Watch our short animation that explained our proposal for recycling collections

Why we were reviewing how we collect recyclable waste

We formed the new North Yorkshire Council in April 2023. Before then, the seven former borough and district councils collected all household waste. Although we now provide the same collection service for non-recyclable waste and garden waste, recycling was still collected in different ways across the county.

We wanted to make the recycling collection service was the same for all North Yorkshire residents.

This helps us to:

• make the best use of resources
• provide value for money

We also need to improve recycling collections to meet the requirements of the Environment Act 2021. The government expects all councils to recycle 65% of their waste by 2035.

We reviewed our current recycling collection methods and identified three different options for further investigation:

• option 1: all recycling in one 240-litre wheelie bin collected fortnightly
• option 2: separate recycling boxes for each material, collected fortnightly
• option 3: two 240-litre wheelie bins (one for glass, cans and plastic, and one for paper and card), with alternate fortnightly collections

For each of the three shortlisted options, we have looked at:

• value for money
• contamination
• carbon reduction

Value for money

Recycling with wheelie bins (option 1 and 3) requires the fewest vehicles, highlighting the efficiency of using wheelie bins and single compartment vehicles:

• option 1 (all recycling in one wheelie bin) could see the lowest decrease in total costs and the least value for money. Higher contamination levels combined with lower quality material could result in higher treatment costs and less income
• option 2 (separate recycling boxes) could see the second highest cost saving, but needs the most staff, due to the high number of vehicles required to operate the service
• option 3 (two 240-litre wheelie bins for glass, cans and plastic, and paper and card collected alternate fortnightly) could see the highest cost reduction

With all options, there are extra costs for containers and vehicles. These costs will be minimised by changing vehicles as they reach the end of their life.

Contamination

Other councils have found that contamination (non-recyclable items) is lower when residents sort materials (options 2 and 3). As part of any changes, we would provide information to all residents about recycling effectively and helping to increase recycling rates.

Carbon reduction

Emissions, from collections and onward haulage of recyclable material, is the only area that impacts the total amount from the baseline. Only small, marginal changes are observed across all options.

Other things to consider with bags and boxes (option 2):

• issues with recycling items escaping from boxes and bags on windy days
• paper collected in bags or boxes becomes wet when it rains and can be rejected by paper mills meaning further costs and reduced income
• wheelie bins are much easier to use and empty, with less manual handling involved for residents and collection crews

Conclusion

Following a review of the different collection methods, option 3 (two wheelie bins, one for glass, cans and plastic, and one for paper and card, with alternate fortnightly collections) has been identified as the preferred collection method for most properties. Fortnightly collection of non-recyclable rubbish will continue:

• option 3 provides best value for money, as high-quality recyclable materials would be presented at the kerbside. These can be sold to manufacturers to recycle and make new products
• two wheelie bins would help residents recycle more much material. A third wheelie bin is provided for normal rubbish. Residents can continue to opt in for a garden waste collection
• properties with limited storage or access would still need other methods of collection. This may include sack collections and communal or different sized bins, as used now

Nearly nine out of ten people (87%) said it was very important (61%) or important (26%) that North Yorkshire residents have access to an equal recycling service. Only 3% said this was not very important (2%) or unimportant (1%).

We put forward a proposal to improve recycling services in North Yorkshire based on the recycling model used in Selby (using two wheelie bins, one for glass, cans and plastics and one for paper and cardboard, with alternating fortnightly collections).

Comments showed positive support for the proposal although there were also some concerns. Key themes included support for modernising collections with more space in bins to make recycling easier, reducing litter, the practicality of additional bins, the frequency of collections and the potential for confusion among residents.

More than nine out of ten people said they used their kerbside recycling collection service every time (84%) or most of the time (8%) and the survey results show most people were very happy or happy with our recycling services. People using wheelie bins are much more likely to be very happy or happy with their container type and size of container, than those using boxes or bags.

You can read the  Let's Talk Rubbish report (pdf / 646 KB).