Four streets in Orton Brimbles and 13 in Orton Goldhay where flytipping is a major problem

Lately, residents have been brilliant at contacting me to let me know about fly-tip in their area and in each case I’ve reported it to the council who have been quick to remove it.

We know that removing it right away is important as fly-tip attracts further fly-tip and an area will quickly become a fly-tip ‘hotspot’ if rubbish isn’t removed immediately.

However, residents are concerned that the people doing the fly-tipping are wise to this and are continuing to dump stuff in the knowledge that the council will come and take it away. Residents feel that the fly-tipping on local streets will only stop when the people doing it are prosecuted.

To get the message out into the community that fly-tippers will be prosecuted, I’ve created stickers that I am putting on the larger items that are fly-tipped.

The stickers serve as a reminder that fly-tipping is illegal and that those caught will be prosecuted. They will hopefully also be a bit of a shock to the people doing the fly-tipping who may not be aware that I get tip-offs about fly-tip and know where it’s happening, even if it is down an alleyway or outside someone’s back gate.

The stickers also display information about the date and location of Orton Waterville Parish Council’s next free bulky waste collection, so those fly-tipping in their own communities will know how to get rid of things locally for free in a responsible way.

I have identified four streets in Orton Brimbles and a further 13 streets in Orton Goldhay where fly-tipping is a problem. I will be visiting all of these over the next few weeks with the stickers. However, crucial to the success of this initiative is community involvement. I have given sheets of stickers to a number of residents who will keep an eye out for new fly-tip in the streets where they live.

They will put a sticker on the fly-tip they see and will report it to me immediately. In many cases they will also have vital information about who is doing the fly-tipping that I can pass onto the enforcement team at the council.

By involving local residents in this action I hope that we will eventually stamp out fly-tipping here altogether as everyone gets the message that dumping things in the street will not be tolerated and fly-tippers will be prosecuted.

As we know, a major cause of fly-tipping is the council’s charges for bulky waste removal. It’s not the only cause, but there is no doubt that it is part of the problem and even if free collections were re-introduced it will take time to return the culture to one of no tolerance for fly-tipping.

Information and awareness are key and as well as stickers I will also be leafletting the roads concerned (also in languages other than English) to make sure everyone knows what is the wrong and the right thing to do.

Fly-tipping of brown bins and plant material that should go into brown bins is also of major concern in the ward.

People who don’t wish to (or can’t afford) to pay £45 per year can put their garden waste into their black bins but many choose not to do so as this doesn’t leave much room for their general household waste.

Thus, we’re seeing more and more garden waste tipped in woodland, often behind residents’ back gates. When this is mixed with other household waste it quickly attracts rats.

Again, residents need to be educated about this and know that they can share the cost of a brown bin with their neighbours to make it more affordable.

Cllr Julie Howell - Orton Waterville