Latest on waste collection in York

Important service update

Today crews have collected all scheduled household, recycling and garden waste and also collected the remaining garden waste bins in Middlethorpe

We have been able to access and clear all waste from Westwood Terrace today. We were not able to get into Jennifer Grove again (because of badly parked cars) and will re visit on Saturday.

We hope to collect any remaining garden waste towards the end of the week and continue into Saturday. If your bin has not been collected please leave it in place and we will collect it as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience.

 

Council fails to empty green bins in parts of Chapelfields area. Calling back tomorrow

The York Council has issued the following statement;

“It has clearly been a great week for gardening as we have struggled to keep up with all the garden waste that you put out for us. Unfortunately, we were unable to collect the garden waste from 50 – 60 and 49 – 59 Bramham Road and Marsden Avenue.

We were also unable to collect the recycling from around 35 properties on Chapelfields Road but this was because of roadworks. The properties affected are the odd numbered ones between the Bramham Road and Ridgeway junctions.

We could not get access to Walton Place to collect the green waste.

If you are affected by any of these matters, please put your recycling out by 7am tomorrow and we will endeavour to return and collect. We are very sorry for any problems that this may cause”.

Green bin collections start on Easter Monday

Andrew Waller 

City of York Council is reminding residents that garden waste collections start again from Easter Monday (2 April).

The collections from nearly 67000 homes will run fortnightly until late November.

Last year City of York Council collected just under 13000 tonnes of garden waste from York homes. All this waste is turned into compost, with some for sale at Hazel Court household waste recycling centre.

Councillor Andrew Waller, deputy Leader of City of York Council with responsibility for the environment, said:  
“We run the green bin service when residents do most of their gardening, so Easter Monday is a great time to start this year’s collections.

“For those without a green bin, we offer discounted home compost bins and or they can take garden waste to one of our household waste recycling centres.

“We’d also like to remind all residents that, especially after we make a major change like reintroducing garden waste, the times of collections can change. So please put your bins or boxes out before 7am on your collections day.”

Black bin and recycling collections also continue on the bank holidays.

You can check your bin day on your collection calendar, or online at www.york.gov.uk/refuselookup

You can also get free reminders of all your waste and recycling collections to your smartphone or tablet. Just download the One Planet York app for apple or android.

Residents without a green bin are also able to take garden waste to Hazel Court and Towthorpe Household Waste Recycling Centres. Alternatively, the council offers a special discounted rate on home compost bins. Go to www.york.gov.uk/composting

Final garden waste collections of 2017

The York Council is urging residents to make the most of the final round of garden waste collections, which start on Monday (20 November).

The next fortnight is the final chance for the 67,000 homes to fill their green bins with autumn leaves, cuttings and windfall fruit, with the service restarting on Easter Monday (April 2)

Anyone who misses that last collection can still take their waste to York’s two household waste recycling centres, which remain open every day except Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

New rubbish and recycling calendars have been delivered to every household in the city over the last two months. City centre properties with St Nick’s recycling collections will receive their calendars by the end of November.

The calendars also contain details of this year’s Christmas collection arrangements – there are no waste collections on the week of Christmas Day, but every household will get an extra rubbish collection either the week before or after Christmas.

If you’ve miss-placed your calendar, you can:

Neil Ferris, corporate director for economy and place, said: “This is a great opportunity to get the garden tidied in the run-up to Christmas. The Green Bins are very popular, making a big contribution to the 40,000 tonnes of waste we saved from going to landfill last year. I’d also like to remind people to that collection times are not the same every week, so please make sure that bins are out by 7am on your collection day.”

What goes in your garden waste:

Yes please

Leaves and bark
Grass cuttings and hedge clippings
Cut flowers and house plants
Garden plants and flowers
Windfall fruit
Twigs and small branches
Non invasive garden weeds
Pot plant compost
Straw bedding from small vegetarian pets, such as rabbits
Christmas trees and wreaths must be inside the bin, so please chop them up

No thanks

Soil and rubble, coal, BBQ charcoal
Nappies
Plastic, paper, cardboard and other packaging
General household rubbish
Food or other kitchen waste
Large whole branches
Invasive weeds such as Japanese knotweed, Giant Hogweed and Ragwort (seek advice on safe disposal from the Environment Agency)
Plant pots
Pet and animal waste from cats and dogs

Green bin charges

It is over 2 years since the York Council started to charge for emptying second and subsequent green (garden waste) bins.

The charge was controversial at the time as there were fears that excess compostable waste would simply be put into grey bins and subsequently land-filled.

There were also concerns that some might be fly tipped.

New figures reveal that the numbers prepared to pay for green bin emptying have fallen.

  • The number of subscriptions in 2015 was 1,320
  • The number of subscriptions in 2016 was 1,146

Green bins currently cost £37 a year to empty.

The Council therefore has secured an income, through the charges, of around £43,000 a year.

Landfill Tax cost York taxpayers over £4 million in 2016.

This years figure is expected to be even higher.

Waste trends

 

 

 

 

Plans to boost Winter Recycling Collections 

Plans to empty Green Bins on two additional occasions this winter will be considered on 10th August.

Green waste refusebin

An officer report outlines options to either

  • have two additional green waste collections in November or
  • one additional collection in November with one additional collection in January.

Last year the then Labour led Council was heavily criticised for ending green bin emptying at the end of October. Only a by election win for the Liberal Democrats in the Westfield ward prompted the newly balanced Council to add in an additional collection in January.

The published report fails to indicate how much green waste was collected during this January collection which was also intended to pick up discarded Christmas trees.

