Fall in flytipping thanks to campaign

Harborough District Council’s Tip Off campaign was launched in late 2016 to raise awareness of flytipping and its impact on the district.

The campaign aims to educate residents that they must dispose of their waste in the correct and legal manner or face a financial penalty – or possible prosecution – if they don’t. 

The council has been working with other local authorities as well as sharing advice through social media and radio to help reduce incidents.

Latest data from the council reveals a seven per cent drop in flytipping incidents from April 2017 to March 2018 - from 653 incidents last year to 608 this year.

Cllr Jonathan Bateman said: “Flytipping is a blight in our district and, despite incidents increasing 75 per cent in the district in the four years prior to 2017, it is pleasing that we have seen a small reduction in the last year. This is testament to our Tip Off campaign and the information we receive on a daily basis from the public which helps our investigations and we would like to thank the public for their assistance to help us tackle the problems."

Last month the council reported that two men were each ordered to pay £400 costs after being caught, in separate incidents, dumping rubbish illegally in the Harborough district.

One of the men was caught on one of the council’s covert mobile CCTV cameras which have been placed in flytipping hotspots across the district. In November, a woman was ordered to pay costs by Harborough District Council after rubbish which she had paid a scrap merchant to remove from her house was later dumped on a grass verge in Scraptoft.

The majority of flytipping incidents in the district involve general household rubbish which can be disposed of legally at local recycling and waste sites (tips).

Cllr Bateman added: “The council takes flytipping extremely seriously and is encouraged that, through our ongoing Tip Off campaign, we continue to receive reports from the public which helps us to quickly investigate and clear illegally dumped waste from public land. We will continue to seek to take enforcement action wherever possible, and have committed extra resources in the new financial year to assist with the aim of reducing flytipping further”

Report flytipping or provide information about incidents at www.harborough.gov.uk/tip-off