Recycling – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

07Jun 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham recycling rates are the worst in Greater Manchester and 231st in the country

Oldham Council has been slammed for its pitifully low recycling rates. Data from LetsRecycle.com shows that, in Oldham Borough, only 36.7% of household waste was sent for reuse, recycling or composting last year. Labour controlled Oldham council ranks 231st on the national recycling league tables and is tied with Manchester City Council as the worst local authority in Greater Manchester for recycling. The best local councils in the country are St. Albans, South Oxfordshire, Three Rivers District and Vale of White Horse District Council Councils. All four are run by the Liberal Democrats. Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said: “These figures are a disgrace. Residents expect the council to be leading on recycling. People want to do their bit for the environment, but these figures show that…

27Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrat Leader seeks earlier rollout of deposit return scheme

Borough news

Oldham Liberal Democrats think a six year wait for the establishment of a national deposit return scheme for England, Wales and Northern Ireland is too long, and Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE has written to the minister responsible to tell him so. A deposit return, or reverse vending, scheme works through retailers charging customers a small deposit on cans, bottles and containers that can be recycled. When the customer brings the empty container back to the retailer, they get their deposit back. In 2018, the Conservative Government promised to introduce such a scheme, but in a consultation earlier this year the start date had been pushed back to 2024, two years after Scotland. Councillor Sykes does not think this is good enough and he has written to the Secretary…

15Oct 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Greater Manchester Combined Authority Decommission Bin App R4GM

Borough news

Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillor Dave Murphy, Shadow Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Culture, is disappointed to learn that the bin app introduced in 2018 has been discontinued. The R4GM bin app for mobile phones contained information such as ‘Where’s my nearest …?’, ‘When’s my bin collected?’, ‘What do I do with..?’, ‘What can I recycle at home?’ and a Contact Us. At the Full Meeting of Oldham Council in July 2016, Councillor Murphy brought a motion asking for a local bin app for Oldham which was almost unanimously supported across the Chamber. Councillor Murphy said: “I have used the app myself many times which can help signpost you to advice, from what to put in the right bin, and what goes where. I was really pleased when I learned that…

06May 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrat victory as tips are slowly reopening

Borough news

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader Oldham Council recently wrote to Council bosses to reopen local waste sites in Oldham Borough. This is now being done in a safe and sensible manner in line with social distancing. Council leaders have now started to reopen these sites but following strict safety guidelines. There had recently been a spate of fly tipping locally. New measures being introduced will hopefully solve some of the issues surrounding waste during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I’m very glad we have started to drift back towards normality. I think this will solve some public health issues associated with the lockdown. Less fly-tipping and piles of waste on our streets means a healthier Oldham Borough,” said Councillor Sykes. These calls to reopen waste sites came after…

23Apr 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats call to safely reopen Oldham’s waste site

Borough news

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…

25Feb 2019 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems produce Bill to properly tackle plastics crisis

Parliamentary news

Today, Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Environment, will present his Plastic Pollution Bill to Parliament. The Bill will set targets to help fix our plastics crisis and require the Secretary of State to publish a strategy for the reduction of plastic pollution. The Bill has been backed by a cross-party group of MPs as well as Friends of the Earth and the Women's Institute. Ahead of presenting his Bill, Mr Carmichael said:“Plastic pollution is the scourge of our oceans. The Government must start taking action to reduce our plastic to change our throwaway culture. The answer will need international cooperation but the UK can give a lead for other countries to follow. “The Government’s approach has been about grabbing headlines on easy parts of the agenda – banning cotton buds and plastic…

10Aug 2018 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham rubbish at recycling, say Oldham Liberal Democrats

Borough news

The Oldham Liberal Democrat Group has hit out at recent figures which show that Oldham has the second lowest rates of recycling in Greater Manchester, after the city itself which has always been the lowest. Annual figures published by WasteDataFlow show recycling rates at only 39.7% of waste in 2016/17, which compares unfavourably with high performer Trafford at 61.3%. Commenting on the disappointing news, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and Leader of the Opposition, said: “The Labour Administration introduced three weekly bin collections supposedly to encourage recycling, but the evidence before our eyes in the wards that we as Councillors represent is that there is more and more fly-tipped waste and that it is both a health hazard and a public eyesore. “This Council needs…

23Jan 2018 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrat Leader disappointed Bulky Bobs free service still a secret

Borough news

The Leader of the Opposition and Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jean Stretton, to express his disappointment that the new Council website still fails to mention that Bulky Bobs provides a free collection service to many of the Borough’s most disadvantaged residents. Councillor Sykes said: “Last year, I discovered in a report that went to the Council’s Cabinet a hidden provision in the contract between Bulky Bobs and Oldham Council in which the elderly, disabled and pregnant residents can still access one free bulky waste collection every year. “That this provision existed was a surprise to me and a surprise also to the Leader of the Council when I asked her at the September 2017 meeting…

12Dec 2016 by Saddleworth Lib Dems

Lib Dems call for less packaging and more recycling

Borough news

Liberal Democrat councillors Garth Harness (Saddleworth North) and Diane Williamson (Crompton) will be proposing a motion to Oldham council on Wednesday 14th December 2016 calling on the council to help reduce packaging and improve recycling. Councillor Garth Harkness said “ There are 2.5 billion paper coffee cups thrown away each year and hardly any of them are recycled. There are specialist facilities that can be used but only about 0.25% are. There is too much packaging on food products that can’t be recycled and we need to do more to work with these companies across Greater Manchester to address the issue” A co-ordinated effort needs to be explored to cut the resources of providing our food and drink Councillor Diane Williamson said “WRAP look at improving resource efficiency. We should consider the merits of the council being a signatory…