James Alexander does his bit ‘on the bins’

James Alexander, who represents the Holgate ward, put aside his normal political duties to get his hands dirty alongside refuse teams following switches to the way rubbish is picked up in the Leeman Road and Westfield areas of the city.

The alterations brought in by City of York Council mean bags of waste are now left at the front of houses rather than in wheelie bins in back lanes. Local councillors say the move, coupled with the decision to introduce fortnightly collections, has created rubbish “havoc” in the area.

A petition on behalf of Holgate residents complaining about the arrangements was presented to a full meeting of City of York Council earlier this month by ward councillor Sonja Crisp, and Coun Alexander said he wanted to spend a day “on the dust” to assess how workers were dealing with the changes.

“The collection teams do a fantastic job and I have had the opportunity to see this first-hand by doing a round with them,” said Coun Alexander.

“They agree with councillors in Holgate and Labour council candidates in the Westfield ward that the council has got it wrong on their changes in bin collections.

“People are confused, and we should move to collections at the end of lanes where there are terraced properties.

“This is the main service many people expect to see their council tax being spent on, and at the moment the council has not got this top-priority service right.”

The changes to the collection service were brought in with the intention on making it easier for crews to pick up rubbish.

But The Press has previously reported how problems have arisen with the revised policy in the Leeman Road and Poppleton Road areas, as well as in Beaconsfield Street and Gladstone Street in Acomb.

The council has said the new collection strategy has created confusion for some residents, but that extra resources have been targeted in areas where snags were identified to ensure streets are kept clean.