Waste collections over Christmas & New Year

Following the citywide distribution of 2014/15 waste and recycling calendars, City of York Council is reminding residents when collections will take place over the festive period.waste lorry

To prevent a build up of rubbish all households will receive a rubbish collection the week before and the week after Christmas.

However, household recycling and rubbish collections will not take place from 22 December to 26 December.

All households which are due a rubbish or recycling collection on Thursday 1 January will receive a rubbish collection on Saturday 3 January instead, but there will be no recycling collections on this day.
(more…)

Wetherby Road – plans for materials recycling centre

Harewood WhinYorwaste have submitted a planning application to erect a waste transfer and recycling station at Harewood Whin

The station would be used to “bulk up” waste prior to it being transported to the new incinerator being built at Allerton Park

The applicant has agreed to unilaterally revoke earlier planning permissions for the erection of a composting operation in the southern section of the site and the erection of energy from Biomass Plant at the north western edge of the site.

51 objections to the plans have been lodged mainly by residents in the Rufforth area.

Most are concerned about the plants impact on the Green Belt.

The report, which will be considered by the Planning Committee next week, can be read here

NB The site was to have been used as a salvage and recycling centre under plans unveiled in 2011. It would have replaced the Beckfield Lane recycling centre. The Beckfield Lane site was later closed by the new Labour  administration which chose to make no alternative recycling facilities available on the west of York.

New 2014/15 waste and recycling calendars

Recycling wagon

City of York Council is sending households in York a new waste and recycling calendar for 2014/15.

From this week households across the city will start to receive their new calendar which outlines when collections are taking place between December 2014 and November 2015, including collections over the Christmas and New Year period.

The new calendars also provide tips and advice on what items can and can’t be recycled including paper/cardboard, glass, plastic bottles, cans/tins and if applicable garden waste.

The council also recently announced its decision to add a further garden waste collection in January to pick up out of season garden waste – to collect any remaining autumn waste and Christmas trees.

Flats, rural properties and city centre properties serviced by St Nicks recycling team will receive collection information in December. For any queries about the St Nicks recycling service in the city centre please go to http://www.stnicks.org.uk/ or telephone 01904 411821.

Residents are asked to ensure their bins or boxes are presented by 7am on the day of their collection, but no earlier than 7pm the evening before.

For more information on waste and recycling visit please visit www.york.gov.uk/recycling .Or follow on @CYCWaste on Twitter or ‘like’ CYCWaste on Facebook.

Pressure mounting for extra green waste collection

With high temperatures continuing and both hedges and lawns continuing to grow, the York Council has come under increased pressure to make at least one additional green bin emptying visit before Christmas.

Green waste refusebinAll the opposition groups on the Council have written to the responsible Cabinet member (Cllr Merrett) asking for the green bins to be emptied. Labour scrapped the emptying of green bins last year leaving residents without a service between November and March.

An electronic petition is being raised in support of the change

The move is backed by Liberal Democrat Councillors who have issued a statement saying

“We are calling on the Labour Cabinet to organise an additional citywide garden waste collection this month. As was the case last year, Liberal Democrat campaigners have been approached by a number of residents in recent days who are frankly bemused that the last green bin collection of the year will shortly be completed, while leaves are still falling from the trees across York.

“Residents are faced with a choice of burning their garden waste, driving across York to the remaining recycling centres or putting it into their grey waste collection – which will further increase waste sent to landfill and of course increase landfill tax. 

A special garden waste collection is the only sensible option and would show residents that the council is listening to local concerns and determined to take action to reduce landfill tax. 

Cost has been cited as a reason not to act, but given the rising landfill tax costs – it would surely be better for the council to spend the money on collecting the green waste rather than on the additional landfill tax which would result in not collecting the green waste.”

The joint letter from the opposition parties reads:
(more…)

Empty our green bins say residents

Residents are asking the York Council to continue to empty green bins at least until Christmas.

Green waste refusebin

The request comes as – with warm weather continuing until late into the autumn for the second successive year – large amounts of green waste are continuing to accumulate.

Labour stopped emptying bins at the beginning of November as an economy measure last year. However many residents simply put the waste into grey bins, increasing the amount going to land fill.

