PEOPLE have been begging for recycling bins in York, the council's environment spokesperson has said, as plans to ditch boxes face calls for a rethink.
City of York Council's executive approved plans when it met on Wednesday, September 9, to replace about 63,000 homes' recycling boxes with two 180L bins.
Cllr Jenny Kent, the council's Labour environment spokesperson, said she was sure everyone would come to see the changes as a positive step forward.
But opposition Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said while the changes would increase capacity for some households, those who already had four boxes would lose out.
It comes after council officials have said the roll out of the bins was set to happen in nine to 12 months.
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The changes are set to see households given two bins, one for paper and card and another for glass, tins and plastic.
Each of them would be collected once every four weeks in a two-week alternating cycle.
The cycle would see general waste collected in the first and third weeks, with paper and card taken away in the second and all other recycling in the fourth.
Bins with a capacity of 180L will be given to eligible residents as standard, with larger 240L bins potentially available to larger households on request in the future.
Special requests for smaller 140L bins would also be considered if a resident is able to reasonably justify the request.
Council officials have said the changes would make collections more efficient and recycling easier, with homes who now have three moves set to see capacity increase.
The roll out is set to cost an estimated £2.8 million, with the cost set to be recouped in the coming years and the moves expected to result in long-term savings.
The proposals come as the council looks to save £520,000 from its waste collection services over the next two years.
They also come ahead of requirements for soft plastics to be collected from kerbsides by March next year.
Council environmental services lead Ian Hoult said the changes could also see larger side items such as cardboard packaging collected from the kerbside without people having to break it up themselves.
He added the council was committed to rolling out bins to 10,000 more households, mostly in terraced streets, by 2030 and further work is planned on them.
Cllr Kent said moves to bins were needed ahead of wider changes to make recycling collections more efficient by streamlining routes and speeding them up.
She said: "Bins are really close to our hearts, it's the one thing we all have so people understandably feel strongly about them.
"You can't have a bespoke fit for everyone, we have to find a system that works best for the majority of people.
"We've had people begging us to get rid of the boxes, people in York with friends and relatives throughout the country who've had them for many years will welcome this."
Cllr Ayre said replacing boxes with bins had been explored previously some years ago but the plans were ultimately rejected.
He also questioned the financial details of the proposals and said collecting extra recycling such as large boxes on an ad hoc basis would be unworkable.
The opposition leader said: "It's difficult to understand what the point of this whole exercise now is.
"People who currently have three boxes will get an extra 30 litres of capacity a month, those with four boxes will have less capacity.
"The proposals are a mess."
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