Published: Monday, 19th December 2022
Oldham Council is taking a new approach to cleaning up hot spot areas as part of the Don’t Trash Oldham campaign.
Recently, small teams have hit the streets in a bid to make sure everything is in place so residents can continue to make sure the borough can be a cleaner and greener place.
At the same time Environmental enforcement officers are continuing to take action against those who dump their waste and expect others to clean it up.
The intensive work is being targeted around Alexandra, Medlock Vale, Waterhead, St Mary’s and Werneth – wards that have the highest number of reported fly-tipping incidents.
We have teamed up engagement marshals with enforcement officers so they can build up relationships with residents.
Now, staff are knocking on doors and talking to people to make sure they have the right bins, know what waste goes in each one, discussing other issues around waste and recycling, plus the illegal dumping of waste.
Just by walking round the hotspots, they are also spotting dumped waste, investigating it so further action can be taken and arranging for it to be removed – sometimes before it has even been reported to the council.
Councillor Hannah Roberts, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “One thing we learned from Covid was having staff out and about knocking on doors works.
“Our engagement staff spoke to thousands of people and what we heard helped us shape our services so we could respond to the needs of Oldhamers.
“We know improving our communities and taking action against those who dump waste is important to residents, especially those who live in these hotspot areas.
“That’s why we are taking this boots on the ground approach and tackling the issue head on. By doing it this way no one has an excuse for not getting rid of their waste properly.
“The focus on the hot spots is on top of the enforcement and clean up work our teams carry out daily across the borough.
“As we’ve said from day one of the Don’t Trash Oldham campaign – everyone can do their bit to help clean up the borough.”
Since Don’t Trash Oldham started we have given out 452 fines and successfully prosecuted 50 people in court for dumping waste.
For more information on Don’t Trash Oldham – including how to report environmental crimes – visit www.oldham.gov.uk/donttrasholdham