More streets in York have not had their refuse, recycling and garden waste collected today.
Areas affected included Dringhouses (Middlethorpe), Bishopthorpe, Acomb, Chapelfields, Tang Hall and Lockwood Street
Some residents have called for the service to be “outsourced” (privatised).
Until the Council is more candid about the causes of its current problems, then it is difficult to know whether different management arrangements would lead to a more reliable service.
Bin emptying arrangements have been plagued with problems over the last few days.
According to the Councils web site many bins in Fulford and Bishopthorpe weren’t emptied today. The Council blames staff sickness and vehicle problems for the poor service.
Last week several neighbourhoods suffered delayed collections. These included parts of Strensall, Haxby, Wigginton, Acomb, Huntington and Heworth.
On Friday garden waste collections didn’t take place in Poppleton.
Residents were told to leave their bins out for emptying on Saturday but they were missed again.
Incredibly the Council has failed to issue a media statement explaining the delays, apologising and indicating when they expect to catch up with their collection schedule.
The responsible Executive member is aware of the problems
Some time ago we reported full BIFFA bins that were being stored on the Little Green Lane garage area. They were eventually removed.
Unfortunately another full bin has reappeared.
It has been joined by a large amount of fly tipping. Some of the rubbish is clearly domestic.
We have asked local Councillors to look into the problem.
Some residents believe that the waste has originated with the York Council itself or one of its contractors. An explanation is needed.
The Council has started to publish more information on its “open data“ website.
Recently they listed the number and location of fly tips reported to them during July.
In total there have been 72 so far this month.
The worst affected wards are
Many of the reports concern black bags being dumped. There has also been a peak in the fly tipping of building materials.
Perhaps rather surprisingly dumped furniture has been an issue although various charities exist in York which recycle items like these.
It seems that the Councils decision to halve the cost of bulky waste removal has yet to have an impact on the figures. However one ward – Westfield – has announced plans to locate recycling vehicles in estates later in the summer.
Householders who are indirectly guilty of fly-tipping because they failed to check that the waste carrier they hired was properly licensed, may be issued with £250 fixed penalty notice.
Previously anyone committing this offence would be liable for prosecution alongside the fly-tipper themselves.
The new fine, agreed yesterday, allows a more proportionate penalty and can be reduced to £150 if paid within 10 days of issue. It also gives the offender an alternative to prosecution and so avoid a criminal record should they be found guilty. Offenders who do not pay the fine will be prosecuted and so risk a significantly higher fine or sentencing by the courts.
Two-thirds of fly-tips throughout the country contain household waste. This new fixed penalty is the latest development to deter fly-tipping in York. It supports both Keep Britain Tidy’s #CrimeNotToCare which City of York Council launched in January 2018, and the regional, rurally-focused Operation Eyeball campaign which started last summer. These are both backed by regular enforcement action run by the council along with North Yorkshire Police and DVLA to deter illegal waste movement and disposal.
Check if a carrier is licenced at https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers or call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.
Residents can take waste to our household waste recycling centres – see www.york.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling – or can arrange for the council to collect it via www.york.gov.uk/BulkyWaste. Up to ten items can be taken so why not join together with neighbours?
Entrance to Harewood Whin
York’s waste will no longer be sent the city’s landfill, which has closed after more than 30-years in operation.
The site at Harewood Whin, near Rufforth, opened in the 1980s and will now, over time, be transformed into a wildflower meadow, which hopes to encourage more fauna and flora to the area.
City of York Council and its operator Yorwaste will be marking this significant moment in York’s history this month.
Household waste collected in York and North Yorkshire is now being sent to Allerton Waste Recovery Park (AWRP) near Knaresborough.
The plant can process up to 320,000 tonnes of waste per year and is operated by Amey on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council. Diverting this waste away from landfill means AWRP can also use it to generate enough energy to power the equivalent of 40,000 homes in the area. (more…)
The government has announced plans to try to increase the proportion of items which are recycled. They are promising a weekly collection of food waste although how expensive this might be, and what impact it may have on the operation of the North Yorkshire waste incinerator, remains to be explained.
