RECYCLING IN PRESTWICH – “JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH” SAY LIB DEMS

The provision of recycling at sites in Prestwich is just not good enough, according to Liberal Deocrat Councillor for St Mary’s ward, Richard Baum. Cllr Baum said “Local people are trying their best to recycle, but the Council and Greater Manchester Waste Ltd are making it difficult when they should be making it easy.”

Cllr Baum cites poorly maintained facilities and over-zealous health and safety rules as reasons why Prestwich residents are being turned off recycling. “At the recycling centre at the end of Clifton Road, the staff supervising waste recycling won’t help residents with large bags. They say that health and safety rules mean that they can’t. I want some common sense so that if a resident is struggling with a heavy bag, someone gives that person a hand.”

Cllr Baum continued “At Tesco in Prestwich, the recycling bins are overflowing. It’s great to see so much waste being recycled, but the Council needs to make sure the bins are emptied more often. At the moment the site is dirty and littered with discarded bags of waste that can’t fit into the bins. It’s just not good enough. I have asked the Council to increase the collections from Tesco, but they won’t acknowledge that there’s a problem, and say the blame lies with Gretaer Manchester Waste Ltd. But the Council have a say in how Greater Manchester Waste operates, and they should use their influence. ”

Local Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for better recycling in Bury. “Just last year we successfully campaigned for a blue bin for every house in Bury. Now we need to make sure that the Council lives up to its pledge to encourage more recycling. Helpful srtaff and clean sites are needed. Encouraging people to be more environmentally responsible in this way is an important first step to residents leading greener lives all round.”