Published: Monday 11th January 2021 | 9.29am
This week, Cannock Chase Council is launching a campaign to tackle fly-tipping that is affecting areas across the District.
With people spending more time at home due to Covid-19, Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) have seen a huge rise in people wanting to dispose of unwanted items. This has led to an increase in fly-tipping locally, with the Council’s Environmental Health team receiving over 439 reports of fly-tipping across the District since the outbreak of the pandemic.
As a result of this, the Council has joined forces with Keep Britain Tidy to launch a new campaign - #CrimeNotToCare.
This aims to educate residents about the right thing to do with their rubbish and to reduce the amount of household waste that is fly-tipped by criminals who offer to take people’s waste away for money and then dump it.
The campaign aims to get the message across that if an individual’s waste is fly-tipped, even if they paid a third party to dispose of it, they can be prosecuted and end up with a fine and a criminal record.
The Council is offering a £250 reward to anyone who provides evidence that leads to successful enforcement action against a person, business or organisation involved in fly-tipping within the District.
In addition to this, the Council is also targeting potential offenders by highlighting the consequences associated with fly-tipping. Offenders could face having their vehicle seized and crushed, an unlimited fine and possible imprisonment.
Campaign messages will be displayed on Council vehicles as well as digital advertising on the Council’s website and social media accounts. Large posters will also be displayed in hotspot areas as a deterrent for potential offenders.
Councillor Josh Newbury, Portfolio Leader for Environment and Climate Change said; “Cannock Chase Council has a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping and always takes enforcement action when it has enough evidence.
“In order for the Council to combat fly-tipping, it needs to help people recognise and report fly-tippers and make them aware of their own responsibilities when disposing of rubbish. This campaign aims to do this as well as warning potential offenders that we are watching them, and they will be caught.
“Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, so we urge everyone to dispose of their waste properly to avoid the Council taking enforcement action against them and to look after our District‘s open spaces ”.
Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “#CrimeNotToCare is an important campaign for our country and we are delighted that Cannock Chase Council is partnering with us on it.
“There are almost a million fly-tipping incidents in England every year and cleaning it all up costs us more than £50million a year. It blights communities and our countryside and is a menace.
“We need the public to understand that their rubbish is their responsibility and they must do the right thing with it.
“Giving it to a ‘man with a van’ who offers to get rid of it cheaply could prove costly for people and result in them getting a criminal record. They have a duty of care and this campaign will help explain to them exactly what that is and how to protect themselves.”
Report fly-tipping by calling 01543 462621 or emailing environmentalhealth@cannockchasedc.gov.uk
For more information about fly-tipping, visit www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/flytipping