Business owner hits out at amount of litter on Oldham Road

Litter on Oldham Road

A Rochdale business owner has hit out at the amount of takeaway litter on Oldham Road.

David Marcroft, who owns Ace Electrical, says it’s “no wonder there are regular rodent sightings” due to the amount of waste from the fast-food outlets on the stretch after the junction with Kingsway and Queensway.

The litter Mr Marcroft refers to is takeaway packaging overflowing from the public bins or dropped by customers, not trade waste produced directly from the businesses.

He said: “Who would want to shop on a street like this? Surely if the council grant licenses to these food outlets, they must insert a clause that they empty the bins and clean the street after closing.

“Why should daytime traders have to clean up the mess created by their businesses?

“The reason why that waste is all over the street is because they [the council] don't clean at weekends and the number of bins simply can't cope with the waste created by all the takeaways.

“It’s evident that the sole bin which is servicing four takeaways on that stretch alone is brimming over with cartons etc.

“No wonder there are regular rodent sightings.”

Dave added: “Perhaps if they sent as many enforcement officers as they do traffic wardens someone may get caught littering, but it’s unlikely they are patrolling at the time this rubbish is dispensed.”

A spokesperson for the council said: “Businesses and residents have a responsibility to dispose of their waste responsibly, including litter on our streets.

“There are plenty of bins in place on Oldham Road, which are emptied daily for residents to use, so there is simply no excuse for dropping litter any time of the day, which is illegal.

“If witnessed by our enforcement officers or we are provided with evidence of those responsible, we will take action.”