Cost of wheelie bins is soaring

City of York Council has spent £62,000 more than expected this year on new bins, to either replace those damaged by waste trucks or for newly-built homes.

Rising fuel prices and increased security costs at a crime-hit council waste site have also added to the burden on the public purse, contributing to a predicted £180,000 deficit in the council’s waste management, refuse and recycling department.

The overspend was outlined in a report to councillors.

Bin prices have soared in recent months due to a Europe-wide shortage, and ruling councillors are now being asked to release an extra £50,000.

York councillor Ken King, Labour spokesman on neighbourhood services, blamed “stupid” budgeting for the problem.

The council’s neighbourhood services department had asked for £100,000 back in February to cope with the predicted increased cost, but was given only £50,000 at the time. Coun King said: “It’s a stupid way to budget, quite frankly, if bids are cut to balance the books and then officers have to ask for more money down the line.”

In a report to the council’s neighbourhood services panel, the departments finance and performance managers, Sarah Kirby and Mike Douglas, warned the problems may continue for some time yet. They wrote: “There could be further pressure on this budget, as prices have increased considerably over the last few months (for example 240-litre bins have increased by 28 per cent) and may continue to rise due to the cost of raw materials and excess demand across Europe.”

As well as the bin problems, the rising cost of fuel has added £47,000 to the bill for filling up refuse and recycling vehicles.

Up to £84,000 may have to be found to beef up security at Towthorpe household waste recycling centre, which was hit by a series of break-ins in the spring. Some £20,000 has already gone towards improving the security of the site. Those expenses have been offset by a saving of £13,000 as a result of less waste being sent to landfill.