Major waste collection problems in York UPDATED

Council update published

“Wednesday 20 May

Household waste

We were unable to collect household waste from the following areas due to access issues:

Dale Street
Moss Street

We were unable to collect household waste from the following areas due to capcity issues:

Ashley Park Road
Cedar Grove
The Glade
Hazel Garth
High Oaks

This household waste will be collected on Thursday 21 May. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.

We were able to recollect all outstanding household waste from Tuesday 19 May.

Recycling

We were unable to collect recycling from a number of areas due to capacity issues.

Missed recycling collections will be collected as soon as possible. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.

Garden waste

We were unable to collect garden waste from a number of streets in the following wards due to capcity issues:

Heworth
Heworth Without
Holgate
Huntington and New Earswick
Westfield

We will attempt to collect missed garden waste on Thursday 21 May, but may not be able to revisit until later in the week. Please leave greens bin out and we’ll get to you as soon as we can”

EARLIER: For the first time in several months the York Council failed to update its refuse collection report page yesterday. This prompted speculation that there were too many roads missed to be able to list them all.

The failure to list those streets where bins hadn’t been emptied also prompted questions about whether the promised “next day” emptying will actually take place.

There is a danger of a bow wave of failures extending into next week. Residents who have been storing green waste in gardens, pending the resumption of the emptying service, may already have refilled their bins.

For a Council which has been quick to issue “sound bite” media releases even when it had little of interest to report, this communications failure – on a key public service which everyone uses – is disappointing.

As well as the backlog in green bin emptying (put down to heavy bins) social distancing measures are blamed for a growing backlog in collecting recycling.

Recycling in over 10 streets in the Westfield/Foxwood area alone was not collected yesterday

Previously the Council had blamed vehicle failures and capacity issues for problems with the waste collection reliabily.

There have been calls for a change in top management at the Council or even for the service to be outsourced (AMEY provide the service in the Selby area)

Ironically, at the peak of the corona virus scare, household waste and recycling collection systems worked well.

Glitches as green waste collection restarts

The York Council is reporting that not all waste put out for collection today was cleared. It is the first failure for several weeks with 100% collection rates having become the norm recently.

Today (Monday) is the first day that that green bins have been emptied this year.

The Council web says

Latest waste service update

Monday 11 May

“All scheduled household waste collections have been made.

“We were unable to collect recycling waste from a number of properties in the following areas due to a breakdown:

Copmanthorpe
Woodthorpe
Foxwood

This recycling will be recollected on Tuesday 19 May. Please present your containers for collection by 7.00am.

We were unable to collect garden waste from a number of properties in the following areas due to capaacity issues:

Copmanthorpe
Deighton
Dringhouses
Tadcaster Road

We will attempt to collect missed garden waste on Tuesday 19 May, but may not be able to revisit until later in the week. Please leave greens bin out and we will get to you as soon as we can”.

Coronavirus York updates – 9th April 2020

Compost bins

According to the Council their special offer on garden composting bins is still available. Details here.

Get a compost bin

We currently have a ‘buy one get one half price’ offer, meaning you can team up with family members, friends or neighbours to get a second compost bin at a reduced price. To take advantage of this offer:

visit: www.getcomposting.com
quote reference YNY08L

There are 2 sizes of compost bin available:

220 litre: £18.50
330 litre: £20.50

Delivery is an additional £5.99 per order. Compost bins are:

made in the UK from 100% recycled plastic
designed with a secure windproof lid and removable side hatch
‘carbon footprint certified’ by the Carbon Trust
guaranteed for 15 years

Food

The Council says that it has worked with York Mix https://www.yorkmix.com/promopost/food-drink/?promotag=delivery and Minster FM https://www.minsterfm.com/news/local/3067778/coronavirus—north-yorkshire-supermarket-opening-times-and-restrictions/ “to make sure information is published which shares details of shops or restaurants who are able to deliver food and provides updated information about supermarkets”.

“Following feedback, we are now exploring how to make this information available in print”.

Unfortunately none of the lists published by the commercial media so far is comprehensive. They often lack information about product rage, prices, pipelines, on line ordering and payment options as well as geographical coverage.

The Community Hubs are now delivering food to anyone who needs immediate help – this ranges from those who usually access foodbank support, to residents that are medically shielded but have special dietary needs which are not met by Government food delivery system. These flexible hubs are expected to deliver other sorts of help and all follow safe working guidelines, as far as is practical.

Funerals

As part of steps to manage the impact and spread of Coronavirus, the Council has made the sad decision to cease all funeral services at the Crematorium with immediate effect [9 April 2020]. The cremations will continue as planned.

A number of precautions have already been taken at the Crematorium to reduce the risk to members of the public and staff. However, in light of new stricter and clearer government guidance relating to social distancing at funerals, we have had to make this difficult decision.

