York’s successful kerbside recycling scheme is set to undergo changes to make collection quicker and easier, allowing collection to be extended to cover the whole city.

Currently residents present their recycling in a variety of boxes and bags. Collection crews often have sort through the waste dividing it up as they load it into collection trucks.

A new system has been agreed by Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, Councillor Ann Reid (pictured above) which will see £490,000 invested in providing residents with three recycling boxes with lids to allow them to sort their own recycling.

Residents would be asked to separate their own recycling into paper and card, glass bottles and jars and plastic bottles and cans using the new boxes.

The changes would mean collection crews will no longer have to search through bags to sort the recycling at the kerbside and will be able work more efficiently.

The increased efficiency is expected to save the council £210,000 a year.

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At this Thursday’s Full Council meeting the Liberal Democrat group will be calling on Councillors to back the 10:10 campaign and cut down on the council’s carbon emissions.

The 10:10 campaign calls on councils, individuals and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% during 2010. 

The Liberal Democrats Council Executive has already introduced an ambitious carbon management plan which will see the authority’s emissions cut by 25% by 2013. The carbon management plan will see investment in low carbon technology and a change in the way the council operates in order to reduce it’s carbon footprint.

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Dobbies Garden Centres have withdrawn their appeal against the refusal of planning permission for a new garden centre on green belt land in Fulford. 

Dobbies were contesting the refusal of planning permission for a garden centre on land lying to the southeast of York Designer Outlet in Fulford, but in a letter from the Planning Inspectorate today it was confirmed that the planning inquiry set for September was cancelled as the appeal had been withdrawn.  Read the rest of this entry.

The Council’s Executive have approved the submission of the 7 most popular proposals received under the Sustainable Communities Act. These proposals will now go to the Local Government Association who will collect submissions from local authorities and choose those to be sent to the government.

 The 7 proposals to go forward from York are:

1. Returning packaging to supermarkets
2. Retention of business rates locally
3. Re-regulation of buses
4. Generating energy via community renewable sources
5. Bringing commercial waste in to council recycling targets
6. Retaining council house income locally
7. Ensuring that all landfill tax and Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme penalties are returned to local authorities for investment in further recycling, reduction and reuse and repair.

You can find out more about the Sustainable Communities Act here

As promised in the latest edition of Focus I have added a page with more information on the suggestions made as part of the Sustainable Communities Act consultation.

Click here to visit the page or select the link on the left.

Fulford  residents are being asked to put their views forward on what they think would improve their local community at their Ward Committee next week.

The Sustainable Communities Act allows Councils to request the transfer of powers from central government to local government, in order to implement schemes to promote and encourage a range of aims including: Read the rest of this entry.