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Green scheme hit by freak weather
Bethan Dorsett5/ 2/2008
IT was the day the town turned green.
But the switch to alternate weekly collections did not go without a hitch for some neighbourhoods.
The Observer has received complaints from householders in Shawclough and Norden, who claim their streets were swamped in rubbish as they waited for their recycling waste to be collected.
Hoped to encourage residents to follow the council’s eco-friendly ethos, the scheme, which alternates between the collection of recyclable and non-recyclable waste, went live on Thursday.
But high winds caused headaches for residents, including Katherine Day, of Stocks Close, Shawclough.
She said: "I know they couldn’t help the weather but the wind blew all the waste from the recycling into my garden and drive.
"I rang the council up but I was told it would not be cleaned up because it was private property.
"I told them I would send them the bill – they were no help."
Another resident, Eddy Fletcher, of Nordale Park, Norden, wrote to us, claiming several bins had toppled over on his street, criticising the design of the bin.
He said: "Who designed them? They are top heavy. Almost all the bins ended up on their sides, spilling out the contents in the road."
Central Rochdale Councillor Ibrar Khan also claims he was inundated with complaints from Whitehall Street residents.
"I had at least 15 complaints from residents that day, claiming rubbish was strewn across the road," he said.
"The council later cleared the mess.
"I do support the scheme but I would like it to run smoothly."
In view of the ‘atrocious weather’ and ‘very high winds’, the council says the launch of the scheme was implemented effectively.
Peter Cunningham, environmental management boss, said: "There were a large number of bins blown over by the exceptionally windy conditions, which needed us to respond quickly by redirecting streets services resources to prevent recyclables littering the streets as residents’ bins were blown over.
"The vast majority of residents’ recyclables were collected as scheduled on Thursday.
"However, in a few cases some customers may have experienced a delay in collection but we’re confident that any first week teething problems will be learnt from and corrected.
"We’d like to thank local residents for their co-operation and support."
WHAT was your experience of the new alternate weekly collection scheme? Let us know through our website or by writing to us.
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9/02/2008 at 22:25
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