Wirral's independent local news website
Fly-tipping is a blight on both our urban and rural landscapes here in Wirral, as it is around the country. This short article will show how easy it is to report the dumping of waste on our streets.
Fly-tipping is the is the illegal dumping of waste onto any land that is not an authorised waste disposal site, e.g., on our streets, alleys, pavements and in the countryside. Often items are large, bulky items, such as mattresses, sofas, white goods and TVs, but it can also be general household waste or building waste left by the small minority of irresponsible tradesmen who give the rest of their profession a bad name.
Billy Jebb of First Choice Drives said, “As an environmentally conscientious business, we take our responsibility for the local environment very seriously. Tradesmen who fly-tip give the rest of us a bad name. At my yard, I sort the waste into plastics, rubble, garden waste etc., and it all gets disposed of in the proper manner.
“It is an extra cost on the business as it costs between £100 & £160 per load for a tradesman to visit the tip. Thankfully, you can apply to the government for a licence that gives you twelve visits to the tip per year.
“I also ‘upcycle’ as much as I can, for example, if I remove someone’s fence or shed, I can make a dog kennel or bird table out of the good wood – it all helps reduce waste in the end.”
Clearly, the council can’t afford to employ an army of people patrolling the streets to spot sites that have been fly-tipped, so they rely on the local community to report fly-tipping. It is easy to make an online report for fly-tipping of any kind by visiting the simple to use web page on the Wirral Council website; the whole process only takes a couple of minutes. All that you need to do is enter the street name where the fly-tipping has taken place and you can add a further description to further narrow down the location. Then you can leave your contact details so that the council can update you on their progress.
If you don’t have internet access, you can also phone the council to report fly-tipping. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, fly tipping is on the increase and the phonelines can be very busy. The phone number is 0151 606 2004.
Councillor for Birkenhead and Tranmere, and leader of the Green Party Group , Pat Cleary said, “It is easy to report fly-tipping via the council website. However, people without internet access do struggle as it can take a long time to get through over the phone. I think the official advice would be “be patient”. Digital exclusion is now a significant issue for many, mainly older, people.
“Since the pandemic arrived there has been an increase in reports of fly-tipping but there has also been some wonderful examples of neighbours coming together to tidy up communal alleyways. The council has been assisting such initiatives to good effect to help sustain them over the longer term.”
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