By Jamie Shapiro, Local Democracy Reporter
Figures reveal Southampton is the worst place in the south east region for fly-tipping, although the city council says other local authorities may not be reporting figures properly.
Statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs revealed that between 2021 and 2022 Southampton had 9,999 incidents of fly-tipping reported.
Basingstoke and Deane came in second, with 2,169 cases reported.
But a spokesperson from Southampton City Council blamed incorrect reporting among other authorities for the comparably high figures in the city.
They said: “We are confident that our monitoring and reporting is accurate in relation to fly-tipping incidents and that the service is classifying all instances of fly-tipping correctly, when compared to some of the figures posted by similar local authorities.”
They added: “Tackling fly-tipping is a priority for Southampton City Council and the figure is a reduction, relative to previous years.
“We continue to take a proactive approach to fly tipping and are actively seeking prosecutions wherever possible.
“We have expanded the team of environmental protection officers (EPO) who provide a dedicated resource to investigate fly tipping incidents, with a view to securing convictions.
“We’re also undertaking a comprehensive communications campaign to ensure that residents are aware of the financial and environmental cost of fly tipping, as well as their ‘duty of care’ when employing a waste carrier, with every household in the city receiving a leaflet with their council tax mailing in April this year.”
The council also listed the other work it is doing to help.
This includes removing the booking system at the Millbrook recycling centre and installing solar powered CCTV units at fly-tipping ‘hotspots’ around the city.
London isn’t included in figures for the region.
• Residents can check waste carriers they employ are licensed from this link, and fly-tipping on public land can be reported on Southampton City Council's website.
Previously
'Fly-tipping' at Marlhill Copse
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