£4 million landfill tax bill hits York as recycling performance crashes

Council performance stats click to access full report

Council performance stats click to access full report

A Council report has revealed that the amount of waste going to landfill in the City is significantly increasing.

As a result York taxpayers face a £3,918,960 bill – up over 17% on budget forecasts.

The fall in performance comes only weeks after a change in collection arrangements brought chaos to some streets in York.

The position is likely to deteriorate further over the winter as the Council is stopping collecting green waste altogether. The winter months accounted for around 18% of this type of waste last year.

The fear is that most of this will now go to landfill.

Historic recycling rates in York. Click to enlarge

Historic recycling rates in York. Click to enlarge

During the period when the Liberal Democrats led the council the amount of recycling and green waste sent for composting had substantially increased each year.

Now, against a background of delays on the longer term Allerton Park waste treatment project, prospects look increasingly bleak for both taxpayers and environmentalists in the City.

No apology from Labour Councillor over bins shambles

Asked, at the last Council meeting, to apologise to those residents whose bins were not emptied on time, Cllr Levene refused to do so.

Instead he claimed that only 0.12% of collections had been missed.

He conveniently forgot that 90% of residents did not have changes to their collection days.

Last Christmas some bins weren’t emptied for nearly 3 weeks and, although there have been fewer missed collections this week, the holiday season could being more problems.

Green waste collection stops at the end of the month.

Bins in Foxwood

Bins in Foxwood


The Council has incurred additional overtime expenditure on Saturdays “catching up” with missed deliveries.

Cllr Levene protestations were undermined by a fellow Cabinet member who, in response to a separate question about delays in answering at the Councils call centre, said,

“the significant increase in calls week beginning 9th September were due in the main to the waste collection changes affecting a large proportion of residents in York.

Clearly original estimates of resources needed to meet demand had to be re-evaluated once the real impacts were known, and then adjusted”.

The Cabinet member went on to say that

“We aim to answer 80% of our calls within 20 seconds with 95% of calls being answered”.

This compared to the actual performance, in early September, when average waiting times were 2.5 minutes with 40% of calls being abandoned.

Dringhouses misses out on waste bin emptying again

Today (Monday) the Council is reporting that both grey and green bins haven’t been emptied in parts of York.

Some of the roads listed on the Councils web site as “Micklegate Ward ” are actually in the Dringhouses Ward.

The web site is also a little vague about when the grey bins will actually be collected, although it seems that the green bins in Bishopthorpe will be emptied tomorrow (Tuesday)

Monday 30th September some properties in the following area(s ) did not have their waste collected as scheduled:

Grey Bin: (Micklegate Ward)

◦ Chalfonts

◦ Pulleyn Drive

◦ White House Gardens

◦ White House Rise

◦ White House Drive

◦ White House Dale

◦ St Georges Place

◦ Newington Court

◦ Mount Vale Drive

◦ Towton Avenue

◦ Moorgarth Avenue

Green Bin: (Bishopthorpe)

◦ Copmanthorpe Lane

◦ The Coppice
◦ Kirkwell
◦ New Lane
◦ Temple Road

“Green waste will be collected on Tuesday 1st October, please remember to present your garden waste bins by 7am”.

Wigginton’s turn for bin emptying failure

The Council say today, “Thursday 26 September some properties in the following area(s ) did not have their waste collected as scheduled:

Green Bin: (Wigginton)

◦Kirkcroft
◦Lockey Croft
◦Dealtry Avenue
◦Arenhall Close
◦Minster Close
◦Minster View
◦Churchfield Drive
◦Forest Close
◦Middlebanks
◦Plantation Way
◦Greendike (Part)

Green waste will be collected on Friday 27th September, please remember to present your garden waste bins by 7am.“

Woodthorpe loses out in today’s bin emptying lottery

Waste bins not emptied today

Green Bin: (Woodthorpe)waste lorry

• Carrfield
• Chantry Close
• Summerfield Road
• Arundel Grove
• Ullswater
• Silverdale Court
• Overdale Close

The Council says, Green waste will be collected on Wednesday 25 September. Please ensure your garden waste bins are out for collection by 7am.

Dringhouses bins not emptied today

Monday 23 September today’s missed bins! This is the third week of the new bin emptying schedules and still no sign of an improvement.

