Cleaning Up The Town
The Milkstone & Deeplish team reflects on the causes and cures for fly tipping
The Milkstone & Deeplish Lib Dem team recently did a street survey on Milkstone Road and the surrounding streets. We picked up on a number of things which we are now working with the council on - but the thing we saw most commonly was fly tipping. Wherever you live in the borough we are certain you have encountered instances of fly tipping - we are also certain that you agree that it has the power to make an otherewise decent area look awful.
On our street surveys we see two basic kinds of fly tipping - household waste, typically in bin bags and bulkier items like furniture, appliances etc. Here is what we recommend:
Household Waste
First things first - have you got the right bins? Do your neighbours/family have the right bins? Although not really and excuse, a common reason for fly tipping is simply that a household doesn't have the correct bins.
You should have at least three wheelie bins (maybe four):
- Green bin - General waste
- Green bin, blue lid - cans, bottles, plastics
- Blue bin - Cardboard, paper
- Brown bin - Garden waste, Food waste
If you don't have a brown wheelie bin you should have a brown caddy for food waste that stays outside - you should also have a silver food waste caddy for your kitchen.
If you find that you are missing a bin for any reason please call 0300 303 8884 to order a replacement. In most circumstances, there should be no charge.
The second most common reason for fly tipping household waste is that the bins they have aren't big enough. It is a pretty common misconception that there is nothing you can do about this - but there is.
Provided you live in a house - as opposed to a flat - and there are up to five people in the household, you should have 1 240 litre green general waste bin. If there are 6-9 people - you can get an additional 140 litre green general waste bin. If there are more than 10 people in a household - you can get an additional 240 litre green general waste bin.
If you think you qualify for additional bins, please call 0300 303 8884. Be aware that there will usually be an onsite assessment required before you can get the additional bin.
If you do find household waste dumped on public land in your area, you can request that the council remove it at no cost by clicking here. We strongly recommend that you do not touch the waste for any reason.
To complete this section - FREE STUFF! - Rochdale MBC offers free compostable bags to line you silver food waste caddy. You can pick them up at a number of locations around the borough - click here for a list of the pick up locations.
Bulkier items
Disposing of bulky items can be tricky and time consuming - which is why they are often illeagally fly tipped - but there are lots of options if the item still has some life in it:
- Donate it to a charity shop - in most cases you will need to take it to them, but some do collect.
- Try a second hand shop - you might not get much (or anything) for it, but most will collect.
- You might also try Petrus Community Store
- Try advertising it for free with online sites like Gumtree - they are easy to use and the buyer will usually collect.
If your item is beyond donating or selling, there are still plenty of options:
- Take it to the tip - click here for location of recycling centres
- Hire a man and a van to dispose of it for you - click here to read the SCRAP code to ensure your item is being disposed of properly.
- Arrange for a bulky waste collection from Rochdale Council - They are doing a special just now, only £17 to take a freezer or washing machine away. Click here to request a collection.
If you do find bulky items fly tipped on public land - then click here to arrange for them to be removed. As mentioned previously, we strongly recommend that you do not touch the items.
Finally, we will keep you up to date on our efforts to Clean Up The Town in future installments!