More wheelie bins but fewer collections? Have your say on York recycling plans

Have your say on council plans to change recycling collections.

City of York Council is looking to move recycling collections to once every three weeks – but would give residents bigger bins and allow them to mix glass with the plastic and tins. Garden waste collections could also change to once every three weeks – but take place all year.

The plan is part of a bid to get people to recycle more.

The amount of household rubbish sent for recycling in York has flatlined at about 44 per cent a year since 2017.

Under the plans, residents would get

• a 180 litre wheelie bin to replace the plastic and tins box and the glass box.
• two boxes for paper and card, instead of just one
• and an even larger garden waste wheelie bin, of 240 litres.

The bins would be collected once every three weeks instead of once a fortnight.

But the council says the larger bins mean overall there will be more space for recycling.

There are no plans to make changes to the black bin collections.

Concerns about space

Councillors raised some concerns about the changes at a meeting last week – including worries about residents not having space for extra bins and fears that people who do not get garden waste collections do not benefit from plans to move to year-round collections.

They also questioned whether increasing bin space will lead to more recycling – or whether more types of waste need to be collected for reuse.

Cllr Dave Taylor said the three-weekly rota could also be confusing as residents will be asked to put out a different type of recycling each week.

Launching the consultation, Cllr Paula Widdowson said: “We want to hear residents’ views on our current waste collections, as this is a key part of improving the service in the future.

“Residents are doing a fantastic job of recycling in York.

“Kerbside recycling rates in York are doing really well, with around 43 per cent either being reused, recycled or composted.

“However, it has remained at this figure for a number of years and we now have a real opportunity to make a big difference to help York become a cleaner and greener city, by introducing more efficient waste vehicles and helping residents to recycle even more.”

To have your say visit the survey page on the council website by May 11.

Or collect a paper survey from Explore libraries from April 12 and return to free post Recycling Changes, City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA.