Hobhouse says 'no' to chips in bins in Middleton!

Rochdale Borough Council's Environment Boss - Lib Dem Councillor Wera Hobhouse has ruled out microchips in wheelie bins in the Rochdale Borough. Following a question from Councillors at last weeks Middleton Township meeting Wera said, "I can reassure the people of this Borough that we haven't introduced chips to our wheelie bins and there are no plans by this Council to do so in the foreseeable future.

Wera continued: "I think that chips in bins will not benefit Middleton and will punish the more vulnerable residents with larger families. The introduction of Alternate Weekly Collections across the Borough should help to substantially reduce waste going to landfill. Where we have introduced Alternate Weekly Collections recycling figures have rocketed and landfill amounts have dropped substantially. Most people take the Green message seriously and want to improve recycling. I believe that we can only achieve our targets and make a big difference to recycling if we work together with people and get everybody on board.

"We are planning to roll out Alternate Weekly Collections across the Borough during 2007 because it has been a real success in the part of the Borough which is on a Friday Collection. For the first time we are likely to reach our government set target for recycling after years of underachieving. Getting on target is of vital importance because if we aren't the Council will be crippled by financial penalties for years to come. We are talking tens of millions of pounds that will dramatically increase Council Tax in Middleton. So the message is: we are serious about recycling and minimising waste going into landfill. This is why we are introducing Alternate Weekly Collections across the Borough. But there are no plans for chips in bins in Middleton!"