Council cool on weekly bin plan

OLDHAM Council chiefs have indicated they will not be following Government proposals on bin collections.

Eric Pickles, Communities and Local Government Secretary, wants councils to scrap fortnightly collections and reinstate weekly rounds.

He unveiled a £250 million fund designed to help councils meet the extra costs, but any council signing up would have to guarantee weekly bin rounds for at least the next five years. The proposal comes after complaints of serious risks to public health from uncollected waste.

But Councillor Jean Stretton, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “Eric Pickles’ proposals are at an early stage and nothing has been formally communicated to the council.

“It is important to note that a significant factor in Oldham Council’s managed weekly collection system is that food waste is collected each week. Part of the reason for adopting the current system several years ago was to increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

“We have successfully improved the recycling rate from 15 per cent to over 40 per cent during this period.”