Agenda item

Representatives from Boro Doughnut will be in attendance to present the Panel with an overview of the group’s work and how it is supporting the Green Strategy by collaborating with communities across Middlesbrough.

Recommendation:  That the information provided be noted.

Community Interest Company, Boro Doughnut, had been invited to attend the meeting to provide an overview of their work in Middlesbrough.  Accordingly, E Imai, Boro Doughnut, and S Duckin, Board Member, were in attendance, supported by K Collighan, Thirteen Housing and N Jellason, Teesside University.

The Panel heard that Boro Doughnut was a new community interest company, launched in November 2023, that built on positive collaborative movement towards a thriving Middlesbrough based on Doughnut Economics.

The Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) Community was made up of like-minded people exploring the ideas of Doughnut Economics and pioneering ways to put ideas into practice.  It included educators, policy makers, community members, businesses, artists, academics, designers and economists.  The DEAL community offered common sources of inspiration and tools to apply to each individual’s context, some created by the DEAL team but mostly created by members of the DEAL community.

Boro Doughnut applied Doughnut Economics in Middlesbrough as part of the wider network and shared solutions around the globe with its partners.

Boro Doughnut’s mission was to build a thriving Middlesbrough by connecting people to take urgent action to meet the needs of all people within the means of one planet living by protecting the environment.  To date, it had connected with local communities to create an edible forest garden in Berwick Hills and an NHS allotment site, in addition to hosting various arts and community events to promote its message.

Research had been undertaken with Teesside University to ascertain the current environmental state of Middlesbrough.  The research looked at whether the people of Middlesbrough had a safe life and how they thrived across areas such as education, work, health, community, political voice and culture. 

In the context of waste management, Boro Doughnut had commenced litter picking within communities with Boro Champions who were doing excellent work.  It had also undertaken research in the TS1 areas, speaking to residents, waste collectors, officers from thirteen housing, Council officers to find out what was actually happening on the ground.  It was a joint responsibility for everyone to work together to improve the area.

The Panel heard that Boro Doughnut aimed to use continuous improvement methodology and root cause analysis to learn lessons from past initiatives in which the same problems kept reoccurring; to learn from other towns as to how to take out the root cause of the problem and start enabling sustainable initiatives and to ensure all people and the environment benefitted from collecting actual outcome evidence.

Several root causes of littering and fly-tipping in TS1 had been identified through root cause analysis and possible solutions had been proposed, as follows:-

·        Lack of integration and inclusion efforts – increase spaces and opportunities for integration.

·        Language barrier/poor literacy level of residents not taken into consideration – improve communication that takes into account language barrier and literacy levels.

·        Population density increase not considered in design – implement long term plan for provision that was fit for purpose.

·        Lack of monitoring actual outcomes and implications of rules – monitor progress of actual outcome (eg cleanliness of alleyway) and evaluate current rules and policies.

Reference was made to strategic level working and the Director of Environment highlighted that the current Joint Waste Management Strategy for the Tees Valley had been reviewed up to 2035 based on the new energy from waste plant.  It looked at how waste would be managed, increasing recycling and moving towards compulsory food waste collections with further information awaited on the bottle return scheme.

In conclusion Boro Doughnut welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with Middlesbrough Council, as well as other key partners, to ensure visions were aligned to improve waste management across the town, particularly through increasing recycling rates.

During the course of discussion, the following issues were raised:-

·        It was highlighted that engaging residents and ensuring they were on board with recycling was key to increasing recycling rates.  Environment Services had ongoing dialogue with Nudge using ‘nudge’ theory to spur individuals into action.  It was possible that was something that could be collaborated on with educating residents.  Part of the business case for the new energy from waste plant was to increase recycling rates.  The Director indicated that he would be happy to engage in a community-led approach and that various plans were already being looked at in this regard.

·        A Panel Member asked whether Boro Doughnut linked into other community groups and to what extent their involvement was.  The Panel was advised that the MVDA held a database of volunteers and groups.  There were around 880 community organisations in Middlesbrough and MVDA acted as a hub to contact particular groups with a view to working together.  Boro Doughnut currently worked with Thirteen Housing and Teesside University and community volunteers.  They used creative ways of spreading the message through art.

The Chair thanked the representatives for attending the meeting and the information provided.

AGREED that the information provided be noted and considered in the context of the Panel’s current scrutiny investigation.