Mossley on Monday: Bin City

Mossley sometimes seems to be the last part of Tameside for things to happen and that was certainly true for re-cycling collections. Until very recently many houses in Mossley just had the one black wheelie bin for putting rubbish in. However, Tameside Council, like other councils, has to meet targets for recycling as much rubbish as possible and reducing the amount that goes to landfill.

That is a very worthwhile objective but it causes problems in some parts of Mossley. One reason for Mossley being the last to get the extra bins is because many areas of Mossley are built on steep hillsides with lots of steps or with limited access to the backs of the houses. This means that wheelie bins sometimes live at the front of houses, even on the pavement, as there is often nowhere else to put them.

Now, in addition to the standard black bin, the council has issued green bins for plastics and glass, blue bins for paper and, on request, brown bins for garden refuse. Many of the smaller properties do not have enough garden to make a brown bin worthwhile but that still leaves a lot of bins with homes to find.

Today's photo shows the pretty terrace aptly named Vale Side, half way down Old Brow. This location illustrates the problem well with the attractive scene being somewhat spoilt by the colourful array of bins. This can be seen in other parts of Mossley as well and in recent months Mossley has become a sort of bin city!

See Birds Eye View of this location.