Letter: Awareness is answer to Peterborough’s fly-tipping problem

In last week’s Peterborough Telegraph, a letter and a column both discussed the problem of littering and fly-tipping in Peterborough, both matters close to our hearts.
By Brad Barnes
Published 14th Jun 2020, 05:48 BST
Fly tipping and rubbishFly tipping and rubbish
Fly tipping and rubbish

While the call for ‘zero tolerance’ on fly-tipping is understandable, to get to the heart of why fly-tipping happens, it is important to listen to the experiences of local people.

It is a lesser-known fact that a proportion of the fly-tipping that happens around the city (and commonly on local farmland) is the end result of confidence tricksters

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who come door-to-door offering to take rubbish away for relatively small amounts of cash.

We have spoken to local people who have been duped by these criminals and their stories are much the same: a nice man came to the door, who was ever so friendly and helpful, and they didn’t like to say no to him.

When we point out that the ‘nice man’ many have dumped their unwanted chair or their old carpet at a local beauty spot, on farmland or at the end of the street, they are horrified.

These criminals prey on older residents in particular, and use their abundant charm to gain their confidence and make them feel comfortable about paying them cash to take their rubbish away.

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A ‘zero tolerance’ approach to fly-tipping must include an awareness campaign to make people aware that they should never pay someone who comes to their door offering to take their rubbish away unless that person can prove they have the necessary license to dispose of the waste correctly.

We suggest residents ask for the trader’s registration number then ask them to come back at a later time, once they have checked the legitimacy of the licence.

This can be done by visiting https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers or calling 08708 506 506. Legitimate waste carriers won’t mind this at all.

If it is found the details provided are not legitimate then residents should contact the council, the police or their local councillors.

We feel we will only get on top of this problem by working closely together to disrupt the illegal fly-tipping trade.

Cllr Julie Howell & Cllr Nicola Day

Orton Waterville ward

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