Flytipping problem increases in Peterborough during lockdown

More people are fly tipping waste in Peterborough during lockdown, new figures have shown.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th May 2020, 06:00 BST
Updated 13th May 2020, 08:33 BST
The drugs were found in flytipped rubbish. Pic: Cambs policeThe drugs were found in flytipped rubbish. Pic: Cambs police
The drugs were found in flytipped rubbish. Pic: Cambs police

In March this year, there were a total of 616 incidents in the city - and that number jumped to 764 in April.

It is hoped the opening of the Household Recycling Centre earlier this week will help reduce the amount of flytipping in the city.

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There were long queues at the centre on Monday when it opened for the first time since the lockdown started.

A Peterborough City Council spokesman said: “Following government guidance on essential travel we closed the Household Recycling Centre on March 24 and since then we have recorded a rise in the number of fly-tipping incidents.

“Following updated government guidance we have worked on plans to re-open the HRC on Monday May 11 and further details will be announced in due course.

“We are investigating reports of fly-tipping as usual and sightings can be reported to us on 01733 747474 or online at www.peterborough.gov.uk.”

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North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara said: “Flytipping has been a serious local problem, and the present circumstances have made it more so.

“Following my meeting with cllr Harper earlier this year I wrote to the then Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Affairs suggesting local authorities should be able to impose increased fines when offenders are caught.

“The re-opening of the Household Recycling Centre should help to alleviate the problem, and if anyone sees someone fly-tipping, I would urge them to contact their local councillor or contact the council directly as quickly as possible.”

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow said: “We know that opening the centre decreased flytipping by a quarter, so it’s closure was always going to be a problem.

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“The recycling centre has reopened which should help, but we will only get on top of this flytipping problem if we act as one City.

“We should never forget that the people who dump are the ones to blame. You are not clever and you make everyone’s lives more difficult.

“We should all have a clear message that this is unacceptable, it will not be tolerated, and offenders will be caught. We need stricter fines and more CCTV.. “This week the Peterborough Telegraph reported cannabis worth £25,000 was found in a fly tip in Yaxley.

And last month a huge pile of waste was dumped in the Ortons