BROMSGROVE District Council has been forced to deal with 480 incidents of fly-tipping since the start of the year, the Standard can reveal.
Of those, the authority’s environmental services staff have had to clear up 254 sites – equating to five every two days, costing the taxpayer a staggering £10,000. In total, cleaning the district costs the council £800,000-a-year.
The rubbish dumping in the last four months has ranged from small piles of ‘household’ waste to larger environmental crimes.
The council’s new approach to the problem has been to use its place teams in each area to get to know businesses, parish councils, local organisations and residents so they can offer advice about disposing of waste legally.
It has also helped with intelligence gathering when it comes to tracking down offenders and prosecuting them.
In a bid to make people think twice about dumping their rubbish, Bromsgrove District Council is also in the process of putting up new signs which warn fly-tippers they could face fines or even prison.
New tougher sentencing guidelines nationally for fly-tipping have also recently been introduced which mean individuals risk penalties of up to £95,000 and, in the worst case scenarios for companies, up to £3million.
Cash collected by the district council from fixed penalty notices will be ploughed directly back into combatting fly-tipping.
Coun Peter Whittaker, who is responsible for the environment on Bromsgrove District Council, said after so many incidents of fly-tipping in the district it was time to get tough with those who dumped their rubbish without giving a thought to the consequences.
“We’re all required to ensure our waste is disposed of properly and just like littering, fly-tipping isn’t only illegal, it wrecks our environment and costs us all money for the council to clean it up.
“We’re stepping up our efforts to fight this blight on our communities.”
Residents are also reminded they are still responsible for their own household waste disposal, even if someone else takes it away on their behalf.
They are urged to get a waste transfer note from a registered waste carrier to avoid penalties.
To check if a waste carrier is registered, call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 and go to www.letswasteless.com for more information about waste disposal.
Visit www.bromsgrove.gov.uk/report for issues relating to fly-tipping and to report incidents.
