PLANS to ditch York household’s recycling boxes for wheelie bins are disingenuous, the leader of the council’s opposition has said.
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said City of York Council’s Labour administration were passing off savings of £520,000 and monthly collections as a move to wheelie bins.
Cllr Chris Steward, leader of the council’s Conservative group, said any changes should be made with residents in mind.
Ruling Labour’s environment spokesperson Cllr Jenny Kent said the proposed bins would allow more waste to be stored and collected and some residents had told them they struggled with boxes.
It comes after council unveiled proposals on Monday, February 23 to roll out wheelie bins to some York households.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Recycling wheelie bins could replace boxes for York households
- Hazel Court booking system goes live- details for York tip users
- Row as criticism of handling of York fly-tipping branded 'hypocritical'
Households in the rollout would get two bins, one for paper and cardboard and another for glass, tins and plastics.
Each would be collected every four weeks in two-week alternating cycles between paper and cardboard and glass, tins and plastics.
It comes as the council is looking to save £520,000 in its waste services over the next two years.
The move would also come ahead of councils being required to collect soft plastics and films from the kerbside by March next year.
Council officials have said wheelie bins would help improve collections by better storing litter which blows off existing boxes, reducing the need for follow-up visits.
It is also hoped bins could reduce musculoskeletal injuries among waste collection staff and be easier for elderly and disabled residents to move instead of lifting boxes.
But Liberal Democrat opposition leader Cllr Ayre said the move to monthly collections for the two streams of recycling would leave households with less capacity, not more.
He added the council needed to be upfront about the cost of the scheme and how long it would take to recoup them.
Cllr Ayre said: “To badge this as a move to wheeled bins is disingenuous and lowers trust, there needs to be an honest conversation on this and less council spin.
“With more goods being bought online, the volume of cardboard waste has increased significantly and any new system needs to take this into account.
“We must not overlook the reality for residents in terraced properties with very limited outdoor space, many could be expected to store up to four large bins.
“Recycling rates have already fallen under Labour’s administration, while fly-tipping is at record levels, residents deserve to know what safeguards are in place to ensure recycling rates don’t fall even further.”
Conservative Cllr Steward said his initial view was that boxes would be better for most residents than bins but his group were open to looking at options.
The Conservative said: “What is vital is that the changes are done with the customer, the residents paying for the service, in mind.
“Any talk of changes to bins will straight away mean some fear there will be a cutback to the frequency of collections and that the council is looking to save money.”
Labour’s Environment Executive Member Cllr Kent said their proposals would allow households to have bins which would be able to store more waste, including larger pieces of cardboard.
The executive member said: “Many people, including older, disabled and pregnant residents, have told us they struggle with recycling boxes and we all see lids and litter blowing around our streets on windy days.
“We know that some households struggle for space and some won’t be able to make the switch, but overall this is an opportunity to make life easier for residents and crews, to modernise our waste service, increase recycling and reduce litter on our streets.
“Liberal Democrats and Conservatives may not support this, but we believe residents will and they are our first priority.”
Between 7,000 and 8,000 households would be excluded from the rollout, with council officials set to work with them to find ways to accommodate some of them in the future.
The council’s executive will decide whether to approve a consultation on the proposals on Tuesday, March 3.
Share