Flurry of activity to shift rubbish
Reporter: Richard Hooton
Date published: 12 January 2010
BINMEN are this week attempting to catch up with refuse collections as the snow and ice begins to slowly thaw.
Last week’s heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures left wheelie bins scattered across the borough causing unsightly scenes as refuse workers struggled with icy streets to get to them.
But council chiefs are advising residents to put out their bins as normal, along with any extra black bags, and they will be collected as soon as possible.
Labour Councillor Dave Hibbert said: “Obviously there have been days where there has been no collections at all. The latest instruction is to leave the bins out and they will get out as soon as they can.”
He added that crews had been deployed yesterday to catch-up with collecting waste when Monday was not normally a collection day.
Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said: “We are trying to catch up. As soon as we can we will be getting out there and collecting waste. If people can continue to put their bins out as they normally would and we will collect them as soon as possible, along with any side waste as well for the next two weeks.”
Residents in difficult to access areas of Saddleworth can use one of six temporary locations to dispose of refuse only, including Denshaw Community Centre, Huddersfield Road; The Sound/Huddersfield Road junction, Delph; The Woolpack pub, Dobcross; Sam Road, Diggle; Museum car park, Uppermill; and Manchester Road, Greenfield.
THOUGHTLESS thieves have stolen a skip meant to help residents get rid of household waste.
The council put the large yellow skip at Wrens Nest in Shaw so people living in side roads which waste trucks had not able to reach could empty their rubbish.
However, when people arrived on Monday they discovered it had been stolen over the weekend.
...But watch out for bursts!
FLOODING fears are on the rise as daytime temperatures rise above freezing.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) are anticipating an increase in calls to deal with flooding.
During the last seven days, firefighters attended more than 75 emergency calls to incidents in homes.
Freezing water expands and may break pipes which leak when the thaw starts. The longer pipes are frozen, the greater chance of damage to homes and properties when the thaw comes.
Thawing water pipes can take some time, but residents can: find the main house stop tap, so water can be turned off quickly (and make sure you can turn it); apply a hot water bottle to a frozen pipe, or use a hairdryer in short bursts.
Don’t use a naked flame, and keep the number of a reputable plumber handy, in case you can’t fix it yourself.
DIY stores have kits that make fixing a simple burst relatively easy for anyone who can work methodically and use a spanner...
