Bolton litter group finds recycling bins dumped during clean-up

Andy Capstick of the Astley Bridge Litter Pickers found 36 bins near Raikes Lane last week, with door numbers still painted on them.

The bins were dumped there says Andy, after he believes they were  stolen from homes across Bolton, filled with metal and then taken to a scrapyard, before being dumped.

Andy said: “We have taken heaps of bags of rubbish, mattresses, sofas, trolleys, suitcases, bags for life, and recycling bins.

“The council have signs and cameras up, but the fly-tipping is directly under the cameras.

We pulled 100 tyres out of the River Croal too and litter.

“But the main issue is the bins."

Andy and the team have been working on clearing the site since February this year.

He said: “I did ring the council and they said they would come down and pick them up."

In 2021, Bolton Council revealed that one of the most common mistakes Boltonians were making was placing non-recyclable plastics in their burgundy bins, such as pots, tubs, and trays, as well as liquid being left in containers.

As a result, Andy says there are thousands of contaminated bins in 2023.

He said: “They need to get these bins back in working order and stop getting them contaminated by education and if needed, enforcement.

“They need to be knocking on doors where bins are contaminated and educating them on it.”

In some places in Farnworth, Andy managed to return bins to their owners.

Recently a fly-tipping crackdown in Bolton led by the council has resulted in fines totalling £3,800.

Three days of action by the local authority's cleaning team and enforcement officers took place from Wednesday December 6 to Friday December 8, seeing a large amount of waste collected.

The waste included mattresses, sofas and fencing found dumped around Dijon Street, Daisy Street and Croston Street.

Around 100 bin bags of waste were searched to identify the offenders via addresses on discarded letters.

Throughout the three days, 13 individuals and three businesses were traced for fly-tipping offences and handed fines.

Two businesses failed to produce waste transfer notes, a legal requirement when using a third party to dispose of waste.