York- recycling bin views call as council survey goes on

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Cllr Paula Widdowson said there were concerns City of York Council’s consultation on the changes did not allow participants to leave feedback about specific issues they could face.

Cllr Jenny Kent, the Labour administration’s environment executive member, said residents could have their say in person as well as in the council’s consultation broadly covering issues around the proposals.

It comes as the consultation on the changes has so far received more than 10,000 responses, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands.

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People can take part online, over the phone or by attending one of the in-person drop-in events planned in April.

The consultation is set to close on Friday, May 1.

The proposals would see most households’ existing recycling boxes swapped for two 240-litre bins, one for paper and cardboard and another for glass, tins and plastic.

Each one would be collected every four weeks in two-week alternating cycles.

The changes come as the council looks to save £520,000 from its wider waste collection services over the next two years.

Council officials have said wheelie bins would allow people to recycle more ahead of requirements for soft plastics including film to be collected from the kerbside from March next year.

They added they would help reduce work-related injuries among council waste collection staff, make bin rounds more efficient and stop litter being left behind afterwards.

But concerns have been raised about the plans including how those living in smaller terraced houses will cope with having to store more wheelie bins.

The Liberal Democrats have also said waste being collected less frequently could see residents whose collections are missed waiting up to eight weeks for it to be taken away.

York recycling boxes. Picture is from York Council (Image: City of York Council)

Opposition environment spokesperson and deputy leader Cllr Widdowson said they were now asking people to them their views directly so they could build a clearer picture the potential effects.

Cllr Widdowson said: “We know residents care strongly about recycling and want to see a system that works well for everyone.

“Many people have told us they don’t feel the current consultation gives them the opportunity to explain their individual circumstances or concerns.

“It’s especially important we understand the impact on different households before any final decisions are made.”

Cllr Kent said she believed the changes would be positive but needed to hear from residents to understand how they could be affected.

She added it would be impossible to create a bespoke system for each of York’s roughly 95,000 households but the council wanted to know about any difficulties residents foresaw.

Cllr Kent said: “Proposed changes will see the capacity most residents have for recycling go up from 165 litres to 240 litres fortnightly, allowing more to be recycled at the kerbside.

“It will allow us to collect more from residents, reducing the need for them to go to the tip, and make collections more efficient, saving the council money.

“Liberal Democrats running another consultation is just confusing for residents and is not going to add anything to both the more than 10,000 responses the council’s consultation has already received, and the in-person drop in events we are running.”

People can share their views with the Liberal Democrats here: https://digitallibdems.typeform.com/2026Recycling

The council’s recycling consultation is available online here, along with the dates, times and locations of the in-person drop-in events scheduled for April: https://www.york.gov.uk/RecyclingReview

People can also take part by calling the council on: (01904) 551551 and paper copies of the survey can be found in Explore libraries.