Fortnightly collection of waste will be rolled out across the borough

Councillor Susan Emmott

The Lib Dem Cabinet on Rochdale Council accepted officer recommendations that are likely to see the controversial so called ‘Alternate Weekly Collection Scheme’ rolled out across the borough despite objections from two of the borough’s four townships.

Under the scheme, normal waste will be collected one week and recyclable materials the next.

Councillors from Rochdale and Pennines (Littleborough, Wardle, Milnrow and Newhey) voted for the scheme, but were opposed by their Heywood and Middleton counterparts.

A 'Special Cabinet' will meet on 25 October to make the final decision however, the outcome is, to all intents and purposes, already a foregone conclusion with the decision effectively taken – the fortnightly collection of waste will be rolled out across the borough.

Following this week’s cabinet meeting a war of words has broken out between Lib Dem Cabinet member William Hobhouse and Labour opposition Councillor Susan Emmott.

Councillor Hobhouse, in an entry in his Rochdale Online Councillor Diary, entitled Landfill Loving Labour!, said: “As far as I am concerned, the argument is overwhelming. But the case is based on one assumption: Recycling is good, landfill is not so good. This is not, alas, an assumption shared by any of the 20 Labour Councillors spread across the Borough. To a person, they all voted for a borough wide return to a weekly landfill collection - with the proven result that landfill tonnages would rocket and recycling tonnages would plummet.”

Councillor Emmott took exception to being labelled a “landfill lover” and responded by explaining her surprise,  she said: “It comes as a bit of a surprise to be accused of ‘loving landfill’ when my colleagues and I have a proven track record of campaigning against landfill.

“It is noteworthy that the person who accuses us of loving landfill, Councillor William Hobhouse, was nowhere to be seen during the campaign against landfill on Hareshill Road, nor indeed was the Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Wera Hobhouse. As Cabinet Member for Environment, we would have hoped that at the very least, she would turn up at the public enquiry to support Heywood residents against landfill, but sadly she did not. This we find odd, especially in the light of her self-proclaimed opposition to landfill.”

Councillor Wera Hobhouse comments: "We are talking two different types of landfill here. Labour's campaign against landfill in Heywood was about 'inert infill'  (rubble and earth) to build up land for an Equestrian Centre, it had nothing to do with smelly refuse landfill from people's household waste.

"Landfill from household waste is unstable biodigradable landfill and it produces a potent greenhouse Gas - much stronger than CO2.  It is in order to combat global warming that we need to reduce landfill from household waste which is what our recycling campaign is all about.

"It is somewhat dishonest of Labour  councillors to compare their campaign against a planning application with our campaign for a greener future."