Rightly the government is focusing on plastics. There is still much more that can be done to take plastics out of the waste stream. One idea is to make sellers responsible for the recycling of packaging.
In York we have seen at least one step backwards in recent years as shops like Cartridge World have ceased trading. Most toner cartridge sales are now made over the internet with few companies offering a return service of single empty cartridges.
The York Councils “A to Z” of recycling lists only one outlet where empty cartridges can be taken for reuse (Office Outlet on Foss Island Road ) although there are other like Tesco on Tadcaster Road which are not publicised.
It really does little to help the environment if people must drive several miles to recycle relatively small items
The Council needs to update its web site and modernise signage at Hazel Court.
The plan to establish a Reuse and Salvage centre also needs to be revived. It was scrapped by the Labour controlled Council in 2011.
A more enthusiastic approach to using street scrap merchants might also result in less waste.
BBC stats indicating the percentage of plastics by type which are currently recycled
City of York Council has sent all households a new waste and recycling calendar for 2018/19.
The new calendar includes information on when collections are taking place between December 2018 and November 2019 as well as collections over the Christmas and New Year period.
Cllr Andrew Waller, Executive Member for Environmental Services, said: “We’ve listened to residents and this year we’re maintaining collections over the Christmas period. Our front-line crews will continue to work over the Christmas and New Year week with the only exceptions being the bank holidays. This is just one example of how we are introducing a number of improvements to help residents recycle more, reduce waste and minimise fly-tipping.”
The new calendars provide tips and advice on what items can and can’t be recycled, including paper/cardboard, glass, plastic bottles, cans/tins and garden waste if applicable. As well as the paper copies, residents can also look up their collection dates and download a calendar, from mid-December, at: www.york.gov.uk/refuselookup .
The council is making Christmas waste and recycling collections simpler for residents this year.
Crews will continue to collect waste over Christmas and New Year, with the only exceptions being:
All other days will be as normal.
Extra festive recycling will be collected too including greeting cards, paper, wrapping paper (non foil), cardboard, plastic bottles, tins or glass. All residents need to do is correctly sort them and place them in separate untied clear bags or open boxes of a similar size to a recycling box and put out with their recycling, or simply take them to a recycling site. Full details of how to present extra items can be found here: www.york.gov.uk/ExcessAndAdditionalRecycling
Real Christmas trees and wreaths can also be taken to recycling sites at Hazel Court HWRC or Towthorpe HWRC. Please note that both sites are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
It’s important that bins or boxes are presented by 7am on the day of collections, but no earlier than 7pm the evening before.
Residents can also look up their collection dates at: www.york.gov.uk/refuselookup
Residents who live in the city centre and have their recycling collected by St Nick’s will receive details about those service changes soon.
As we head into the winter season, garden waste collections will be coming to an end too. The last garden waste collections of the season will be in November and they will start up again next year in April.
Households which have not received their calendar by the end of November can look up their collections at www.york.gov.uk/refuselookup or if they don’t have online access, contact the council on 01904 551551 or ycc@york.gov.uk for a replacement copy.
The vehicle is the first of its kind, using electric to both power the vehicle and compact waste, meaning there are zero emissions.
The three day trial will give the council time to see how the truck performs. The 27-tonne truck runs on lithium-ion batteries and is designed for urban environments with short routes and can complete a full ten hour shift on one charge.
Deputy leader of the council and executive member for the environment, Cllr Andrew Waller, said: “As a council we’re always looking at ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint and emissions to improve air quality. Electric vehicle technology has progressed at an extremely quick rate over the past years, allowing larger vehicles to travel longer in between charges.
“We’re keen to see expanding our electric vehicle fleet with electric waste vehicles is a way in which we can look to reduce our carbon footprint without affecting the serve residents receive.”
Russell Markstein, Electra’s Commercial Director commented: “The City of York is the conclusion of six months of trials of the Electra in both urban and rural locations. York is the perfect environment for the Electra to operate, with zero emissions and near silent operation, the residents and businesses in the City will visibly see the Council’s efforts in reducing its carbon footprint”
The trial has been offered to the council for free from Electra Commercial Vehicles.
