Call for Peterborough fly-tippers to be named and shamed
A call has gone out for Peterborough fly-tippers to be named and shamed.
Harry Machin, from Peterborough Litter Wombles, said fly-tipping and littering is worse than ever – and he backed a council motion calling for stronger action to be taken against those who dump waste in our city.
The motion, set to be discussed at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday, July 29, is being put forward by cllr Mark Ormston.
The motion reads: “Fly-tipping continues to be a severe blight on Peterborough’s communities, draining public resources, damaging our environment, and causing immense frustration to our residents.”
Cllr Ormston calls for a dedicated fly-tipping website run by the city council.
He said the website should include statistics showing the number of fly-tips, where the occur, the number cleared by the city council – and how many fall outside the council’s remit (for example, if they are on private property.)
He adds: “A name and shame section. A dedicated section on the webpage that publicly lists the names of individuals and rogue waste-disposal businesses successfully convicted of fly-tipping offences in our city acting as a robust public deterrent.”
Mr Machin, who formed the Litter Wombles group five years ago, agreed. He said: “Fly-tipping and littering is getting worse.
"We hold a litter pick every week, and we always find 20-25 small fly-tips.
"Some are historic, but some are very recent.
"We always see a lot of DIY waste – wood, chipboard, metal etc.
"We’ve seen a suitcase, a zimmer frame, toys, tyres, bags filled with used nappies – we’ve had everything including two kitchen sinks!
"In the five years since Litter Wombles was set up, we’ve picked up 16,000 bags of rubbish.
"I think naming and shaming is a good idea – and I think more education is needed to tackle the problem.”
Mr Machin paid tribute to the council teams who come and collect the rubbish picked up by the wombles, and make sure it is disposed of correctly.
The full council meeting takes place at Sand Martin House on Wednesday, July 29 at 6pm.
The full agenda can be read at https://democracy.peterborough.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=5389