Fly-tipping down by half in Wolverhampton

Reports have dropped from 1,045 to 519 since this time last year.

Council bosses have cited a campaign calling on residents to report fly-tippers as part of the reason.

The city council cleaned up more than 2,000 piles of rubbish dumped last year at a cost of around £300,000 to the taxpayer.

In January, the council launched its ‘Shop a tipper’ campaign in a bid to clamp down on fly-tippers. Members of the public were encouraged the report people seen dumping rubbish in return for a reward.

A total of 67 people have reported fly-tippers since the scheme was launched, with investigations ongoing.

Bosses also say they have been working with community groups and educating residents on how to dispose waste correctly.

Colin Parr, head of business services at the authority, said: “As a council, we make it our priority to keep our city clean and tidy. But with limited resources we need to target these based on intelligence and evidence.

“We recognise fly tipping is a concern to our communities and in January, we launched our ‘Shop a tipper’ campaign which has seen a significant reduction in fly tipping across the city – reducing fly tipped waste by 50 per cent.

“As well as continuing to issue fixed penalty notices, this year we have used our powers to crush and seize fly tippers vehicles to send a message to all those involved in illegal acts of fly tipping that we will be making life even more difficult to those who continue to blight our streets with illegally dumped waste.

“We will continue to clamp down on fly tippers and I strongly encourage the public to keep coming forward by reporting those responsible and help us put a stop to fly tipping once and for all.”