Update – Waste bin emptying problems now hit Woodthorpe

UPDATE 1400 hours – Bins ARE now being emptied in Askham Lane, Chapelfields and Woodthorpe (which was also missed yesterday)

The Council web site now includes the following comment –

Waste Collection Services Update

A comprehensive review of waste collection rounds has been carried out and some service changes were implemented on 9th September 2013.

Our collection crews are working hard to ensure your waste is collected on the scheduled collection date. Please help us by ensuring your bin is presented before 7.00am on the date of collection.

Whilst the new collection rounds are settling down there will be instances when some properties are missed. We are sorry that on Wednesday 11th September some properties in the following areas did not have their collection on the scheduled day:

• Rubbish collection (black bin) – Acomb & Boroughbridge Road

• Garden waste (green bin) – Holgate & Acomb

We will return to these properties to make collections by the end of the next working day.

The Council have admitted that there are “bedding in” problems with the new refuse bins emptying arrangements.

Askham Lane - late Tuesday

Askham Lane – late Tuesday

That rather understates the issues faced by 100’s of residents who now don’t know when their bins will be emptied.

The Council web site was down yesterday and delays of around 5 minutes have been reported by residents trying to ring the Council help line.

Bin changes could see a repeat of ‘Christmas Chaos’

Liberal Democrat Councillors are warning that bin changes introduced this week could see a repeat of the collection chaos which hit parts of York last Christmas.

The new waste and recycling times, which started this week, see changes to collection days for over 10,000 households in York. The changes will affect areas including parts of Copmanthorpe, Haxby, Wigginton, Huntington, Dunnington and Fulford.

City of York Council has claimed that all residents should have received a letter informing them of the new collection arrangements. However, there is growing concern that some residents are unaware of the changes and reports from residents in Copmanthorpe that their bins were not emptied yesterday. Councillors were only given details of the new collection times on Friday and therefore have been unable to help publicise the changes.

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Beckfield Lane recycling centre reopens for ……………1 day

Composting bins on sale on 13th October

Composting bins on sale on 13th October

Residents will be able to visit the site on 5th October to pick up a preordered composting bin.

York Rotters can help you get composting with free advice and this sale of compost bins and other composting equipment.

Limited unreserved stock will be available to purchase on the day.

To ensure availability pre-order your equipment here by 20th September and then collect from Beckfield Lane on 5th October (no delivery option available).

Bins are subsidised by City of York Council and their sales are limited to York residents only, two ‘dalek’ bins and one ‘metal’ bin per household

New bin emptying schedules hit problems

As we forecast on Friday, it looks like the new bin emptying schedules are proving to be a major challenge for the Council.

In parts of Copmanthorpe reports are coming in of un-emptied bins.

Disquiet on "twitter"

Disquiet on “twitter”

The complete list of affected properties can be viewed by clicking here. It is in alphabetical street order. These are the arrangements publicised by the Council. Hopefully they will issue a statement on Tuesday explaining what has gone wrong

Alternatively, you should also be able to check out the day that your next collection is due by entering your postcode at this web location Last week the Council issued a media release which quoted the wrong web link)

York Council waste collection changes –

The York Council is introducing new waste and green recycling collection timetables from next Monday (9th September).

Some households will receive recycling for the first time and others may have changes to what day of the week their rubbish, recycling or green waste is collected

About 10% of properties will see a change to their collections days.

The Council says that it has written to every affected household explaining the new collection days.

Given the past record of the York Council with communications, we are sceptical about whether everyone will have had, and understood, their communication.

A complete list of addresses (10639 of them) were sent out to ward Councillors as late as 2:00pm today Friday 6th September.

That is less than 1 working day before the new arrangements are due to be introduced.

The complete list of affected properties can be viewed by clicking here.

It is in alphabetical street order.

