Fly-tipping – It’s a ‘Crime Not To Care’

Last year Redbridge Council cleared 21,161 fly-tips in the borough. Redbridge’s Street Cleansing Team also removed 4620 tonnes of waste from the street, which included street litter and fly-tips – that’s the equivalent weight of around 355 London Routemaster double-decker buses.

We need to work together as community to keep our borough clean and tidy and that means we each take responsibility for the rubbish we produce.

Fly-tipping has a big, negative impact on the whole community:

• It costs the council to clear fly-tips, - money that could have been spent on vital services such as education, and housing.
• It causes an obstruction making it difficult for people to use the street, especially so for wheelchair users, the visually impaired, or parents with prams and young children.
• It leaves neighbourhoods looking messy and undesirable to live in.
• It attracts vermin such as mice and rats to the area.

Sadly, black sacks of household waste are one of the most common types of fly-tips found dumped in Redbridge, and this is despite the many resources and services available in our borough for rubbish to be disposed of properly.

To help combat this type of fly-tipping in particular, we have launched our ‘Crime Not To Care’ campaign in conjunction with the local community and leading environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.

The long-term campaign encourages people to take ownership of their rubbish and how to dispose of it properly to avoid breaking the law.

It will involve:

• Community engagement activities and events aimed at discouraging black sack fly-tipping.
• Raising community awareness regarding waste management, and services available to local people so they can dispose of their waste properly.
• Making people aware of the consequences of fly-tipping, including the environmental impact, potential fines and ending up with a criminal record.
• Offering information and advice on how to reduce household waste
• Targeted enforcement action in local fly-tipping hot spots
• Raise awareness on how to report fly-tipping

Over the next few months local people will be seeing ‘Crime Not To Care’ initiatives, posters, and community engagement events taking place in the borough, as well as targeted fly-tipping operations and enforcement action in hot spots flagged due to the high volume of black sacks being dumped.

Rayla Begum, from Goodmayes, has been affected by fly-tipping in her neighbourhood and said: “My street is part of my home. It upsets me and my children when we have to walk past piles of spilling black bags on our way to school. It makes our neighbourhood look dirty, unsafe and unpleasant.

“If we as residents don’t take ownership of our streets and help the council to help us make our streets cleaner and safer then it just won’t happen. It’s not realistic for the council to go around patrolling every street in the borough, every day. Instead, we as residents should be clued up about how to dispose of waste responsibly - and share this knowledge and make a conscious effort to help keep the borough clean and tidy.

“At the very least we should be reporting fly-tippers or sharing evidence with the council such as registration plates or video footage from security cameras if we see a fly-tip.”

To encourage everyone to be responsible for their rubbish, the campaign will also be raising awareness of the many services and resources readily available in the borough to help local people dispose of waste properly. This includes:

Weekly household waste and recycling collections: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/

Seasonal Green Garden Waste collections: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/garden-waste/

Bulky Waste Collections entitling residents to a free collection every 12 months (maximum of 3 items): https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/

Chigwell Road Reuse and Recycle Centre: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/visit-a-reuse-and-recycling-centre/

Free door step clothing collection and other ways to dispose of unwanted clothes: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/our-streets/love-your-clothes/

Community Composting sites in Redbridge: https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/bins-waste-and-recycling/garden-waste/home-composting/

‘Crime Not To Care’ supports the council’s already existing, on-going work to tackle fly-tipping and falls under the borough’s Our Streets strategy to create a cleaner and greener Redbridge.

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