This meant that the Council had to pay more in landfill tax

Residents can sign a petition on the council’s web site. Click here

The petition reads

“We the undersigned petition the council to continue to collect green waste throughout the winter, or at least until Christmas 2014

As most people have leaves and other green waste, we want it to be collected later in the year. Not to stop at the end of October“

 

Labour’s waste collection charging plans slip out

 

Green_waste_family_89__1A working group report has revealed the kind of charges that Labour Councillors want to introduce for waste collection.

As we have previously forecast, Labour intend to charge for emptying green bins but it also seems that other costs may also be passed on to customers.

The changes are likely to cover:

  • Gardening waste collection
  • Bulky waste collection
  • Clinical waste collection

Of these, by far the most controversial is likely to be turning the green bin emptying into a subscription service.

Information from 46 other local authorities suggests that 40% charge for the service (as does York now for supplementary bins).

30 of the Council’s also collect food waste. This would be a welcome enhancement of the services available in York and which would reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill (and thereby reduce landfill tax payments)

Across the country subscription charges range from £17 pa to £75 pa.

Most Councils provide a service throughout the year but reduce collection frequencies in winter (York stops collections together)

Evidence suggests that 45% of households elsewhere would pay £20 a year for an emptying service.

This falls to 5% if the charge is £50.

We doubt that many residents will even know that this option is being considered.

The new, balanced, Council may simply choose now to restrict any changes to collection arrangements to covering more of the year with green bin collections and refining the charges made for bulky waste collection.

Green bin tax – Labour will not rule it out.

The last York Council meeting heard that Labour Councillors are still actively considering introducing a Green Bin Surcharge.

Andrew Waller is opposing more green bin charges

Andrew Waller is opposing more green bin charges

As previously reported, this new charge would apply to all green bins not just the supplementary bin charge introduced last year.

Most residents feel that the “winter break” for green bin emptying comes too early in the season. Many homes now have only one more bin emptying day before the service is suspended at the beginning of November.

Like last year, leaf fall has only just begun and adding this source of compostable material to grey bins will do little to improve York’s – now relatively poor – recycling rates.

Labour planning new household waste site charges

Reliable sources in West Offices have confirmed that Labour intend to impose new charges – for non recyclable rubbish -taken to sites like Hazel Court.

Bed dumped in field off Askham Lane

Bed dumped in field off Askham Lane

At the moment residents can take items to the “tip” free of charge.

The proposed charge – unlikely to be admitted by Labour until the Westfield by election is out of the way – follow on from the closure of the Beckfield Lane household waste recycling site and an 13% increase in the cost of having up to 10 bulky items removed by the Council.

Bulky waste removal now costs £36.75p

Second green waste bins are now charged for and Labour are understood to be on the on the brink of introducing charges for emptying all green bins

The consequences of these misguided polices are clear to see with fly tipping an increasing problem across the City (see photo)

York Council urged to come clean on Green waste charges

Andrew and Green bin

Westfield Liberal Democrat campaigner Andrew Waller is demanding that Labour-led City of York Council comes clean on whether it plans to introduce charges for green waste collections.

He has sought an assurance that ruling Labour councillors have no plans to introduce a charge covering all green bin collections. At present, residents are charged £35 annually for the collection of a second green bin.

Local Liberal Democrats have highlighted a fall in recycling rates, which has been linked to the scrapping of green waste collections between November and March, and the closure of the well-used Beckfield Lane recycling centre. The tip’s closure in 2012 was ordered by Westfield Labour councillor Dafydd Williams when he was the Cabinet member for Environment.

Andrew Waller commented:

“Local residents are rightly angry that the council spent £13,000 on leaflets and stickers telling them that green bin collections are free, when we already knew that because it’s what we pay our council tax for. It would be an outrage if Labour were to now perform a u-turn and introduce charges for all green bin collection.

“Many people I have met in recent months are fed up with the green bin collections stopping before the leaves fall, especially now that they don’t have the option of going to Beckfield Lane tip. People who swept up leaves in public areas were doing the council and public a service by dealing with them before they became a slip hazard – but now their green bins are full from the end of October until March.

“I am concerned that any new charge brought in would lead to a further increase in fly-tipping, which of course costs money to clean up.

“People will not put up with any more decisions being made behind closed doors and so I am challenging James Alexander’s Cabinet to rule it out now. They have taken a service which was part of York’s strength as a green city, and trashed it.”