The Council – apparently without any sense of irony – have issued the following media statement:

“Spring is upon us and this means longer opening hours at City of York Council’s Household Waste Recycling centres.

From April 1 the sites will stay open later, to allow residents to use the lighter evenings to dispose of large amounts of recycling, garden waste and other rubbish.

The sites provide a wide range of recycling facilities for household materials including all types of electricals, old textiles, shoes, clothing, wood, metal, garden waste, cardboard as well as plastic bottles, glass, cans and paper. Full details of what you can recycle at each site is available at www.york.gov.uk/waste

Opening times from 1 April until 30 September are as follows:

• Hazel Court: Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 7.00pm, Sundays 8.30am to 4.00pm
• Towthorpe/Strensall:- daily 8.30am to 7.00pm
• Beckfield Lane: Monday to Friday 5.00pm to 7.00pm, Saturday and Sunday: 10.00am to 2.00pm. (1st April – 16th April only!!!!)
• All sites will be open as usual on Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday”.

Meanwhile a total of 2189 residents have now signed the petition asking for the Beckfield Lane tip to remain open. These include 143 from residents living in the Dringhouses Ward.
The 2 Labour Councillors representing Dringhouses have yet to declare whether they will support keeping Beckfield Lane open.

They will have an opportunity to do so at the Council meeting which is taking place on Thursday when Ann Reid will be proposing that the recycling centre continues in operation.

NB. The next distribution of free compost will take place at Yorwaste’s Harewood Whin site, on Tinker Lane, off Wetherby Road on:

• Sunday 1 April
• Sunday 6 May
• Sunday 3 June
• Sunday 8 July
• Sunday 5 August
• Sunday 2 September
• Sunday 7 October

The compost will be available from 9.30am until 2.30pm each day and residents are asked to bring a shovel and bags or containers to take the compost home in