Council and Biffa in talks

At a recent meeting with Epping Forest District councillors, Biffa management outlined steps already taken and further actions to improve waste collections. Biffa experienced an unprecedented 32% employee turnover in the 12 months to July. There is a national shortage of qualified HGV drivers and loaders. Refuse crews have been leaving for better paid jobs elsewhere. Replacement crews have been hard to recruit, and inexperienced replacements have led to longer collection times and missed collections. Crews are working longer as a result. They walk an average of 32,000 steps a day – or roughly 12 miles. Shifts are starting before 7am and not finishing until 5pm. The summer heatwaves have made matters worse. The crews are fatigued before they start. Biffa has spent more than £600,000 on agency staff and £169,000 on replacement vehicle hire to help fill the gaps. The Epping Forest district contract has now been included in the national pay awards agreed by Biffa and the GMB union. Drivers and crews can look forward to substantial pay awards which should help to stabilise turnover and retain experience. A new Biffa management team has come in to run the contract. A brand new unbudgeted 26 tonne recycling collection vehicle has been added to the fleet. Biffa is working to speed up repairs and maintenance on older vehicles. Refuse collection is of course a tough and dirty job, there are ways in which we can increase the efficiency of crews and speed up collections. • The further the crews walk, the longer it takes to collect your waste. Position waste as close to the road as you safely can. Point bin handles in the direction of the road. One bin only takes a second to spin around but our crews collect around 1,700 bins in a single round. • We are being asked to consider the welfare of the refuse crew. Don’t bury heavy waste at the bottom of your bin. Refuse collection is hard manual work, crews are prone to injury. • They have seen piles of recycling bags stacked higher than a man’s head. Bending, over-reaching, and lifting from height are all common causes of injury. Injuries lead to time off work. Time off work leads to delayed and missed collections. I am not sure how we can avoid this, if we have a lot of recycling but we are being asked to consider this. • Help to speed up the collection of cardboard for recycling. Remove any contents from cardboard boxes and fold them flat. Cardboard acts as a sponge, adding weight and mess. Bag it properly to keep it dry and clean for collection. • Polystyrene packing cannot be recycled. Separate it from cardboard and put it in your black residual waste bin. • Rats, foxes and cats should never be interested in dry recycling sacks. If you rinse all the food from cartons, tins and containers, there is nothing to attract them. • Unrinsed food containers quickly attract vermin. Weil’s disease, also known as Leptospirosis, is carried by animals. It is common in rats and can be caught by anyone in contact with rat urine. Please help to protect the crews from disease by keeping your dry recycling clean. Parking in roads is an issue, even with smaller refuse trucks for narrow roads, it can be a struggle or sometimes impossible to get by badly parked cars. Please leave enough room for your refuse crews to collect your waste. It also allows other vehicles from supermarket delivery vans to ambulances and fire-engines down your road. Nigel Avey, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for contracts at Epping Forest District Council said: ""Few things in life are as frustrating as a missed collection. We are working to improve communication –helping you to report missed collections on our website and communicate directly with Biffa when something goes wrong.

"There may be other ways we can help. Biffa has suggested the replacement of recycling sacks and boxes with another wheelie bin. Most people are fans of wheelie bins but not everyone. Some people struggle with storage. But wheelie bins are faster and safer to collect. They make less mess and could represent long-term cost savings for Council Tax-payers compared with sacks.

"Waste collection is a tough and dirty job. I want to thank our crews for the hard work they do, keeping our district safe and clean. I also want to apologise to those residents affected by missed collections in recent months. The service has performed below the high standards we expect. We are facing national problems. There are no easy fixes, but we are working with Biffa every day to improve the situation.

