York households could see their recycling boxes replaced by two wheelie bins.
Residents are soon to be consulted on the idea, as part of City of York Council’s aim to make recycling easier and more efficient.
It could mean some homes have a total of four different wheelie bins – a black bin for landfill waste, a bin for card and paper, another for all other recyclables, and a green bin if they are subscribed to the garden waste service.
This is already the case in some other council areas. The black bin would still be collected fortnightly. The other bins would be collected in turn every other week.
Council officials say wheelie bins would allow people to recycle more of their waste. It would also end the bane of a windy collection day, where boxes and their contents are strewn about the streets.
That adds a cost to the council as teams have to go out and tidy up the mess.
Cllr Jenny Kent. Photograph: City of York Council
The collection of recycling waste in two streams, one taking paper and cardboard and another everything else, is considered to be the most efficient.
Although there would be an initial expense, in both buying the new bins and potentially new bin lorries too, it could save money in the long run by being more efficient, the council believes.
Sales of recycled waste generates around £800,000-a-year in income for the council. That figure could rise if more recycling was collected.
“The move to wheeled bins would support the city’s climate commitments by improving recycling rates and minimising waste‑related emissions,” City of York Council adds.
The roll-out of new bins would also come as the council’s waste services looks to save £520,000 over the next two years.
‘We should be doing this’
The council’s executive will be voting on whether to put the proposals out to a consultation on Tuesday, 3 March.
The proposals come ahead of national changes which will see local authorities required to collect soft films and plastics like pet food pouches from the kerbside by March 2027.
Not every household would be eligible for wheelie bins. Between 7,000 and 8,000 households will be excluded from the process. These include the 2,568 who have their recycling collected by St Nicks.
Wheelie bins in Harrow, Middlesex, where each resident has three separate bins. Photograph: Anthony Devlin / PA wire
As part of the engagement exercise, officers will identify homes, such as some city centre properties, where boxes will need to remain in use or others solutions found.
Cllr Jenny Kent, executive member for environment and climate emergency, told YorkMix: “York residents are really good at recycling, but if we introduced wheelie bins for the properties that could take them, we could significantly increase the amount that people could recycle, which would mean less is put into the black bins.”
She recognises that not every home has the capacity for wheelie bins. “Where it is possible, we should definitely be doing it.
“And I think in many parts of the city, it’d be very welcome. I do get contact from people asking if they can buy their own wheelie bin for this purpose, because they really are fed up with the boxes.”
She said the move would also be welcome by the council waste collection crews on health grounds. “They’re handling those boxes day in, day out, and we do get a lot of injuries and stresses and strains.
“So if we could make a majority switch to wheelie bins, that would also have a really good impact for the health and wellbeing of waste crews.”
A total of 1,386 absence days related to musculoskeletal issues were recorded last year.
Cllr Kent added: “Talking to people about these proposals is an important first step.
“We want to hear from communities about the opportunities and challenges so that any future service changes work for everyone in our city.”
A final decision on the proposals is set to be made later this year, with the cost of the roll-out and dates for deliveries yet to be worked out.
New wheelie bins would be provided free. Households would get to keep their current recycling boxes for their own use.
Additional reporting: Joe Gerrard, local democracy reporting service
We updated this post to correct an error saying the bins would all be collected monthly. Black bins will be collected fortnightly as now