Kirklees Council to reinstate cardboard recycling skips at its tips

The move, which follows pressure on Kirklees Council from Tory councillor John Taylor, means residents will no longer have to use domestic green recycling bins for waste cardboard.

The authority has formally requested that waste operator Suez reinstate cardboard skips at recycling centres in the borough. Suez is “currently working through the possibilities”.

Kirklees’ tips were shut in March due to coronavirus restrictions. When they re-opened the facility to drop off cardboard was not included.

Coun Taylor, who represents Kirkburton, has repeatedly pressed the council for an answer on why cardboard recycling was not possible at its tips.

He said residents who wanted to recycle cardboard at council tips were being told to place it in a general waste skip.

Earlier this week (Oct 20) the council’s Cabinet member for Greener Kirklees, Clr Naheed Mather, said health and safety concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic had prevented skips for cardboard being made available.

She said: “We are waiting for the pandemic to calm down, because we have to take on board the safety issues of both our staff and our residents before we do what you are saying, which we do want to do as we move forward.”

She added that consultation with Suez was due to start from October 26.

Coun Taylor said he was “really pleased” with the development.

He added: “This is a council has a very poor track record on recycling with the last figures showing that less than 27% of waste is recycled [in Kirklees].

“Given this appalling statistic you would have thought Clr Mather would have been keen to get us back recycling, yet only two days ago she seemed unaware this U-turn was coming.”