"Refuse and recycling is part of a much bigger picture. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Cutting waste is vital for the long-term health of our world. Everyone can help. The efforts you make as an individual multiplied across the district can reduce landfill and the pollution it causes into the ground and air. “

"The management of our waste today is so much better than it was 30 years ago when recycling was almost unheard of. I am very sorry for the disruption to our service in recent months. I hope everyone will understand the unprecedented pressure of

Many people I meet through business have tried networking. For some they love it, for some they tolerate it and there are those who aren’t keen. Networking can be an art form. For the confident and experienced it’s second nature, however for others it can be daunting and almost feel like a chore. Whatever your thoughts though, networking can be a valuable tool in building your business. The key is finding what works for you. In my case various formats work in different ways. Those networking events or groups that create a sense of community however, are where I find the real growth and benefits to my business. None more so than the Epping Forest Business Group. Being a member of the EFBG is not just about turning up on a Thursday morning. It’s about the ongoing communication with my fellow members through the week. Knowing that there’s a wealth of resources available should I need them. Having a hub of people to call upon and refer both personal contacts and my clients to when needed. Being part of the EFBG family also means we help each other with more direct challenges – For example using our individual skill sets to benefit one another’s business via a series of workshops. The EFBG has been instrumental in growing my business. Regular support from all members in promoting my services and referring their friends, family & clients shows just how valued and trusted relationships have been built. So, if you’re local, love networking or want to try it. If you want to grow your business further through a network of like minded business individuals. The come along and see what we are all about. Based in the heart of Epping high street at the fantastic Epping Connection, with breakfast as well as lots of tea and coffee. And most importantly? An enjoyable, friendly atmosphere with a great bunch of business people!

Next Generation Financial Planning

Having already seen the charity’s airbase at Earls Colne, the MP for Witham, Priti Patel, visited Essex & Herts Air Ambulance’s airbase at North Weald on Tuesday 16th August 2022. On her tour she met trustees, staff and volunteers, as well as members of the critical care team, who provide emergency medical services to the seriously ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas. The charity provides a vital life-saving service with a Prehospital Care Doctor and Critical Care Paramedic attending serious incidents, either by helicopter or rapid response vehicle (RRV), to provide emergency care to the patient as quickly as possible. Priti’s tour included meeting the crew at the aircraft, and a visit to EHAAT’s new interactive Visitor Centre and its Simulation Suite, which is used for immersive training scenarios. Priti heard about the vital role the service provides supporting both patients and their families. She also learnt of the charity’s aspirations to become a ‘Centre for Excellence’, its collaboration with partner organisations, and the sharing of knowledge and experience to enhance and elevate the quality of its services and improve patient outcomes.

Speaking after the visit, Priti said: “It was a fascinating tour and I greatly appreciated seeing the people and technology involved in preparing for and taking part in emergency medical operations in often very difficult locations. Every second counts when you are dealing with seriously injured patients and Essex & Herts Air Ambulance are dedicated to maximising the potential for the survival of the people they treat.”

Throughout my professional career, I’ve seen and learned that delivering presentations can have a real impact to your career and professional development. Delivering a great presentation has the potential to inspire people, give people clear direction, raise important issues, and sell a great story or product.

There are key things you can do to improve your presentations. 1. Understand Your Audience. This has to be the first thing you consider. Before you even begin to plan the content, you have to know who you’re going to be speaking to. Understanding who they are means you start to also consider what their knowledge levels are likely to be, and how you can tailor the content for them. 2. Plan Your Content. This is clearly an important step. Unplanned talks and presentations are nothing more than rambling. In planning your content, you create real clarity on what you want to discuss, the level of detail, and ensuring you don’t go over the time you have allocated. 3. Design The Presentation. A good presentation normally has a good visual aid. If that’s a poster, now’s the time to design the poster. If it’s with a series of slides, Microsoft PowerPoint is a really great tool for this. If you want something more creative, then try Canva. Understanding your audience and your content plan will help inform the design of the presentation. For any good presentation, make sure you have a clear introduction, a good flow of content, and a summary slide to help bring things together or give a final call to action. 4. Practise! It may seem surprising that practise comes a bit further down the list. But practise you must – and more than once is important! Your first practise will not feel like it’s gone well and you’ll learn a lot about what you want to do differently. Your second attempt will be better, and you’ll feel more in control. However many times you choose to practise – make sure you practise! 5. Deliver The Presentation. And then finally it’s delivering the presentation. Let people know when they can ask questions. Some presenters are ok with questions during the presentation, others prefer them at the end so they can deliver the whole talk. Sukhvinder Pabial Owner and Operator of The Epping Connection – Epping’s first coworking space.