England's ‘fly-tipping capital’ where council spends £1m a year cleaning up locals' mess
The council receives over 1,000 fly-tipping reports every week.
A UK council spends £1 million a year to tackle the issue of fly-tipping, which is so bad that, within hours of clearing up piles of rubbish, you’ll find it’s as if nothing had been done. Government figures revealed that Croydon has the highest number of fly-tippers in the country, with more than 1,000 dumpers reported every week.
Despite measures being taken to try and clear up the rubbish and catch the offenders, the issue remains. Mountains of rubbish, including everything from furniture and mattresses to bin bags and plastics, can be found at these rubbish sites.
READ MORE: UK on brink of fly-tipping crisis as councils urged to do 1 thing in crackdown
READ MORE: Rubbish blighting Britain 'grave concern' after 9% rise under Labour
Private contractors are hired, and community volunteers work hard to clear up the mess, but that doesn’t stop it from piling up again, with authorities using names and addresses found among waste items to identify offenders and impose the appropriate penalty.
The council is working to introduce stricter punishments for culprits, including prosecution in court, as well as the implementation of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to support its zero-tolerance approach, reports BBC News.
Charlie Baker, head of environment services at Croydon Council, said: “This year alone, we've issued 315 FPNs for environmental crimes, but there's always more that we can do. In some cases, we are able now to issue fines up to £1,000.”
In cases where a conviction is certain, fines can exceed £4,000, Mr Barker added.
Though a campaigner from the group Litter Free Norbury claims that, in fact, council policy has contributed to the rise in fly-tipping. Tony Hooker believes that residents experiencing council tax increases while having to “pay for bulk waste collections” are what is driving people to fly-tip.
He added that more enforcement is needed.
Mayor of Croydon Jason Perry says he is tackling the issue with a zero-tolerance approach, but does not believe Croydon is the worst borough.
He said: “We are putting eyes and ears on the ground so when there is a fly-tip, we are coming out and investigating.”
The mayor added: "It has been going on for far too long, we are not going to allow it to happen. Catch people, prosecute them, don't do this in our borough."