Green Bin : (Tadcaster Rd)

◦Pulleyn Drive
◦White House Gardens
◦White House Rise
◦White House Drive
◦White House Dale
◦St Georges Place
◦Newington Court
◦Mount Vale Drive
◦Towton Avenue
◦Moorgarth Avenue
◦Mount Vale
◦St Aubyns Place
◦Trentholme Drive
◦The Mount
◦Old Moor Lane
◦Aldersyde
◦The Horseshoe
◦Tadcaster Road (Part)

(Copmanthorpe)◦Wilstrop Farm Road
◦Barnfield Way
◦Paddock Close
◦Holmfield Close
◦School Lane
◦Manor Farm Close
◦Westfield Court
◦Horseman Lane
◦Horseman Avenue
◦Horseman Close
◦Lynwood Avenue
◦Manor Heath
◦Rutland Close
◦Lynwood View
◦Main Street (Part of)

Recycling:

◦St Aubyns Place
◦Tadcaster Road (20 Houses)

The Council say, “Green waste will be collected on Tuesday 24th September, please remember to present your bins/boxes”.

Now Clifton loses in bin emptying lottery

The Council say that they have been unable to empty green waste bins and collect recycling in parts of the Clifton and Rawcliffe area today. They hope to empty the green bins tomorrow (Saturday)

They have also failed to collect recycling from 10 roads in Rawcliffe. However they now plan to collect them on Monday. How residents are supposed to know this remains a mystery.

The local media continue to pretend that everything is OK.

No point in ringing up the Councils help line (01904 551551) . It is closed until Monday.

Even then you will only have a 50% chance of getting through – see our story tomorrow for the background to the Council communications meltdown.

Waste not collected (according to Council web site)

Green Bin: (Clifton Moor)

Hopes that Council Leader James Alexander will step in to address the bins crisis have been dashed. His involvement here was photographed only a few weeks before the last local Council elections

Hopes that Council Leader James Alexander will step in to address the bins crisis have been dashed. His involvement here was photographed only a few weeks before the last local Council elections

• Winscar Grove
• Langsett Grove
• Roseberry Grove
• Landalewood Road
• Grimwith Garth
• Gouthwaite Close
• Rivelin Way
• Doe Park
• Roundhill Link
• Stubden Grove
• Thornton Moor Close
• Dale Dyke Grove
• Boltby Road
• Morehall Close
• Oakdale Road
• Bransholme Drive
• Whitley Close
• Hayforth Close
• Handley Close
• Wellesley Close
• Ilton Garth
• Ryburn Close
• Loxley Close
• Rishworth Grove
• Eldwick Close
• Lanshaw Croft
• Ebsay Drive
• Lindley Road
• Barmby Close
• Redmires Close
• Gillingwood Road
• Wharnscliffe Drive
• Harden Close
• Lindley Wood Grove

Green Bin: (Clifton)

• Burton Stone Lane
• Burton Green
• Ashton Avenue
• Ingram Avenue
• Waveney Grove
• Burrill Avenue
• Evelyn Crescent
• Marjorie Waite Court
• Crombie Avenue
• Crichton Avenue
• Wilberforce Avenue
• Bede Avenue
• Intake Avenue
• Lucas Avenue
• Link Avenue
• Rowntree Avenue
• Sutton Way
• Little Avenue
• Kingsway North

Recycling:

1. Beaverdyke
2. Chelkar Way
3. Fewston Drive
4. Angram Close
5. Swinsty Court
6. Leighton Croft
7. Keats Close
8. Reighton Avenue
9. Lawnswood Drive
10. Melton Drive

Huntington and Haxby hit by bin emptying backlog today

The Councils web site is reporting that the following streets have not had their bins emptied today

Green Bin: (Huntington)

• Strensall Road
• Abbots Gait
• Vesper Walk
• Kingsclere
• Mulberry Court
• Connaught Way
• Langley Court
• Linden Close
• Heron Rise
• Drakes Close
• Avon Drive
• Crinnan Court
• Trent Avenue
• Witham Drive
• Lang Road
• Ikin Way
• Broome Road
• Broome Way
• Cotswold Way
• Southdown Road
• Malvern Close
• Mandip Close
• Chiltern Way
• Grampian Close

Green Bin: (Haxby)

• York Road
• Hilbra Avenue
• Rosecomb Way
• Farmstead Rise
• Milford Mews

Recycling: ( Haxby/Wigginton )

• Forestgate
• Calvert Close
• Gateland Close
• Little Meadows
• Old Orchard
• Cherry Paddock
• Orchard Paddock
• South Lane
• Abelton Grove
• Kennedy Drive