A crack down on flytipping is taking place across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, with an external company tasked with reducing incidents of flytipping alongside enhanced prevention measures through engagement with local communities.
Following BCP Council’s Cabinet meeting in May, Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) was appointed to undertake a pilot to investigate all flytipping and flyposting across the conurbation to find the perpetrators and if required, issue them with a fixed penalty notice.
As part of the pilot, which commenced at the end of August, WISE are also visiting local businesses to ensure they’re disposing and managing their waste correctly, in order to comply with the law.
The improper disposal of waste and flytipping is unsightly and can lead to a negative view of the area, while causing public health issues providing food and harbourage to rodents and pests. Council officers are working in conjunction with WISE, visiting local businesses to offer advice and guidance on how they can legally dispose of their business waste. Any business found to be contravening the law will be given seven days’ notice to comply and provide all the documentation, otherwise fixed penalty notices may be issued and enforcement action taken.
Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste commented:
“Flytipping is a growing problem for councils across the country which is why we’ve decided to take tougher action on flytipping. Not only is it illegal, but it can also cause significant environmental issues and adversely impacts the local landscape. In addition, flytipping can create mental health issues for people living next to areas where flytipping is more prolific, so it’s vitally important that we tackle this issue head on.”
“We want the BCP city region to be world class – one of the best coastal places in the world in which to live, work, invest and play, and as part of our Cleaner, Greener, Safer campaign this pilot will help us work towards this goal.”
Designed to be cost neutral to the council, this pilot has allowed the council to align how it deals with flytipping across the three towns.
Councillor May Haines, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, BCP Council, commented:
“Flytipping isn’t just dumping rubbish in the countryside or an empty carpark, it also includes items dumped near neighbourhood recycling bins or on pavements and in our parks. It can create a massive problem for the communities where items are regularly flytipped or flyposted, which is why I am looking forward to working with WISE to drive down flytipping and make our town centres and targeted hotspots cleaner without the clutter of fly posters across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
“We are committed to our vibrant communities, with an outstanding quality of life and the wellbeing of all age groups, so it’s vital that as well as reducing incidents of flytipping we’re working with our local communities and businesses to educate them on the ways they can legally dispose of their waste.”
The fixed penalty notice for flytipping is set at £200 if paid within 14 days, or £400 within 28 days.
John Dunne, Managing Director, WISE commented:
“We’re very much looking forward to working alongside BCP Council to help drive down incidents of flytipping across their area. We will also be inspecting businesses to ensure they are storing and transferring controlled waste in accordance with the law. We have a proven track record of investigating and issuing fixed penalty notices to perpetrators who dump waste or transfer waste to unauthorised waste carriers. We are looking forward to working alongside the council to help with their prevention messaging.
“We want to reduce environmental crime and this pilot together with the work we do in other parts of the country will help us achieve this.”
Local businesses who are unsure what they need to do to comply with the law can find out more here.
Any instances of flytipping can be reported here.
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