of work, achieving around 90% of its targets, and has met the five-day promise for missed cuts on Highways and Housing land. Transparency has been improved through sharing service standards and targets with councillors and introducing an online tool for residents to check verge cutting schedules. Workforce development has been a focus, with an upskilling programme and the conversion of agency roles to permanent posts. Investment in additional machinery has also improved equipment resilience.

Challenges noted in the report include the service still being largely paper-based, which hinders tracking and timely updates, although full digitisation through HouseMark is planned for Spring 2026. Progress on park management plans has been slower than intended due to a lack of suitable software and competing operational pressures. Despite this, the volume of practical work delivered in parks has increased. Staffing levels were below plan at critical points, but targeted overtime helped maintain core schedules. New green and blue infrastructure is increasing maintenance capacity pressure, and additional resources will be needed. Anti-social behaviour remains a significant challenge, with steps taken including improved sightlines, enhanced CCTV coverage, and the year-round operation of the Community Reassurance Patrol. Public Space Protection Orders are now in place across all parks, supported by new signage. Fly-tipping is also a persistent issue, with planned improvements including strengthened boundary fencing and closer working with Enforcement and Waste teams.

The report also details the annual park works, including maintenance and cleaning schedules. Regular mowing of amenity grass is generally working well, with fortnightly cuts during the growing season. However, more natural areas have historically been under-managed. Park infrastructure such as fences and paths requires ongoing attention. Litter bins and public toilets are cleaned to seasonal schedules, with toilets cleaned daily. Bin emptying is delivered through planned rounds, and there are over 750 bins across parks, many of which are ageing and lack lids, contributing to litter problems. The volume of waste generated in parks has risen by around 76% since 2020. Work is underway to relocate, replace, and upgrade bins to increase overall capacity by at least 30%, requiring an investment of approximately £80,000 over the next four years. The introduction of new software will allow the service to better monitor performance against schedules.

Waste and Recycling Management

A report from Loraine Kingston, Head of Waste & Street Cleansing Services, is scheduled to be presented, focusing on statutory requirements for waste collection, the impacts of recent waste reforms, and household recycling performance. The London Borough of Enfield (LBE) currently has a recycling rate of 33%, and is projected to reach around 34% by 2025/26, falling short of the Mayor of London's Environment Strategy target of 50%. LBE works with recycling reprocessors through the North London Waste Authority (NLWA), alongside six other north London boroughs.

Two major national reforms, Simpler Recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR), are set to significantly change how recycling services are collected and funded. The new legislation could provide Enfield with up to £5.8 million to improve recycling services. Simpler Recycling requires most workplaces to recycle all waste streams by March 2025 (or March 2027 for microfirms) and councils to provide a full set of recycling collections to all households, including flats, by March 2026. LBE already meets this for most homes but needs to expand dry mixed recycling and introduce food waste collections to all flats. Councils are also expected to collect paper and card separately, though NLWA has assessed this as not currently viable for LBE. Enfield plans to include plastic film within its dry mixed recycling service by 2027. Central government has provided funding for transitional costs and resource funding to support these changes.

Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) will see obligated producers pay for an efficient and effective packaging waste management service. LBE will receive £4,608,456 in pEPR payments for 2025/26, with figures for 2026/27 expected to be similar with indexation. A Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles, aluminium, and steel drinks cans is due to launch in late 2027, which will reduce material in the recycling scheme and therefore income from recyclates.

Regarding performance, the two RRCs in Enfield, Barrowell Green and Edmonton EcoPark, have recycling rates of 67% and 65% respectively. LBE's household recycling rate is 33%, ranking it 14th out of 33 London boroughs. Contamination levels in LBE's recycling have been high for several years, increasing by over 10 percentage points since 2020, which has a financial impact and affects the recycling rate. Contamination rates across NLWA are above 20%, with Enfield's projected total contamination at 26%. The report notes that NLWA has consistently had a higher contamination rate than the Western Riverside Waste Authority over the past four years.

The report is relevant to LBE's Council Plan, London Mayoral recycling targets, LBE's climate strategy, Simpler Recycling legislation, pEPR legislation, and the NLWA Joint Waste Strategy.

Work Programme

The panel is also scheduled to review its Work Programme for 2025/26. This includes noting the completion of the programme for the current year and considering future topics. The draft work programme indicates that topics such as the Heritage Strategy, Dugdale Arts Centre, Forty Hall, Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs), Quieter Neighbourhoods, School Streets, and Leisure Centres have been or will be discussed in previous or future meetings. The report for the 16 March meeting specifically mentions that members requested the Waste & Recycling Management report to include statutory requirements, recycling rates with comparison data and KPIs, and an update on Waste Centres, while the Urban Green Space report was requested to include details on anti-social behaviour and the annual park works programme.