Fly tippers who thoughtlessly dump their rubbish will now see their images shared in public as City of Wolverhampton Council launches a crackdown on the crime.
Photographs of fly tipping offenders will be shared on lampposts to appeal for information to help identify the culprits. The crackdown is being introduced after statistics revealed that in the period between 1 January 2022 and November 30 2022, the council dealt with 2,945 incidents of fly tipping on the highway.
Among the items dumped were 484 mattresses, 419 fridge/freezers, 390 pieces of furniture, 606 other types of bulky household items and 196 tyres. Of the 2,945 incidents, 574 fly tips included more than five bags of waste and in some cases, more than 100 bags were dumped. Fly tipping costs taxpayers more than £260,000 per year in Wolverhampton and officers attend an average of 12 fly tips every day, ranging from individual items to large scale fly tipping.
But identifying offenders in order to fine or prosecute them is not always easy. Under the new crackdown, the council will be positioning CCTV in key hot spots across the city to catch offenders in the act.
Images will then be shared locally on posters which will give local residents information on how to ‘Shop a Tipper.’ If the information given helps to identify culprits under our Shop a Tipper scheme they could get a £100 reward following the payment of a Fixed Penalty Notice or a successful prosecution.
Outcomes of enforcement action will also be shared through the council’s social media channels in a bid to encourage perpetrators to dispose of their waste properly. This will also remind residents that fly tipping is a crime and there are consequences to getting rid of waste in this way. By law, residents are responsible for making sure anyone collecting waste is a licensed waste carrier.
Councillor Steve Evans, City of Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for city environment and climate change, said: “Fly tipping is not just anti-social, it’s a crime. Tipped rubbish can be dangerous, it causes pollution and costs the taxpayers of the city significant amounts of money to clean up.
“Our Environmental Services team works really hard to respond to reports of fly tipping and clean up as quick as possible. But we are not always able to identify the culprits, as quite often the rubbish is dumped overnight or in hidden spots. By positioning camaras at sites around the city and sharing images of fly tipping offenders in public, we hope that we’ll receive information that will help us catch the culprits.”
“People need to think carefully before they fly tip. Not only could you be fined or prosecuted, but your images will be shared in public and we’ll be appealing for information to catch you. Fly tipping is a national issue and Wolverhampton is no different to the rest of the country but we are determined to make a difference in the city with our approach.”
Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am – 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton. A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/book-bulky-item-collection