The council is taking into account the risks of infection spread outside of hospital settings and therefore, has to ensure that the health and well-being of everyone is protected, including the public, crematorium staff and partners, such as funeral directors. This has been one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make. At a time when family and friends are the most important part of our lives, we know this is going to be really difficult for many people who have lost their loved ones.

Council asks York businesses for help with PPE

City of York Council is appealing to the Government for additional personal protective equipment (PPE), and to local businesses for any spare PPE, so it can be used by the authority’s care workers.

Although the council’s care teams currently have sufficient PPE, stocks nationally are running low, and priority is being given to NHS staff. The Council has low stocks of PPE. Teams go through hundreds of single use items every day. As national stock levels are low, anything local businesses can do to help would be greatly appreciated.”

“The items we need are disposable plastic aprons, gloves, black bags, masks, eye protection goggles, alcohol based hand sanitiser and hard surface wipes.”

Anyone who thinks they may have useful PPE should email PPE@york.gov.uk

Coronavirus: Councils financial support package for residents

Over the past week, the council’s Customer Service Team have received over 1200 emails and 1000 calls requesting support.

During the same period, they received 278 applications for council tax support which are being processing. They have processed 68 York financial assistance support applications, 48 of these have already been successful completed and £4640 has been paid to those in need.

The council is also finalising the automatic award of additional council tax support. This will see all households on Council Tax Support receiving £150 towards their 20/21 bill.

Mental health

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak means that life is changing for all of us for a while, and you might be feeling stressed, worried or anxious.

But there’s some simple things you can do to help you take care of your mental health and wellbeing during this time.

Public Health England has shared ten top tips. Please read and share in your communities. This page includes information on getting urgent support should it be needed.

1. Stay connected with people

2. Talk about your worries

3. Support and help others

4. Feel prepared

5. Look after your body

6. Stick to the facts

7. Stay on top of difficult feelings

8. Do things you enjoy

9. Focus on the present

10. Look after your sleep

Easter

Schools, childcare and information for families

We have the bank holiday coming up this weekend.

Many schools and early years settings across York will remain open over the holiday period to support those who need their care most.

At the same time, City of York Council has developed lots of information to help support parents and carers in their home schooling.

To find out more or to download the pack, which includes:

Easter Pack – online resources for mental wellbeing, online learning and staying active whilst at home
Fact sheets to help explain coronavirus to children and young people
Easy read information for children and young people with learning disabilities
Parent pack – resources for family schedules and timetables
And much more!

Visit: www.york.gov.uk/COVIDSchoolsAndFamilies

For more information on school support for key workers visit www.york.gov.uk/SchoolClosures

For more information on early years support please visit www.yor-ok.org.uk/families/Childcare/childcare.htm

The press statement is here: https://www.york.gov.uk/news/article/134/education-leaders-thank-school-and-childcare-staff

Waste

Household waste and recycling collections will be taking place over the Easter Bank Holiday. To check when your collections are due, visit https://www.york.gov.uk/WasteCollectionUpdates

We are also asking residents not put used tissues into the recycling boxes – which we’ve been seeing on our collection rounds today.

They must go into the household waste bin (black bin) and be double bagged. Please follow these guidelines and help protect our frontline waste staff.

Help us to ensure we can collect your waste by following these steps:

Double bag your waste if you have symptoms of Coronavirus
keep it separate from other waste and put aside for at least 72 hours before being put in your usual external household waste bin
wipe down bins and boxes before and after collection
minimise the waste you throw away
park responsibly

Libraries

City of York Council have today granted £17k to Explore York Libraries and Archives, in order to extend the current range of virtual services to support individuals, families and communities of York during the Coronavirus emergency. This will give residents access to a wider range of e-books and audiobooks for all ages, and free access to Press Reader, a huge archive of 7000+ newspaper and magazine titles updated daily.

The extra funding will also enable residents to use Explore’s ‘Virtual Rooms’ which uses specialist conferencing software to bring people together. This is a great opportunity for artists to collaborate, or for readers to join a communal book group.

Explore will also be working in partnership with City of York Council to provide internet access for isolated and vulnerable residents who lack broadband or confidence in using technology.

Temporary changes made to recycling process in York

City of York Council is introducing temporary changes to the recycling process in order to protect its vital frontline staff and allow for additional social distancing measures during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Residents are still required to leave recycling boxes at the kerbside and continue to separate materials in their boxes as normal. Collection days will also remain unchanged.

Waste crews will now be working in smaller teams to ensure that they can maintain a safe distance during working hours to protect themselves from infection.

Residents should be aware of the following changes to recycling collections, which include:

recycling will be split into two vehicles
a vehicle will collect plastic, tins and glass. Some mixing on the vehicle may take place
another vehicle will collect paper and cardboard
residents may experience two separate collections of recycling on the same day as the two vehicles may not arrive at the same time
in some instances, this may take a number of hours
as some mixing on the plastic, tins and glass vehicle will take place, the council will accept mixed plastic, tins and glass, but cardboard and paper must be separated
the council encourages residents to put out their recycling as normal, for 7am.

