A pile of rubbish was dumped in a park in Sefton to highlight the scourge of fly tipping in the borough.
Piles of rubbish bags, bed frames, a washing machine and an old pram were among the items “dumped” at Poets Park in Bootle on Wednesday, surrounded by tape stating it was an “environmental crime scene.”
The “staged fly-tip” was a Sefton Council campaign in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy aimed at spreading the message about the consequences of people dumping waste in their community, including when this is done via a third party people have given their waste to.
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The council was recently criticised for its lack of enforcement activities on fly tipping after an FOI submitted by Green campaigner Neil Doolin revealed just five fines had been issued for fly-tipping across the whole of the borough last year. Cllr Lappin later said the council “needs to improve” to tackle the borough’s fly-tipping.
Speaking about the stunt in Bootle today, which was later cleared up by the council’s cleansing team, Cllr Lappin reminded people of the potential consequences of fly-tipping.
Cllr Lappin said the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, Crime to Care, “highlights the fact that residents can be taken to court and fined for giving their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier, who then goes on to fly-tip the items.
“Fly-tipping is a criminal offence and we want to remind residents that both littering and fly-tipping can lead to a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.”
Cabinet member for health and wellbeing, Cllr Moncur said: “At this time of year, many residents may be spring cleaning their homes and having a clear out. We need our residents to understand that their rubbish is their responsibility.”
Chief executive of Keep Britain tidy, Allison Ogden-Newton, said the campaign was aimed at tackling the scourge over almost a million fly-tipping incidents across the country every year, which costs more than £50m to clean up.
Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said: “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.”
The campaign highlights the importance of people making sure they use registered waste carriers when engaging private contractors to dispose of rubbish and recommends residents ask to see and take a record of people’s registration number, which should start with CBDU.
People can also ring the Environment Agency on 03708 506506 or use their webiste at www.gov.uk/find-registered-waste-carrier to check credentials. Residents are also advised to pay by cheque so payments can be traced if waste is fly-tipped, or to use a skip.
A Sefton Council spokesperson said: “Never agree to cold callers offering any type of home improvements work, roofing, gardening services, tree surgery or household waste removal. Not checking if you’re hiring a registered operator could be more expensive in the long run, as householders can face an unlimited fine for failing to hire an authorised waste carrier.”
Residents can also dispose of their waste at Sefton’s Household Recycling and Waste Centres run by the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority or contact the council’s Bulky Waste collection service.
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