WHY HAS OUR CITY BECOME A DUMPING GROUND?
Council leaders blame surge on pandemic
FLY-TIPPING is continuing to surge in Stoke-on-trent – with more than 3,600 incidents reported since the start of lockdown.
Stoke-on-trent City Council has been notified of 3,672 cases of dumped waste since March 23 – an increase of around 1,000 compared to the same period in 2019.
Council leaders believe this rise is due to the pandemic, and insist the authority will continue to crack down on the perpetrators.
The council has issued 187 fixed penalty notices since March 23, and has seized one vehicle linked to fly-tipping. Forty-five prosecutions are also being considered.
But these enforcement actions account for less than 10 per cent of all cases – suggesting most fly-tippers are getting away with it.
Council leader Abi Brown, above, joined the authority’s environmental health team as they dealt with the latest incident in Shelton yesterday morning. Someone had left a trailer filled with assorted waste in Guildford Street.
She said: “I think there are probably a combination of factors behind the increase in incidents. There are people who think they can get away with dumping rubbish.
“Councils are quite stretched at the moment, so people believe they won’t get caught. But the fact is that we are catching more people. A lot of them don’t realise that being caught is a possibility until they are actually caught.
“We will continue to take this approach, and hopefully we will see the number of incidents come down. We are urging residents to report any incidents they are aware of.”
Mrs Brown rejected suggestions that the increase was connected to the council’s decision to hike the charge for bulky waste collection from £16 to £40 for five items.
She added: “I don’t think that is the reason for the increase. After we restored the bulky waste collection it was fully booked up, which shows that the demand for the service is there and people are using it.”
But Labour group leader Jane Ashworth believes the high cost of disposing of items legitimately is driving some people into the hands of flytippers.
She said: “I think there are some unscrupulous individuals who are offering to dispose of bulky items like old sofas, but then fly-tipping them instead of taking them to the tip.
“I’ve not seen the national figures, but there has to be a link between the cost of disposal and incidents of flytipping. The council should introduce community skips, so people without cars can get rid of things properly without having to pay for a bullky waste collection. I also think they need to get more cameras so they can catch more fly-tippers.”
Ms Ashworth says 700 people have now signed a Labour petition calling on the council to tackle the issue of fly-tipping in unadopted alleyways.
Tom Simpson, secretary of Sandyford and Goldenhill Residents’ Association, is not surprised that fly-tipping has increased so much this year. He said: “I think during lockdown people did a lot of DIY and gardening, and some people just dumped the waste when the tips were closed, and it’s just carried on.”