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City Of York Council

Waste and recycling service customer standards

York is a fantastic place to live, work and visit. We all benefit from the superb environment both in the city and in neighbourhood areas. Reducing waste going into landfill is a top priority for York as well as the UK. To help residents to 'do their bit' and reduce the need to send waste to landfill we will recycle as much as possible with the money we have available.

We are committed to providing high quality waste collection and recycling services to the residents and businesses of York. 

We recognise that the delivery of effective and value for money waste and recycling services should result in a cleaner and greener environment. 

This Waste and Recycling Customer Standard explains our commitment to customers and what we will do to maintain the environment so that our historic legacy can be preserved for all to enjoy. We aim to work in partnership with our community as everyone can play their part in reducing waste and taking part in recycling.

Waste and Recycling Service consists of the following activities:

  • Provide a collection of household waste that will go to landfill
  • Provide a kerbside collection of green waste for composting
  • Provide a kerbside collection of dry recyclable materials
  • Provide arrangements for helping aged and disabled people by collecting and returning their containers from and to the property
  • Provide a bulk waste collection service for fridges, garden and bulk items  (Chargeable)
  • The provision of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC's)
  • The provision of static recycling sites across the City such as those found at local supermarkets
  • Provide Commercial Waste collection from local businesses
  • Advise on how to reduce waste and increase recycling

What we will do:

  • Collect your waste and recycling material on the scheduled collection day
  • If we miss your collection we will return to collect by the end of the next working day
  • Leave your streets clean and tidy after collection
  • Help people with limited mobility with collection arrangements
  • Let you know of any changes to your collection days and let you know well in advance the arrangements for Christmas and Bank Holidays
  • Expand the recycling service within the money available
  • Ensure out HWRC's are accessible and easy to use
  • Promote waste minimisation and recycling
  • Provide as many local recycling sites as possible to encourage recycling from all areas of the City
  • Let you  know how well the City is doing in reducing and recycling its waste
  • Work with businesses to reduce commercial waste and help them to recycle
  • We will collect domestic refuse and recycling materials as described on our web site
  • We will provide customer focused facilities for our customers to report concerns about performance and respond promptly in response to their requests.
  • Our staff will be courteous and helpful at all times
  • We will provide value for money services

How you can help by:

  • Remember to present your waste and recycling materials before 7am on the day of collection
  • Make sure your waste for landfill is contained within your wheeled bin or black sack (extra bags will not be collected)
  • Not putting items such as waste oil, paint, rubble or metal bars in your bin
  • Taking the opportunity to reduce the amount of waste your household or business creates. Help and advice is available on our web-site
  • Considering home composting as an alternative to sending your waste to landfill.  Information on composting is available on our web-site
  • Reporting fly-tipping and bags and bins put out too early for collection
  • Telling us when you have a concern about what we do
  • Treating our employees in the same way that you wish to be treated
  • Fill in our customer surveys and questionnaires