Involving the Community in Bedfordshire

“involving the local community in shaping their future waste services and developing a strategy for waste management”

The Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy is an important document for Bedfordshire as it sets out how the Bedfordshire Authorities Waste Partnership (BAWP) aim to achieve recycling targets set by the Government and address waste issues in Bedfordshire between now and 2025; dictating where public funds will be focussed. This document will therefore affect everyone that lives and/or operates in Bedfordshire.

Recognising this, BAWP were keen to more actively involve the community in developing the Strategy; providing an opportunity not only for people to comment on the draft produced, but also to identify their priorities and contribute ideas. It was essential to develop a process that provided everyone with the opportunity to get involved in shaping the waste strategy if they wanted to and, equally, a process that was effective for both the Partnership and the those involved.

Entec was commissioned to provide a range of technical services to BAWP to support them in preparing and delivering their waste strategy. A key element of this support was in community involvement.

Entec designed and delivered an involvement process that included:

• A summary leaflet outlining the purpose of the Waste Strategy and containing feedback questionnaires (distributed throughout Bedfordshire);
  
• Publicising the draft Waste Strategy and communicating the opportunity to get involved on council websites, in the local press and on the local radio;
  
• A series of six community workshops throughout Bedfordshire to ascertain community views on the key issues raised in the draft Strategy and involve participants more actively in its development; and
  
• Two feedback workshops to launch the revised Waste Strategy, communicate how community views have been addressed and highlight the Partnership’s commitments regarding waste management in the future.

Representatives from all areas and from a range of different organisations/interest areas were involved in the community workshops. A further 1200 people provided their views by questionnaire. The community’s views were reported and used by the Partnership to shape the revised Strategy document and to guide evaluation processes.

Entec’s support has ensured that a broad range of people have been consulted and/or involved in shaping Bedfordshire’s Waste Strategy including local residents, council representatives, charity organisations and local business representatives. The process was viewed positively by all those involved in terms of education and awareness raising, strengthening the relationship between community and Council, and in engaging local people in local waste management.

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