Ilkley district councillor Andrew Loy has called for a “common sense” approach to improving recycling and restoring access to local waste facilities, following a motion he presented at a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday 17 March 2026.
Ilkley district councillor Andrew Loy has called for a “common sense” approach to improving recycling and restoring access to local waste facilities, following a motion he presented at a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday 17 March 2026.
The motion highlighted that Bradford district’s household recycling rate currently stands at just 32.53%, significantly below the national average of 42.36% and the council’s own target of 40%. It also raised concerns about the impact of the closure of three household waste recycling centres (HWRCs), which has left some residents facing round trips of up to 22 miles to access the nearest facility.
Presenting the motion, Councillor Loy (Conservative, Ilkley) said:
“I want to talk about common sense. When the council has a target to improve recycling rates, a target it misses year after year, how on earth did anyone think it would be sensible to close three recycling centres?
“We need to make it easier for residents to recycle, not harder.”
He added that the closure of local facilities has had a significant impact on residents in Ilkley and other outlying areas:
“Before the closure, people could pop down to Golden Butts Road - even on foot. Now they have to drive 22 miles to Keighley and back. That means a quick trip to the local recycling centre becomes a day trip.
“When all someone has been doing is a bit of gardening or DIY, it shouldn’t take a Herculean effort just to do the right thing.”
The motion also pointed to the £13.3 million of new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funding received by the council this year, arguing that a proportion of this could be used to improve recycling infrastructure and accessibility.
Councillor Loy said:
“We now know that the council received £13.3 million in new funding and only required £5.9 million for the Government’s recycling reforms. That leaves £7.4 million - far more than the £900,000 savings from closing the three recycling centres.
“What we are suggesting is that a small part of that could be used instead to improve the council’s recycling offer.”
The motion called on council officers to review whether recycling facilities are “reasonably accessible” as required by law, identify options to increase provision - including reopening sites or introducing a mobile service for outlying towns and villages - and report back within six months with detailed proposals.
Councillor Loy added:
“This motion is about whether Bradford Council is giving its residents a fair chance to recycle properly - and whether we are serious about improving our performance.
“If we want residents to recycle more, we have to make it easier for them to do so. At the moment, the system we have is not delivering the results we want.”
Following a debate, the motion was rejected by the council’s Labour majority.
Councillor Loy said he would continue to campaign for improved recycling services in Ilkley and across the wider area.
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