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Waste and recycling

Waste strategy

Let's Talk Less Rubbish outlines our Joint Municipal Waste Management strategy which we've developed with North Yorkshire Council and district councils across North Yorkshire, to deal with the area's waste for the next 20 to 25 years.

Watch to find out more:

Allerton Waste Recovery Park

Allerton Waste Recovery Park (AWRP), near Knaresborough, began generating electricity from waste in March 2018 - most of the waste used to produce energy comes from households in North Yorkshire and York.

All household waste we collect is sent to AWRP, meaning we now operate a 'zero waste to landfill' service, where your waste is recycled or incinerated and transformed into green energy.

This approach will save around £53 million over 25 years, compared to the costs of continuing to send rubbish to landfill.

AWRP processes waste through a mechanical treatment plant, which separates recyclable and organic materials. Organic material is fed into an anaerobic digester, which generates renewable energy, meaning the AWRP facility:

  • generates enough energy to power 40,000 homes a year
  • can to treat up to 320,000 tonnes of waste a year
  • diverts more than 90% of waste from landfill
  • reduces carbon emissions by the equivalent of taking 12,000 cars off the road overnight
  • helps to combat global warming

Harewood Whin landfill site

While former landfill site at Harewood Whin, near Rufforth, will continue to be used as a ‘waste transfer station’, areas will be transformed into a wildflower meadow to encourage more wildlife and improve the local environment.

Also see

Waste, Highways and Environmental Services

Telephone: 01904 551551