Almost half a million pounds of taxpayers’ money is being spent on halving the number of litter bins in the Harrogate district.

Council staff are replacing 1,500 old bins with 775 new, larger bins.

Some dog walkers are upset because bins on popular routes have been taken away and replaced by ones alongside main roads that are easier to empty.

A freedom of information request by the Stray Ferret to North Yorkshire Council revealed the new bins cost £478,000.

The council said the cost of replacing the old bins would have been £339,000.

It estimated it will save £16,000 a year by no longer having to buy 240,000 bin liners because the new receptacles don’t require them.

It also expects to save between £17,000 to £19,000 a year because the new bins can be handled more efficiently by bin wagon. The council also expects to save an unspecified sum on fuel, because there are fewer bins to empty.

A new bin in Knox.

The freedom of information response by North Yorkshire Council said the management board at the now-defunct Harrogate Borough Council signed off the new system.

A spokesperson from the council’s environment directorate said:

“The main aim of the project was to reduce the number of duplicate journeys between different services.

“This does provide a level of savings, coupled with a benefit to the environment, through a reduction in annual mileage and almost eradicating the need for the 240,000 single-use liners used on the smaller bins.”

They added:

“It provides further benefits by allowing the streetscene team to provide a more proactive service in regard to littering, fly tipping, and the clearance of detritus.

“To achieve this, the old infrastructure, totalling close to 1500 bins, is being replaced with 775 new bins. With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together.”

Dog walkers in Knox, Jennyfields and Knaresborough have contacted the Stray Ferret with concerns about the new system.

A new bin on Jenny Field Drive.

In Jennyfields, where new bins have been sited on main roads rather than in the field near the leisure centre, Elizabeth Horner said “the amount of rubbish from having no bins in the area has got disgusting”.

Another dog walker, Diana Salama, said there was now “nowhere to easily dispose of poo”.

Under the new system, dog waste is no longer classified as hazardous waste and can be placed in any bin. This means dog waste can be placed in owners’ general waste bins.

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North Yorkshire Council has responded to criticism of its new system for street litter bins.

Some 1,500 smaller litter bins in the Harrogate area are being replaced by a smaller number of new larger bins.

Many of the new bins are situated alongside main roads rather on dog walking routes to make them easier for council workers to get to.

Some dog owners are dumping poo bags in areas where the old bins were rather than walk to main roads and put their dogs on leads.

Dog waste piling up in Jennyfields.

The Stray Ferret has recently reported concerns about this policy in Knox and Jennyfields.

Barrie Mason, assistant director for the environment at the council, said the old bins were removed following a service review and the new approach conformed with good practice guidance from the Waste and Recycling Action Partnership charity.

He said:

“We are currently implementing a new infrastructure for our street litter bins in the Harrogate area.

“The newer bins have a larger capacity and house a wheeled bin. This means they are efficiently emptied by our larger wagons, reducing the risk from manual handling individual bags.

“With the greater capacity, fewer bins are required which helps to reduce street furniture, particularly in locations where two bins may have been placed close together.”

Dog waste ‘no longer classified as hazardous’

Mr Mason added:

“We are implementing new routes which reduce the number of vehicle miles and emissions while freeing up our street cleansing teams to provide a more proactive service, including in our urban areas.

“There are some associated savings from the project, from a reduction in the amount of skips, single use plastic liners and fuel we use.

“Dog waste is no longer classified as hazardous waste and can now be placed in any bin, eliminating the need for specialist bins that further reduce street clutter and manual handling risks. This also means dog waste can be placed in owners’ general waste bins when they return home without adjusting walking routes.”

Read more:

• Call for urgent review of new bins after dog poo bags litter Jennyfields
• Council’s new dog poo policy causes a stink in Knox

Mr Mason said bins “are emptied less frequently” in off-road areas in places like Jennyfields “but will be emptied as frequently as required”. He added:

“The emptying frequencies and bin locations are something we’ll be continuing to monitor.

“The work in Jennyfields is still ongoing, and officers are communicating with the relevant local councillor over the new locations and any issues that may arise.

“Harrogate leisure centre has a large open space with a basketball court, so we will be installing a bin soon.”