‘We don’t want to live in rubbish!’
FED-UP OLD TRAFFORD RESIDENTS PROTEST
A WAR over wheelie bin collections has broken out in Trafford.
Angry residents claim litter lines the streets and bins are not being emptied properly. Homeowners in Old Trafford say they’ve had enough – and have taken action.
Members of the campaign group Love Old Trafford spray-painted a row of ‘contaminated’ bins with the words ‘OT REVOLTING’ and left them outside the town hall. Families and other residents descended on the council’s HQ in Stretford armed with placards during a meeting. Children wearing rat onesies held signs saying: “We don’t want to live in rubbish!”
The group claims bins are regularly left overflowing, green bins are abandoned and become ‘contaminated,’ and fly-tipped waste is left for weeks.
They say council workers are not equipped to deal with the number of residents in Old Trafford - and that the situation there is worse than in leafy areas such as Altrincham and Hale. The town hall privatised a huge swathe of council services – including bin collections – back in 2015.
Bosses say the One Trafford Partnership with firm Amey saves the taxpayer up to £12m-a-year. They say workers have been out speaking to residents.
Trafford council introduced a fortnightly collection of general refuse from smaller, 140 litre bins in 2013, ending weekly collections.
Food and garden waste – in larger bins – is collected weekly. The move, the town hall said, saves £1m a year and has helped recycling rates rise.
Lynda Sterling, project leader for the Love Old Trafford group, said residents were experiencing ‘terrible service.’
She said: “They don’t seem to be doing anything. We’ve had enough, so we took some contaminated bins to Trafford town hall. We wanted to let them know we are really fed up and aren’t going to put up with living among rubbish any longer.”
A spokeswoman for the One Trafford Partnership said: “We share Love Old Trafford’s passion for the local environment and are committed to ensure the borough remains a clean and attractive place for everyone.
“We acknowledge that although the high-level of service may not always be met, we are working hard to keep Trafford a clean and pleasant place to live.”