Council face extra £400k bill to dump waste (From York Press)

City of York Council face extra £400k bill to dump waste

9:28am Wednesday 9th January 2013 in News By Mark Stead, Political Reporter

YORK is set to be hit with an extra £400,000 bill for getting rid of its rubbish this year – despite the fact that the amount of waste sent to landfill sites is falling.

Figures produced by City of York Council have shown the city expects to produce 400 tonnes less in waste which goes to landfill during 2012/13 than it did last year, but this will not prevent the authority having to deal with rising costs.

The Government increased landfill tax bills by £8 per tonne this year, which means council officers are predicting York’s costs will go up by £402,320 this year to £3.397 million – £1.4 million more than in 2008/09. They have also forecast the amount of landfilled waste will drop from 53,490 tonnes in 2011/12 to 53,090 this year.

The predictions were made in a report which will go before the authority next week. In it, officials Penny Hepworth, Kath Bonfield and Patrick Looker also say that while the council has focused on rolling out recycling collections to more homes, this had “limited the possibilities” for improving the service for residents who were receiving it before it was expanded.

Meanwhile, options for how York’s green waste is collected will go before the council’s cabinet next month.

The Press revealed last July that the authority could start charging for the service through subscriptions and carry out seasonal garden waste collections to save £250,000 by the end of 2013/14.

Collection days may also be altered and “same-day” collections for grey and recycling bins stopped to save a further £300,000 over two years, although firm proposals, which will go out to public consultation, have not yet been confirmed.

Landfill tax applies to all waste disposed of at landfill sites.

Coun David Levene, cabinet member for environmental services, said 2,500 tonnes less landfilled waste is expected to be produced in the city this year than in 2011.

He said: “The increased cost in landfill tax is budgeted for in the short-term, and in the medium-term we will promote composting, reuse and waste minimisation through the Zero Waste York initiative.”