Officials say the programme gives residents “direct access to reusable materials” while easing pressure on the city centre.
The city council has announced a major reduction in homelessness following the launch of a new transport programme linking shelters, central shopping areas and the municipal landfill.
Under the scheme, a trailer fitted with plastic seats is attached to selected refuse trucks each morning. Homeless residents are offered transport to the landfill, where they may collect cans, clothing, household goods and “other materials with remaining practical value.”
The council describes the service as a low-cost route to independence.
“People often speak about homelessness as though it is only a housing issue,” said Councillor Martin Hale, who oversees urban renewal. “But many residents also lack access to income, possessions and choice. At the landfill, there is no shortage of any of those things.”
Participants receive gloves, a safety briefing and access to waste deposited that day. The council says the programme has proved especially effective during large events, when central streets need to remain “welcoming, safe and commercially active.”
Local businesses have praised the initiative for reducing visible poverty near restaurants, hotels and retail districts.
“It is a thoughtful solution,” said one property developer. “The city is helping vulnerable people while allowing the rest of us to use public space without constant reminders of structural failure.”
The council’s latest figures show a 64 per cent reduction in people sleeping rough in the city centre. Asked whether the residents had found permanent homes, Hale said the data measured “location outcomes rather than lifestyle outcomes.”
A participant named David said he had not been told how long the daily transport would continue.
“They call it opportunity,” he said, holding a sack of crushed cans. “I suppose it is. Yesterday I found a chair with only one broken leg.”
The council confirmed that the programme had not ended homelessness.
“It has,” Hale said, “ended the need to discuss it.”