Taxpayers' big bills on fly-tipping

Councils are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds clearing up rubbish fly-tipped across the region.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show the extent to which lazy litterers are dumping waste, costing huge amount of taxpayers' cash to clean up.

Wolverhampton City Council spends an estimated £225,000 a year on the problem and Sandwell Council pays nearly £213,000. Dudley spent £54,848 in 2009/10 and Cannock Chase £31,000 over two years.

Sandwell Council executive cabinet member Mahboob Hussain, said they had to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds because people "thoughtlessly and selfishly" dump rubbish.

"It is a crime, plain and simple, and I would encourage everyone to help clean up their neighbourhoods by reporting illegally dumped waste."

Rubbish is checked for household bills, letters, and information indicating addresses for prosecutions.

Councillor John Reynolds, Wolverhampton City Council cabinet member for the environment, said they would like to reduce fly-tipping.

They have two refuse tips, open seven days a week.

Walsall Council did not respond to the request for information on cost, but cleared more than 1,900 loads of rubbish in the borough in 2010.

John Millar, director of the urban environment at Dudley Council, said: "Fly-tipping and littering of any kind is totally irresponsible and something that we will not tolerate in Dudley.

"We do not hesitate, where possible, to prosecute people who have dumped their rubbish and would ask borough residents to be our eyes and ears by reporting this kind of anti-social behaviour to Dudley Council."