A resident has raised concerns about litter in Valley Gardens in Harrogate after bins overflowed at Easter.
North Yorkshire Council has been criticised for its decision to reduce the number of litter bins to save money.
It is spending £478,000 on replacing about 1,500 litter bins in the former Harrogate district with 775 larger bins.
The Stray Ferret has covered the issue extensively, with the council saying in January it would review the policy after complaints.
Eileen Dockray, who took the photos accompanying this article on Sunday morning, raised concerns about the impact of the new approach on Valley Gardens.
She said:
“More than half of the bins in the gardens have been removed.
“I am not sure when they had last been emptied but they were not like that on Saturday morning. Monday was very similar after the good weather and families taking advantage of it.”
Ms Dockray added she feared the situation would get worse as summer approaches and visitor numbers increase.
A North Yorkshire Council spokesman denied there was a problem. They said:
“There was not a reduced service over Easter. The bins were emptied as normal with no overflowing bins reported.”
The spokesperson did not respond to our request for details about the number of bins that have been removed from Valley Gardens.
In 2022, smart bins were trialled in the town as a joint venture between the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Council.
According to a Harrogate borough councillor at the time, the bins used sensors to send alerts when they need emptying to avoid overflowing. Later the same year Harrogate Borough Council installed six smart bins, costing a total of £26,100, in Valley Gardens.
Last year a May bank holiday gathering required a major clean-up operation the following day.
Read more:
Scrapping household waste charges will cost taxpayers £889,000, says council
North Yorkshire Council has said a government policy change designed to reduce fly-tipping has left it £889,000 out of pocket, forcing it to look for new ways of saving money.
Last month, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow announced households would no longer have to pay to get rid of DIY waste at household waste recycling centres, such as those at Penny Pot Lane and Wetherby Road in Harrogate and Dallamires Crescent in Ripon.
DIY waste will now be treated the same as household waste, saving tip visitors up to £10 per sack of rubble or sheet of plasterboard. The change, which enjoys widespread public support and was lobbied for by organisations including the National Farmers’ Union, is due to come into effect later this year.
But North Yorkshire Council, which is one of the third of English local authorities that still charge for household DIY waste, told the Stray Ferret there was little evidence the move would reduce fly-tipping, although it could mean cuts elsewhere.
Cllr Greg White, North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for waste, said:
“We introduced charges for residents to dispose of soil, rubble and plasterboard at our household waste recycling centres in 2014 following a consultation in which residents stated they would rather pay a fee at sites than have to seek an alternative such as hiring a skip.
“This was implemented to preserve other services, many of which the council must legally provide. The abolition of charging means that many taxpayers will have to meet the costs of those few undertaking home improvements.
“We care passionately about minimising fly-tipping, but do not believe that the proposed changes will result in a significant decrease. We are not aware of any research that has found a link between charging for waste at household waste recycling centres and increased fly-tipping, which suggests that the removal of charges may not reduce fly-tipping levels. It’s important to remember that there is a large percentage of fly-tipped waste that can be disposed of for free at our household waste recycling centres.
“As a result of this change, we forecast that we will incur disposal costs of £586,000 and lose income of £303,000, creating a cost pressure of £889,000 which will force the council to look for savings elsewhere.”
Fly tipping at Priest Lane in Ripon.
Local authorities across England deal with well over a million fly-tipping incidents annually, according to government data, and it is estimated that fly-tipping and waste crime cost the economy £924m per year.
In an effort to tackle the issue, the government has consulted on reforming the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and on introducing mandatory digital waste tracking. It is also developing a fly-tipping toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to help spread best practice among local authorities.
Jacob Hayler, executive director of the Environmental Services Association, the trade body representing the UK’s waste management industry, said:
“We welcome any measures that make it easier for householders to dispose of waste correctly and responsibly at their local household waste recycling centres, which in turn reduces the chance of it falling into the hands of criminals or being fly-tipped.
“The government clarified the law in 2015 that local taxpayers should not be charged for disposing of household waste at civic amenity sites – scrapping backdoor ‘tip taxes’. It has also repeatedly stated that councils should not be charging for such DIY household waste disposal either.”
Incidents of fly-tipping can be reported to North Yorkshire Council via its website.
Read more:
- Fly-tipped jalapenos could solve mystery of Harrogate couple’s missing van
- North Yorkshire councillors voice frustration at 20 year delay to food waste collection service
- Fears of fly tipping in Harrogate district as recycling centres close