108 dumped fridges collected in a single day as fly-tipping scourge continues
A council collected 108 fridges in a single day as fly-tippers dumped a £426,000 clean-up bill on taxpayers in a Black Country borough last year.
Walsall Council received 4,953 reports of illegally discarded waste in 2017.
Bosses stated 'white van men' offering cheap house clearance services were at the heart of the problem.
The authority also argued it was a myth that fly-tipping was down to a controversial switch from weekly to fortnightly waste collections some years ago, pointing out that officers removed more than 1,000 fridges and freezers and 29 tonnes of tyres.
WATCH footage from 'fly-tipping' at Walsall Art Gallery:
The council say they are doing all they can to combat the problem issuing five fixed penalty notices in January already.
While last year they secured the first custodial sentence for the crime when prolific offender Jamie Humpage, of Booth Close, was jailed for six months.
But bosses have called on residents to play their part as well by taking responsibility for their waste and not leaving it in the hands of questionable traders.
To highlight the issue the council dumped its own haul of rubbish in front of the New Art Gallery on Tuesday as part of a bold campaign to raise awareness.
Council leader Sean Coughlan said: "We spent over £426,000 of public money last year clearing up and disposing of fly-tipped waste. And then there are the additional unseen costs relating to investigations and legal work for prosecutions. That’s a staggering amount of public money.
“At a time when central government is drastically reducing the funding to councils like Walsall and extremely difficult choices are having to be made about the services we provide for our residents, is this really what we should be spending your money on?”
He added: "Residents are asked to do their bit too, by not using ‘white van men’ who offer house clearances and the like at knock down prices.
"There’s a reason these people can offer knock down prices - it's because the waste they collect will end up in a country lane rather than legally disposed of at a commercial tip.
"Many of these people also won’t be licensed waste carriers - an offence itself.
"If you have bulky waste to get rid of, take it to the council tip, use our bulky waste collection service or a licensed waste carrier. It’s much cheaper and safer in the long run."
Chief Superintendent Andrew Parsons of Walsall Neighbourhood Policing Unit said: “We are working closely with Walsall Council to develop new initiatives to tackle fly-tipping. Sharing information and making joint visits to the homes of offenders has been a key tactic in our investigations.”
“Fly tippers are criminals so we would not encourage people to approach them directly.
"If you have any information, we would encourage you to call Walsall Council, so that it can be investigated, but if you see somebody actually in the act of fly tipping, call police on 999. With help from the local community we can put an end to this dangerous and irresponsible activity which damages the local environment and prevents people from being able to enjoy their local area."
