THIS WEEKS COLLECTIONS (w/c 20 April) WILL CONTINUE TO BE BLACK/GREY BIN ONLY

On Monday 30^th March temporary general waste weekly collections were introduced by the Council’s Waste Management with a recognition that as resilience allowed there would be a need to return to separated collections for environmental and financial reasons. 

This step was taken following the outbreak of the coronavirus, as a measure to ensure that weekly waste collections would continue and provide resilience over the ensuing period. 

However, Waste Management is now able to resume recycling collections.

The plan is that this will be staged over time and subject to regular review.  

The first phase will be returning to a three-weekly collection of blue/brown/grey bins with a limited collection of food and garden waste which will be every three weeks instead of weekly.  

It is envisaged that the initial phase can be implemented week beginning 27^th April 2020.  

It is seen as essential that recycling collections are reintroduced as soon as is feasible for several reasons.

These include: 

• Residents will return to the normal waste collection system for which they already have collection calendars in place and since its introduction in 2015, has proved successful.  

• There are significant environmental benefits from improved recycling as a method of waste disposal. 

• Reintroducing recycling services will provide significant cost saving as materials diverted from the general rubbish waste stream reduces levy disposal costs as allocated though the GMCA Inter Authority Agreement.

• Reintroducing recycling collections means full compliance with Section 45A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in which the Council must make the arrangements for the collection of at least two types of recyclable waste together, or individually, separated from the rest of the household waste.  

It is intended that waste collections will pick up where they left off in terms of calendar weeks and therefore, residents will present whichever bin is stated on their calendar for the next collection. 

However, in order to communicate this effectively with residents, a leaflet to all households will be issued detailing the return to regular recycling collections. 

Residents will also be able to gain calendar information online via the Council website.  

The only difference residents will notice during the implementation of the first stage is that we will be collecting food/garden waste every three weeks, rather than weekly.

Operating in this way will allow residents the ability to recycle all their waste materials and provide a regular food and garden collection throughout the summer months, where some neighbouring authorities have been forced to cancel all green waste collections or make one-off arrangements.

Residents will be advised to place their green bins or food caddies out with their brown bins for the foreseeable future.

On the weeks when the green waste is not due to be collected, residents will be advised to place food waste in the grey bin with the general refuse.

A three-weekly collection of food and garden waste will also provide the Waste Management Service protection and resilience in its ability to maintain the operation over a longer term whilst under the current restraints. This way of working which supports the proposed arrangement will also allow Waste Management to maintain safe working procedures observing social distancing guidance as the crews will continue to work to two, rather than three in a vehicle cabin.  

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader Oldham Council, has written to Oldham Council Bosses to reopen local waste sites in Oldham Borough.

“Other authorities across the UK are still providing these services.  Wigan Borough Council has now reopened its refuse facilities why can the rest of Greater Manchester (GM) Councils do the same,” asks Councillor Sykes.

He wants Oldham Council to follow suit in a safe and orderly manner. 

These calls have come following a month of lockdown closures from the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic.  There has also been a severe spike in fly tipping across the region.

“If it is good enough for Wigan then it is good enough for Oldham, stated Councillor Sykes.  “I really do hope these pleas are listened to and actioned in a safe and controlled manner so we can get back on track with normality.”

Copy of email:

From: Howard Sykes
Sent: 20 April 2020 11:52
Subject: Please reopen Oldham’s and other GM waste sites to get things back on track

Councillor Sean Fielding, Leader of Oldham Council and Dr Carolyn Wilkins, Chief Executive of Oldham Council

Dear Councillor Fielding and Dr Wilkins,

Please reopen Oldham’s and other GM waste sites to get things back on track

I hear that Wigan has reopening its waste and refuse facilities for local people, whereas in Oldham Borough and the other eight local authorities in what was GM Waste, we are still not doing.  All the current Civic Amenity Sites (tips and recycling centres) across Greater Manchester have been shut due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

We have already seen the clear impact this has had on fly tipping and littering – it has gone through the roof.

Many authorities across the country are keeping vital waste services running for residents.  Why cannot Greater Manchester do this?  Wigan Council have just re-opened three of their sites why can the rest of Greater Manchester, inc Oldham, do the same?

We can follow the correct guidelines and follow a safe and sensible approach to reopening waste sites and civic amenities.  By doing that, we can reduce the negative fallout stemming from this awful global pandemic.  There has been a spike in fly tipping in the region and waste sites have been closed for almost a month now.

It will also reduce pressure on our continuing domestic waste collections, resulting in less material in the grey bin – currently the only bin being collected.

People are following the lock down advice and staying at home.  As a result, gardens are being manicured as never before; lofts, sheds and garages are being tided; and permitted odd jobs and DIY are being undertaken at home.  All of these generate waste that needs to be dealt with – continuing home storage is not an option for many people.

