Southampton City Council (SCC) reports that the recent introduction of mobile CCTV units at fly-tipping hotspots has resulted in seven pending court cases, with prosecutions being sought for offences including littering and fly tipping.
Article continues after this message...
CCTV image from Westridge Road car park, Portswood
The surveillance continues to drive “visible reductions” in the amount of rubbish dumped at these sites and an increase in the number of fixed penalty notices issued to those caught illegally disposing of unwanted items, says SCC.
Four Environmental Protection Officers are now working across the city, taking “proactive and reactive measures to investigate fly tipping and actively seeking convictions”.
Textile banks at recycling points across the city are now being provided by a single charity – The Salvation Army – which is “ensuring banks are consistently emptied to reduce the problem of textiles overflowing”, says the council.
Cabinet member for communities and customer engagement, Cllr Toqeer Kataria (Lab), said:
“We’re continuing to up the ante in the battle against fly tipping. We’re sending a very clear message to anyone who dumps their rubbish, rather than disposing of it in a socially responsible and environmentally friendly way.”
“Ultimately it’s down to all of us to love our city and the communities that we live in and to dispose of rubbish properly,” added Cllr Kataria.
• As reported, SCC is currently running a consultation on household waste and fly-tipping. Residents have until 14 December to share views on how the council deals with the way that fly tipping is cleared.Fly-tipping on public land can be reported to the council here.