Stinking row over bins ‘shambles’

TWO Labour councillors have branded the Liberal Democrats’ handling of recycling services as “shambolic” in the aftermath of recent industrial strike action.

The local government pay battle, which saw hundreds of council workers take part in a two-day walkout, left food bins across Chadderton South unemptied for two weeks, attracting vermin, while domestic bins overflowed with stinking nappies.

Chadderton councillor Dave Hibbert said: “This is the first time the Liberal Democrats have had to make a difficult decision and they’ve blown it.”

“It was not good enough to put a double collection on the following week, because that meant that stinking food was left in the bins for a fortnight.”

Shadow cabinet member for the environment, Steve Bashforth, said the knock-on effect, which saw refuse staff struggling to catch up on the backlog, affected householders in Royton.

And he said weekly food collection was crucial in getting people to increase recycling levels.

The councillors also queried Liberal Democrat plans to spend more of the recycling budget in specific districts of the town, arguing that it would create a two-tier recycling system.

Councillor Bashforth said that it was vital the party reveal the priority areas, explain why they had been chosen, how much it was costing, and how it would affect recycling services in non-priority areas.

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said the Labour group knew in advance the contingency plans for a double food waste collection, and hoped the pair were not hinting that the council should have broken the strike and brought in outside staff to provide cover.

He also said the two councillors should have contacted the recycling team to arrange collection of the missed pick-ups.

Councillor Alcock explained that high density terrace housing with little space for extra recycling bins had been chosen in Glodwick and Moorhey for a pilot scheme to help to understand the challenges of giving residents the tools to recycle.

He said the intention was to give residents living in any type of property the opportunity to recycle, and asked Councillor Bashforth, as shadow cabinet member, for a list of dates and times he was available to meet with him so they could discuss recycling issues.