Alternatively, you should also be able to check out the day that your next collection is due by entering your postcode at this web location http://tinyurl.com/York-bin

The are few changes to arrangements in the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe area

The Council says, “It is important to continue to ensure that your rubbish, recycling and garden waste are presented before 7am on the day of collection”.

York Council now spending £1/4 million each year clearing fly tipping

Dumping and litter on Tithe Close snicket1400 hours 23rd Aug 2013

The York Council has admitted that it is costing taxpayers £250,000 a year to clear fly tipping in the City.

7 people are employed full time on the task.

They use 3 specialist vehicles.

The Council was heavily criticised last year when it closed the recycling centre in Beckfield Lane.

Residents forecast that fly tipping would increase.

The Council claimed then that the closure would “save” £40,000 a year.

Other contributory factors to the problem with fly tipping can be traced to the decision to stop the provision of mobile skips in some neighbourhoods.

Many litter bins have also been removed, while this winter there will be no green bin collections over a period of nearly 6 months.

The Council has also claimed that it no longer gets any income from the sale of materials returned to Hazel Court for recycling.

Waste collection cuts and changes from 9th September

The Council have issued a media release confirming the cuts that it is making to waste collection arrangements.

Green_waste_family_89__1

They say that “less then 10 per cent of all households will see significant changes to the day and time that their rubbish and recycling is collected, but the review has contributed towards significant savings of £300,000 in 2013/14”.

New rubbish and recycling calendars will be sent to households citywide from today (Tuesday 27 August) with new collections to commence from Monday 9 September.

The majority of households (72,000 homes) will continue to receive their normal collections on the same day on a fortnightly basis. The time of their collection may vary and residents are advised to ensure they present their rubbish and recycling before 7am on the day of their collection.

Further to the introduction of the new rubbish and recycling collections, changes to garden waste will also take effect from 9 September. The Council will introduce “an annual subscription charge for additional garden waste and not collect waste during the winter months”.

A charge of £35 to cover 12-months will come into effect for households with more then one garden waste bin.

No garden waste will be collected during the winter months of November to March.

For full details of the changes to rubbish and recycling collections, or if residents would like to subscribe to the garden waste service, please call 01904 551550.

The Council also says that can look up their collections by postcode by clicking this LINK

Students help to clear up and give back to the community

City of York Council is teaming up with the British Heart Foundation and students from both the city’s universities to help recycle and reuse household goods from students who are coming to the end of their academic year.

The council will be running two extra waste collections for students who are leaving before their designated collection day. The collections will be on June 15 and 29. Two crews will be circling the main student areas in The Groves and Haxby Road on both dates, and also in the Heslington Road and Hull Road areas on June 29.

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Labour back down on Green Bin Tax – but second bins will cost £35 to empty!

The Liberal Democrat campaign to stop Labour introducing a charge for emptying green bins has been successful.

A report to the Councils Cabinet says that there will be no charge for emptying one bin at each property.

Green bin petition

However the service will not be available between November and March (when less than 17% of green waste is collected). The Council hopes to save around £67,000 by discontinuing this part of the service.

A survey undertaken by the Council revealed that only 14.5% support a charge. That compares to 96% who responded to our survey in the Westfield area who were opposed to a charge.

There are over 5000 additional green bins in use at properties with large gardens. The Council hopes that around 3500 residents will pay £35 a year to have these second bins emptied.

The majority of respondents to the Councils survey supported having a combined food and green waste collection. In other parts of the country this has reduced landfill volumes by 15% and officers are to look further at how this could be introduced in York.

The Council is also to close the Towthorpe recycling centre on one day a week. It appears that they have still not learnt the lesson that closing the Beckfield Lane centre should have taught them (inconvenience means increased landfill volumes).

The Council claim that their online/telephone survey attracted about 1000 responses.

It was attacked as misleading as it failed to explain that changes to the current arrangements would have been unnecessary if the Council had decided to scrap some of its more extravagant plans like establishing an “arts barge” on the Ouse.