Another way to get rid of serviceable items for which you no longer have a use – FREECYCLE

To quote from their website

Freecycle? is a scheme that lets you donate your unwanted items to someone who wants them and is able to reuse them. This is a great idea because, as well as helping people out, you’re cutting down on waste. All items donated by freecycling are free, and as this is a local group, it’s dead easy to visit people to collect stuff.

Is York Freecycle my local group?
If you’re in York, then yes. If you live outside York, go to www.freecycle.org to see if there’s a group closer to you!

How do I join York Freecycle?
The York Freecycle group is hosted by Yahoo! Groups at groups.yahoo.com/group/york_freecycle, so to use York Freecycle all you need to do is join our Yahoo! Group. You don’t have to have a Yahoo! account to join our group, although if you do you’ll be able to control how you receive your York Freecycle messages. Here’s how to join the group…

Joining York Freecycle with a Yahoo! Account
If you already have a Yahoo! account, then joining York Freecycle is dead easy. Just visit our group page and click the “Join This Group!” button. If you don’t have a Yahoo! account already, you’ll be given the option to create one.

Joining York Freecycle without a Yahoo! Account
If you don’t have a Yahoo! account, then you can still join York Freecycle. Here’s how to do it:

Send a blank email to york_freecycle-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Check your email inbox for a message from Yahoo! Groups. This might take a short while.
Reply to that message. Make sure you don’t change the email address.

However you join…
When you join the group, you will receive a welcome email explaining how to use the service.
Be aware – as a new member, you will automatically start receiving lots of message emails. You can very easily turn these off or reduce their frequency. Have a look at your introductory email or take a look at our how-to page.

If you get stuck, or have any questions, then you can always email help@yorkrecycling.net.

Closure of Beckfield Lane

Recycling bins location. Click to enlarge

The last day that the site will be open is Sunday 29 April, 10am – 2pm. The site will be closed permanently from Monday 30 April.

We think that this is a very short sighted decision by the 25 Labour Councillors who voted to close the site at a meeting held last Tuesday. The costs of running the centre are tiny compared to the millions that the Council have budgeted to spend on schemes like the roll out of free WiFi in the City centre. The consequences are likely to be more fly tipping and fewer items recycled, just adding to the spiral in costs for taxpayers.

Areas like Westfield face a double ”whammy” as the Ward Committees annual refuse and recycling wagon tour – which many residents, who don’t own vehicles, have used in the past to get rid of bulky waste – has also been scrapped.

We will be continuing our campaigns aimed at ensuring that the Acomb side of the City will get a fair deal on public service provision in the future. We will strongly oppose Labours plans to change the green bin garden waste collection service. Where Labour have tried to charge for this service elsewhere, the consequences for taxpayers have been disastrous.

The next local elections are 3 years away and a lot can happen in the interim. The recycling centre land at Beckfield Lane may, for example, be sold off. The Liberal Democrats will however seek to provide a replacement facility, to serve the needs of the people of the west of York, as soon as we are in a position to do so.

In the meantime, please let us know if you see any problems with fly-tipping.

Here is some information on the options that residents, who want to get rid of rubbish, still have.
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