New green waste vehicles hit city centre streets

“Supporting businesses for a greener, cleaner York” is the new slogan on a fleet of waste collection vehicles have hit the street, as usage of a new business waste scheme from York Business Improvement District starts to flourish.

The new livery promotes the city centre waste collection scheme which was initiated by York BID as part of measures to keep the city centre looking clean and tidy.  The Forge Recycling vehicles are now collecting from businesses across the city seven days a week – something that York BID’s Carl Alsop believes is crucial for a tourist hotspot like York. 

“Saturday is the busiest day in York city centre, with hotels, restaurants and bars buzzing with guests, so when we were looking for a cost-effective waste collection service, being able to collect over the weekend was high on our priority list,” says Carl. 

“Any business within the York BID catchment is able to access their services at highly competitive rates, which includes a free cardboard bale collection each week and seven day servicing.”

The service is one of the most environmentally-friendly services available, with over 35 tonnes of waste being recycled in August alone.  Two thirds of all waste collected is now being recycled by businesses participating in the scheme. Last month 76% of the collected waste was recycled with the remaining 24% going to an energy-from-waste plant. 

“The more businesses join the scheme, the better for our city, reducing the number of large waste vehicles accessing narrow streets in the city centre, and maximising the amount of waste that can be recycled,” adds Carl. 

As part of the York BID agreement, participating businesses will benefit from economies of scale, with no annual increase in the waste contract price, but possible reductions as more sign up to the service. 

All businesses in the city centre are eligible to join.  For more details, please call 01904 202499 or email yorkbid@forgerecycling.co.uk