Enforcement action against fly tipping stepped up
The recent introduction of mobile CCTV units at fly tipping hotspots has resulted in seven pending court cases, with prosecutions being sought for offences including littering and fly tipping
The ongoing surveillance continues to drive visible reductions in the amount of rubbish dumped at these sites and an increase in the number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued to those caught illegally disposing of unwanted items.
Enforcement and licensing agencies have also joined forces as part of a recent operation targeting unlicensed waste carriers and those who repeatedly fly tip loads that have been collected from customers, as part of ongoing measures to reduce fly tipping in the city. A vehicle stop operation was undertaken last month involving:
- The council’s Environmental Protection Officers
- Environment Agency Enforcement Officers
- Licensing Enforcement Officers from the Southampton and Eastleigh Licensing Partnership
- and Officers from Hampshire Constabulary
The council now employs four Environmental Protection Officers working across the city, taking proactive and reactive measures to investigate fly tipping and actively seeking convictions.
Textile banks at recycling points across the city are now being provided by a single charity; The Salvation Army, who are ensuring banks are consistently emptied to reduce the problem of textiles overflowing. The charity is also helping to clear dumped textiles from the recycling point areas, helping to save the council time and money and ensuring as many textiles as possible go to recycling.
A Household Waste and Fly-tipping Policy consultation is currently underway, residents have until 14 December to share views on how the council deals with the way that fly tipping is cleared.
Cabinet Member for Communities and Customer Engagement, Councillor Toqeer Kataria, said:
“We’re continuing to up the ante in the battle against fly tipping. We’re sending a very clear message to anyone who dumps their rubbish, rather than disposing of it in a socially responsible and environmentally friendly way.
“We are actively issuing fixed penalty notices to anyone caught fly tipping, and looking to secure convictions against serial offenders who repeatedly dump waste. I'd like to thank all of the agencies involved in the vehicle stop operation and look forward to similar action being taken again in the near future.
“Ultimately it’s down to all of us to love our city and the communities that we live in and to dispose of rubbish properly.”
Residents who are employing a waste carrier have a duty of care to check if they are licensed. We recommend that you also request a receipt and retain it for at least two years. If your rubbish is found dumped by the waste carrier you've hired, and you can't show you carried out any checks, then you could potentially be prosecuted.
Fly tipping on public land can be reported for clearing.