Cllr Paula Widdowson, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “Our waste crews are providing a vital service during the Coronavirus pandemic to every household in York. We have to take these additional measures to protect them as much as we can. By pausing the start of garden waste collections, we now have more staff to focus on collecting recycling and household waste.

“You won’t see any changes other than your recycling may be collected at different times, with some limited mixing of glass, plastic and tin. It is important to highlight that some residents may have two separate collections of recycling on the same day and in some instances, this may take a number of hours between collections.

“Where mixing of glass, plastic and tin happens, we can assure residents that this will be separated after collection and recycled. We will seek to recover any additional costs of doing this from the government.”

The council announced last week that it would be postponing the start of garden waste collections, due to start this month, in order to ensure household waste and recycling collections were given priority.

These steps are being taken because of extraordinary pressures on frontline services during the outbreak of Coronavirus and a significantly reduced workforce. This decision has freed up more frontline crews and vehicles to focus on collecting recycling and household waste in a safe way for frontline staff.

The situation with garden waste collections will be kept under constant review, with an intention to resume garden waste collections as soon as practically possible. The council is encouraging residents to compost their garden waste at home, and to support residents in this effort, advice and tips for easy composting at home is available at www.york.gov.uk.composting.

Bolstering frontline services

The council has reallocated people from other teams, so that it can continue collecting household waste (black bins) and recycling boxes.

This includes redeploying staff from other services such as public realm and highways. The council is also working hard to increase its staff resource, including training a number of First and Pullman bus drivers, plus processing the applications made in response to the council’s urgent recruitment to support the refuse collection service.

Check when your bins will next be collected, get the latest service updates – all online! www.york.gov.uk/waste

Last minute decision to shelve green bin emptying in York

With garden waste collections (from green domestic bins) due to start again on Monday the York Council has made a last minute decision to abandon the service.

As recently as last week, the York Council, had said that – despite other authorities having also scrapped the service – they would still empty the green bins in York.

The lateness of the decision will make it difficult to roll out one of the suggested alternatives. Some taxi drivers had offered to deliver free composting bins to residents but it would take some time organise such a push.

In the meantime residents are being urged to “mulch” grass cuttings and store hedge clippings in gardens. No doubt some will also utilise the grey bins (the contents of which are now incinerated).

It is more important than ever to cut hedges back from public footpaths as this helps to sustain the 2 metre social distancing rule.

Everything will get longer

Well most things!

Those worried about the length of their hair may also been wondering about the length of the grass on the lawn.

Enforced isolation may provide the opportunity for a best trimmed hedge and manicured lawn competition is some neighbourhoods.

But where will the green waste go?

The York Council is scheduled to recommence green bin emptying at the beginning of April. Other Councils have suspended this garden waste system, so it is a little surprising that there has been no announcement from West Offices yet.

Green waste may already be building up.

We did hear from the Council a few days ago that DIY was being “discouraged” if it added waste to the collection streams (the household waste sites have been closed).

One option would be to make a delivery – using perhaps local taxis – of a composting container to any household that wants one. Subject to supply of course. Maybe many would continue to compost even after the current crisis is over. So, a win, win for everyone.

The City needs a “no personal contact” collection and delivery system for prescriptions and food supplies. With many “click and collect” services suspended at local stores there is a gaping hole in the City’s food chain system.

Time to get that fixed, with the Council taking the lead.

Plea to get empty Council space ready to meet hospital needs

York Councillor Mark Warters has suggested that empty York Council owned properties should be cleared, cleaned and used to provide additional hospital space should it be necessary.

Available empty properties include the brand new James House (which was due to open this month), Oakhaven and Willow House. The latter are former care homes.

The properties could be used to supplement existing NHS hospitals. It is possible that additional space will be required for services such as pre and post illness infection testing.

Separately, it has been suggested that the Council be ready to reintroduce regular skip visits to local neighbourhoods. These would reduce the pressures on waste collection services where staffing levels are currently under pressure.

Skips visited many estates until about 5 years ago when the service stopped.

Their return could provide an alternative if uncollected waste causes a public health concern.

The Council are recruiting waste collection drivers and loaders now. Find out more by calling 01904 554234 or visiting www.workwithyork.co.uk/jobs

River levels begin to drop in York – backlog of refuse collection work

The level of the river Ouse is now falling. It is expected to remain above normal levels for several days although riverside paths should reopen in a day or two.

Not surprisingly the Council has been unable to collect refuse from areas affected by flooding. Areas affected include Naburn, Acaster Malbis and Skeldergate.

More recycling put out today than Council could collect

Street cleansing issues also increase following holiday break

The Council says that the volume of recycling put out today on the west of the City exceeded the capacity of its collection vehicles. Their waste update website can be viewed by clicking here They hope to catch up tomorrow(Wednesday)