"Our statutory target for this year is 20 per cent, so it's fantastic that we are already achieving this level"
Geoff Derham, head of Waste Services at the City of York
The City of York’s rate of recycling and composting has reached 43%, well exceeding the statutory target for the City of 20% this year.
The Council's recycling team has praised the efforts of residents after their crews collected the highest ever tonnage from kerbside collections in in one week in June.
During that week over 270 tonnes of paper, cardboard, cans, glass and plastics were collected as part of the fortnightly recycling collections.
In addition to this a total of 397 tonnes of garden waste was sent for composting, with 1,087 tonnes of residual waste going to landfill in the same week.
Waste recycled from household waste sites and bring sites is also taken into account in the Council’s calculations.
A York recycling centre at dusk
Geoff Derham, head of Waste Services at the council, said:
"We're delighted that York residents are so supportive of the council's recycling collections. Their efforts are much appreciated and, taking waste from the household waste sites and other bring sites into consideration, have taken York's total recycling rate to just over 43 per cent.
“Our statutory target for this year is 20 per cent, so it's fantastic that we are already achieving this level. I would also like to thank the crews for their continued hard work and all the team behind the scenes who are committed to making the service a success."
Top 5 City
In addition, City of York Council's economic development chiefs have welcomed a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) putting York in the top five cities in the country.
The IPPR report bases its ranking of cities on employment, population growth and skills, and puts York alongside Reading, Bristol, Southampton and Cambridge.
Roger Ranson, the council's assistant director for Economic Development, said:
"We're obviously pleased that the IPPR has included York in its top five cities. The results echo the findings of the Future York report, which found that York's economy was already strong
Businesses enlisted in fight against litter
The council's newly created environment and enforcement team are visiting business across the city to give them advice about how to reduce business related waste and tackle litter that may be dropped by their customers.
The Council initiative is part of a wide campaign to reduce litter in York to improve the street level look of this important City and tourist destination. In June York was crowned Europe's top destination for tourists after scooping a European Cities Tourism award in Athens. The City beat off competition from Gothenburg and Valencia.
Jackie Armitage, the council's enforcement and environment manager, said:
"We now have two dedicated officers who will be helping advise business how to store, recycle and dispose of their refuse properly, as well as giving advice on how to tackle litter that is indirectly cause by their business. Litter from 'food on the go', such as confectionery wrappers and fast food packaging, blights the streets and we need the help of local businesses to make a real difference.”