Council hit back after Lib-Dems slam Oldham fly-tipping results

The Oldham Liberal Democrat Group has hit out at recent figures which show that Oldham has the second lowest rates of recycling in Greater Manchester, after the city itself which has always been the lowest. 

Annual figures published by WasteDataFlow show recycling rates at only 39.7% of waste in 2016/17, which compares unfavourably with high performer Trafford at 61.3%.

Commenting on the news, Councillor Howard Sykes, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and Leader of the Opposition, said:  “The Labour Administration introduced three-weekly bin collections supposedly to encourage recycling, but the evidence before our eyes in the wards that we as Councillors represent is that there is more and more fly-tipped waste and that it is both a health hazard and a public eyesore.

“This Council needs to ‘up its game’ in getting more of our residents to recycle a greater proportion of their waste more often. 

"Landfill charges for the Council to dispose of general rubbish responsibly are very high and the cost of cleaning up after fly-tippers is phenomenal. 

"This is Council Tax payers’ money that could be better used to look after our aging population or improve the life chances of our young people. 

"We need better information and to encourage and work in partnership the public to co-operate to improve our rates. 

"We also need enforcement when they do not. 

"That is what people tell me who do their bit for the environment and recycling.”

Councillor Sykes added:  “The new Leader of the Council has spoken about the need to invest more in our street cleaning teams and in our enforcement officers, and I welcome this commitment, so it is a real shame that Labour has repeatedly voted against Liberal Democrat proposals in past budgets to make these same investments through making savings in Civic Centre bureaucracy and waste. 

"The Liberal Democrats will happily work with the new Leader to make our Borough cleaner and more attractive, and I do hope that he will now revisit our sensible proposals to help make that happen.”

Oldham Council has responded to Councillor Sykes' comments by insisting they continue to 'get on with the job' of tackling fly-tipping in the Borough.

Comparing the above mentioned results with other authorities does not necessarily tell the 'full story'.

Cllr Arooj Shah, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “Since introducing the three-weekly bin collections our recycling rate has significantly improved and we would ask that all our residents support a greater increase by doing their bit and recycling their waste properly.”

“We are working with communities across the borough to actively improve the local area and won’t hesitate to enforce against those who don’t act in a responsible way.

"In the last six months alone we have prosecuted 61 flytipping/littering residents, with over an additional 180 fixed penalty notices served.

"Our proposed investment will provide for even more enforcement officers and residents need to be aware that dumping rubbish in Oldham is not acceptable.

“As far as upping the game goes the leader’s pledge reflects our commitment in this area. It’s easy to compare our rates with other authorities but it’s not the full story.

"For example, nearly half of our housing stock is terraced properties, which limits the heavier garden recycling tonnage enjoyed by other Greater Manchester authorities.

“We compare favourably with other authorities outside of Greater Manchester that have a similar make-up in terms of housing population and the economic backgrounds of residents but this doesn’t mean we are not always proactively looking at ways to improve the service.

“As a cooperative council we have made great strides in working with the communities, such as The Ghazali Trust and #MyColdhurst, who have not only helped us in promoting recycling and behaviour change but have also taken leadership in tackling areas which are considered to be hotspots.

"I appreciate Councillor Sykes' comments, but it would be great if the main opposition leader could take a short walk down the corridor to speak to the leader who would happily consider his proposals as would I - the general public care little about political point-scoring and would much rather we got on with the job after all that is what we are elected to do.”

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