Council row over how to tackle fly-tipping

Opposition councillors in York have claimed blocking off legal routes to managing household waste is leading to a rise in fly-tipping, highlighting a recent increase in charges to garden waste collection.

The Liberal Democrat group had called for the introduction of community skips as part of the council's budget discussions, to help residents to legally dispose of household waste, but the proposal was voted down.

The ruling Labour group rejected the plans, calling the criticism "hypocritical", and said the city had one of the lowest levels of fly-tipping in Yorkshire.

Council figures show there were 2,807 incidents of fly-tipping reported in York in the nine months since April last year.

The figure shows a small drop in fly-tipping when compared to 2,954 in the year up to the end of March 2025.

However, more broadly fly-tipping in York has been on the rise, with 2,500 recorded incidents in 2023-24 up from 2,368 over the same period in 2022-23.

The Lib Dem proposal to spend £52,000 on the skips, part of a roster of budget amendments, was voted down at a council meeting on 12 February.

The ruling Labour group's budget for for 2026 -27 includes an extra £90,000 for Neighbourhood Caretakers, launched in September, with residents "already seeing the positive results", said Labour councillor Jenny Kent.

The scheme involves a dedicated team dealing with issues, including fly-tipping, in response to reports from residents and councillors.

The team deliver improvements in council wards across the city, including removing weeds and street cleaning.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Paula Widdowson said rises in fly-tipping had come at the same time as fees for the council's Garden Waste subscription service had increased to £52.

"For many residents, particularly those without cars, older residents, or people on low incomes, getting rid of waste has become much more difficult - and when legal routes are blocked off, fly-tipping goes up.

"Community skips are a targeted response, put them in the places that are worst affected, give people a legal, accessible way to dispose of waste, and you reduce fly-tipping, clean up neighbourhoods, and save money in the long run."

Councillor Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat ward member for Westfield, said funding for the skips would also have supported the reinstatement of "tidy-up vans" - previously used to help residents clear waste when his party ran the council with the Greens.

He called Labour's rejection of the proposal "disappointing".

But Kent, Labour's environment executive member, said the Liberal Democrats had not opposed rises in green waste charges in the budget meeting - though the party had proposed spending £100,000 to discount some of the charges.

Kent said: "The Liberal Democrats have shown in their budget proposals that they support the green waste collection charge and have no intention of reversing it, so their criticism is hypocritical at best.

"While any fly-tipping is too much, York has one of the lowest levels of fly-tipping in Yorkshire."

She said the city's waste team did a "great job" and responded quickly to any reported incidents.

"With the launch of a new Neighbourhood Caretakers team last year, Labour is cleaning up our neighbourhoods, and residents are already seeing the positive results."

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