Leeds residents can have their say on council proposals to re-introduce charges for bulky waste collection.
Leeds council is proposing to continue providing the bookable service for unwanted bulky household items to all Leeds households. But the local authority, which is facing budget pressures, will only remain free for the first collection of each year and for all further collections made from households in receipt of council tax support, with up to five items collected at each booking. Â
The proposal is to apply a contributory charge of £30 for any repeat bookings during the municipal year for any household not in receipt of council tax support.Â
A council spokesperson said: “Providing this service to households across Leeds costs £710k a year. This includes all the operational costs (staff, vehicles etc) and waste disposal charges so that nothing goes to landfill. It is estimated introducing a £30 charge for repeat bookings will raise £169k a year to help subsidise this cost and reduce the pressure on the overall council budget.
“For comparison, our neighbouring councils charge between £25-£50 for this service, for all including the first collection.  The average cost per collection to the council is £40, which includes cost of collection plus the cost of legally and responsibly disposing of all items and ensuring that nothing we collect goes to landfill.”
The consultation runs until 31 January and can be completed here.
Building closures and sales, new car parking charges, service and staffing reductions and price increases are among wide-ranging changes being proposed as Leeds City Council sets out its annual budget plans for the 2024-25 financial year.
Council chiefs say they also face savings of £58.4m, alongside £7.4m of already agreed savings; £60.6m the year after and £46.1m the year after that. The council argues it has had to find savings of £795m a year since 2010/11.
A consultation into the future of closure-threatened Pudsey Civic Hall ended yesterday. Community hubs could also have their hours cut – have your say at Leeds Libraries Opening Hours Consultation until 12 February 2024.
The horrible things about this is that some anti-social people will resort to fly-tipping. (I would like to use a stronger term to describe such people, but think that it would be censored). How much does fly-tipping cost to clear up?