Nor is any weekly collection volume data is included.

The same meeting will confirm bin emptying arrangements for the Christmas period. The paper  includes plans to improve recycling collections by reducing from four weeks to three weeks the maximum time that people would need to wait between collections.

Roughly half the city missed one recycling collection during the Christmas period last year and so had to wait 4 weeks between collections.   

The Council have yet to publish details of any pre decision all party discussion meeting. In the absence of such a meeting residents will be able to make representations at the meeting on 10th and also to make written representations.

(more…)

2,762 sign “save our bins” petition

Massive opposition to green bin charges and reduced bin emptying frequencies

Council consultation leaflet click to access

Council consultation leaflet click to access

Over 2700 residents have signed the petition objecting to green bin emptying charges and a possible reduction in grey bin emptying frequency (to every 3 or 4 weeks).

The signatures were obtained in a “door to door” campaign conducted mainly on the west of the city.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

The petition can now be signed “on line” (click). Internet access to the petition was suspended during the election campaign.

The proposed changes to bin emptying arrangements were first promoted by Labour Councillors at the beginning of the year.

They authorised a – largely bogus – consultation exercise about options but failed to report the results of the opinion survey.

The bins petition will now be presented to the next ordinary Council meeting which is scheduled to take place on 16th July.

Changes to waste and recycling services this Spring… On line “save our bins” petition suspended during April

The petition opposing the introduction of a £35 green bin emptying tax – and opposing any move to 3 or 4 weekly emptying frequencies – has gathered hundreds of signatures on the doorstep in west York.

The on-line version will be available on the Council’s web site until 30th March and will then be suspended during the Council election run up.

click to download

click to download

 

However it will be available again from 8th May. Residents can sign it by clicking here

Meanwhile the City of York Council is reminding residents of a number of changes to the waste and recycling service this Spring.

These include:

  • A reminder that this year’s garden waste collections start from Monday (March 30):
    Residents can look up collections or download a 2015 rubbish and recycling calendar at www.york.gov.uk/refuselookup
  • Residents are asked to ensure their bins are presented by 7am on the day of their collection, but no earlier than 7pm the evening before.
  • Ahead of the new collection season, households with more than one green wheeled bin can subscribe to the additional green bin scheme which operates during the usual garden waste season.   
  • From 1 April, the charge will be £37 per additional green bin that residents would like emptied.  To find out more about the additional bin subscription scheme visit www.york.gov.uk/recycling.
  • To join the additional bin scheme, and have more than one bin emptied, call 01904 551551 or ‘apply for it’ via the secure website at www.york.gov.uk/DoItOnline
  • Changes to the price of disposing of certain items at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) from 1 April:
    For items such as bricks/rubble, gas bottles, plasterboard and bonded asbestos, visit the website here for a full list of prices, or ask a member of staff on-site.

FREE compost giveaway 2015 dates announced:

In partnership with Yorwaste, compost is available every Sunday from 19 April to 20 September (except for Bank Holiday weekends) at the Harewood Whin site, which is open from 8am to 1pm.

 

Anyone wishing to take advantage of the giveaway just need to turn up, and bring a shovel and a suitable bag or container to put the soil improver in.

Home composting is also a great way to manage garden waste at home and provide nutrient rich compost for gardens. Visit www.getcomposting.com for further information.

Residents can also recycle their additional garden waste at Hazel Court and Towthorpe Household Waste Recycling Centres free of charge in a car. Residents using larger vehicles or trailers will need to apply for permits to use the sites.

Follow @CYCWaste on Twitter, or like CYCWaste on Facebook.

Garden waste collection restarts at end of month

The new garden waste(green bin)  collection season starts from Monday March 30.

The Council says “residents are asked to ensure their bins are presented by 7am on the day of their collection, but no earlier than 7pm the evening before”.

Look up collections or download a 2015 rubbish and recycling calendar at www.york.gov.uk/refuselookup or call 01904 551551.

Ahead of the new collection season, households with more than one green wheeled bin can sign up to the additional green bin scheme which operates during the usual garden waste season.  

From 1 April the charge will increase to £37 per additional green bin that residents would like emptied.  To find out more about the additional bin subscription scheme visit www.york.gov.uk/recycling

To join the additional bin scheme and have more than one bin emptied call 01904 551551 or ‘apply for it’ via the secure website at https://www.york.gov.uk/DoItOnline

Labour are delaying the introduction of their planned £35 a year charge for emptying ALL green bins until after the Council elections on 7th May.

Residents can sign a petition opposing the additional charge (and reductions to bin emptying frequencies) on the Council web site (click here)

The Council says, “home composting is also a great way to manage garden waste at home and provide nutrient rich compost for gardens. Visit www.getcomposting.com for further information or to purchase a reduced price home compost bin to get started.

Residents can also recycle their additional garden waste at Hazel Court and Towthorpe Household Waste Recycling Centres free of charge in a car. Residents using larger vehicles or trailers will need to apply for permits to use the sites”.

Follow @CYCWaste on Twitter, or like CYCWaste on Facebook.

Green waste bin emptying

The Council is set to stick with its decision to end green bin emptying in October each year.

The service now starts again in April.

Green bin 2

A Council report claims that most residents either store up their green waste in winter or take it to one of York’s two civic amenity recycling centres.

The report does not say how much waste was collected in the additional collection arranged in January of this year.

The Council accepts though that some garden waste found its way into grey bins, adding to the Landfill Tax burden that must be funded by Council Taxpayers.