Pictures have revealed the disgusting states of parts of Oldham during lockdown with fly-tipped rubbish and festering bin bags strewn across streets.
Photographs taken by a concerned resident throughout June and into July show old mattresses, arm chairs, carpets, piping and fridges dumped around the town.
There are also car wrecks abandoned along an alley behind people’s homes, as well as an old pram, wheelbarrow, and heaps of scrap wood.
Broken discarded fence panels, as well as piles of overflowing bin bags and food waste carriers are also shown in the pictures.
In the early months of lockdown bin collections in the borough had been reduced to a single collection of all waste, and tips across Greater Manchester were closed.
This led to fears of a ‘massive’ increase in fly-tipping across the region, and despite tips having reopened in May, incidents of dumped litter and rubbish are still prevalent.
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Oldham council says it has so far issued almost a hundred £400 fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping since the beginning of lockdown.
Councillor Barbara Brownridge, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “We take fly-tipping very seriously in Oldham and we do our absolute best to ensure the people who commit this offence are prosecuted, including those who have allowed ‘a man with a van’ to dispose of their waste without any questions being asked.
“While in lockdown we experienced some obvious and understandable disruption to our waste services, as did Recycle for Greater Manchester who manage the waste and recycling centres, and we are still dealing with a small degree of disruption now.
“However, said disruptions did not justify fly-tipping.
“We have so far issued fixed penalty notices to 99 individuals since the beginning of lockdown and we have potential prosecution cases that are awaiting the reopening of the courts.
“But sadly, the clearing of rubbish from our streets all comes at a great cost to those who pay council tax, at a time when money is needed elsewhere.”
If residents see cases of fly-tipping they are urged to report it through the Oldham council website.
Images by Lynda Naylor
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