Oldham Council is committed to making our borough cleaner, safer and greener.
For that to happen we need residents to work with us and do their bit to keep their communities clear of dumped waste, litter and fly-tipping.
Our waste, recycling crews and street cleaners work hard in all weathers to ensure our streets, roads, alleys and open spaces are clean.
Through our Don’t Trash Oldham campaign the council has invested extra resources into tidying up every ward in the borough and we are currently working in Hollinwood.
Unfortunately, a small minority of people continue to blight the borough and harm their communities by leaving and dumping waste for others to clean up.
Martin McDonagh is the latest resident to find himself in court after he left his waste out and expected others to clean it up. His rubbish was found near his house on County Street.
In court he pleaded guilty to a Duty of Care offence – this means he admitted failing to put his rubbish in his bin, or take it to the tip, or get a licenced waste person to collect it and take it away for him.
The 31-year-old was fined £80 with £200 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.
Councillor Jean Stretton, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “All your household waste should go in your grey bin – don’t leave it bagged up at the side of the street or in alleyways.
“Putting out extra waste such as black bags is fly-tipping. It makes an area look untidy, can attract rats and vermin and takes up space that is needed for other residents, such as social activities or an area for children to play in.
“If your grey bin regularly gets full then consider if you can recycle more of your waste to help your community and help the environment. Alternatively, you can take your rubbish to the tip or in certain circumstances you can order an additional bin. It is important that everyone cleans up after themselves as we will continue to take action to help improve local areas.”
Since we started Don’t Trash Oldham we have issued 398 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to people in our communities who do not take responsibility for putting their rubbish in the appropriate bins.
So far, we have also taken 44 people to court and recovered fines and costs in excess of £28,000, and another 121 cases are going through the legal system.