We need to trust people to act responsibly when using re-opened sites – may be combining a trip to the tip with a visit to the supermarket.  Those than do not conform to whatever guidelines need to be in place to allow our tips to operate need to be firmly dealt with.

Residents need us to put pressure on Suez (the operator of these sites) to follow best practice from other waste operators to get Oldham back on track in this key area.  We do not want to cause more public health issues, especially ones that can be avoided.

I do hope very active consideration is given to my suggestion – it would be welcomed by thousands of law-abiding citizens.

Best wishes and stay safe.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE

Get Oldham Working has launched a new free e-learning course called ‘GOW Online’.

The course is a great way to develop new skills that will help you to move to closer to sustainable employment, all from the comfort of your own home.

People interested in finding out more are asked to contact the team as soon as possible by emailing: employability@oldham.gov.uk or calling 07970966527.

The Council are also encouraging people looking for work to visit the Get Oldham Working Facebook page where all the latest vacancies are posted – including many key worker positions.

Following an unprecedented number of major service changes over the last seven months and due to health and safety concerns within Oldham Bus Station, there have been some further stand revisions.

As such TfGM have also had to increase the number of services that exit via West Street and decrease the number of services that exit via St Mary’s Way.

See below a list of new and existing  services that are affected by the forthcoming changes and their respective stands within Oldham Bus Station.

57 Rushcroft – F Stand

356 Ashton – C Stand

402 Derker – C Stand

402 Royton – F Stand

403 Rushcroft – F Stand

408 Wrens Nest – C Stand

The out-of-hours services treatment centre has moved from The Royal Oldham Hospital to the Integrated Care Centre (ICC), New Radcliffe Street, Oldham.

The treatment centre is for people who can’t wait to see their GP and handles urgent but non-life-threatening cases. Referrals are made through the NHS 111 system following a telephone assessment.   Appointments are 7-days a week between 6.30pm and 8am.

Oldham currently has a good level of personal protective equipment (PPE) thanks to the steps that have been taken by the council’s procurement team. This is however under constant review.

A PPE distribution hub has been set up to provide emergency stock to health and social care providers who have been unable to secure stock through usual routes. So far it has distributed just under 200,000 individual items, including eye protection.

It continues to have good stock levels of gloves, aprons, masks and eye protection available for health and social care services to use, and so there should be no situation in Oldham where health and social care providers delivering essential personal or clinical care, do not have access to these items to protect themselves and those they are caring for.

Providers can make requests to access this stock by contacting pperequest@oldham.gov.uk.

The previously posted information is incorrect.

This is not the Council, the communication, I have been informed, came from the Oldham Foodbank (who have now apologised for ‘jumping the gun’ and misinterpreting) and the Shaw Foodbank can continue to operate and be supported (by the central Foodbank).

Best wishes and stay safe.

The following message has been sent by Greater Manchester Police:

Greater Manchester Police are aware of a number of reported thefts from motor vehicles over recent weeks that have occurred in Oldham and Rochdale.

A number of offences have occurred in the Shaw and Delph areas of Oldham and officers are investigating these crimes.

Oldham officers are working closely with officers from Rochdale in order to collate evidence and target suspected offenders.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader Oldham Council, is concerned over the worrying slump in school performance in Oldham Borough.  Earlier this year before the outbreak of Coronavirus (Covid-19), the Department for Education has published school performance tables based on last summer’s GCSEs results (2019). 

The tables show that nine out of 16 Oldham schools were ‘below average’.  A further two schools were noted as being simply ‘average’ in their performance.  Councillor Sykes wants additional funding and says the way to get that help is not to mask the problems.  Pupils will now find it even harder to achieve academically and vocationally because of the outbreak of Covid-19 and the closure of schools.

“Many teachers and other staff in schools are going more than the extra mile to try and ensure students education continues via distance learning, stated Councillor Sykes.  “However, it is sad fact that despite these valiant efforts some of our most disadvantaged students will be the most impacted.”

Some schools are achieving only 30% to 45% of pupils achieving at least a pass grade in English or Maths. 

“Now more than ever we need to invest more in education.  We believe that early years support and education is key to having a good quality of life.” Said Councillor Sykes.  “Once schools, colleges and other educational establishments re open getting our students back on track needs to a very high priority.”

Councillor Sykes stated:  “The Council always congratulates themselves on yet another great year of results.  The problem is, Oldham Council forgets about the schools that are continually falling behind.  More than half of our schools are below the National average.  This will surely get worse now that the schools have closed.”

“To congratulate a step backwards is false.  Our schools don’t receive enough funding as it is.” 

“Our pupils are not in schools and colleges, this will be the case for weeks if not months.  Despite the best efforts of our local teaching staff to set up online classrooms, I am even more fearful that young people in Oldham Borough will be further disadvantaged by the Covid-19 crisis.”

Notes:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-performance-tables