Say their 'proactive stance' has seen amount of dumped rubbish reduced
Ealing Council say their hard-line approach is helping reduce the amount of f'ly-tipping in the borough - but opposition councillors disagree.
Since 2016, a number of specialist enforcement teams have been operating in the bororough and are responsible for catching, and cleaning up after individuals who flout the law by dumping waste.
These teams are funded through the fines imposed on those who fly-tip. 5,400 fixed penalty notices were issued last year, some however were mistakes and later cancellled.
The teams collect evidence from fly-tips, which the council then trace back to the perpetrators, which can lead to prosecution.
Cllr Bassam Mahfouz, the council’s cabinet member for environment, transport and leisure said: "The vast majority of residents dispose of their waste appropriately and legally. Like me, they want to see tough action taken against the disrespectful minority who fly-tip on our streets.
"This is why we have adopted one of the most proactive stances on tackling fly- tipping and our enforcement teams were set up in direct response to the concerns of residents about dumped rubbish on the borough’s streets.
“I am delighted that they are proving to be successful in driving down the amount fly-tipping and supporting our determination to prosecute perpetrators wherever we find them.
“The message to fly-tippers is clear - we will find you and we will fine you. I encourage local people to find out about the services provided by the council to help them ensure their rubbish is cleared up properly – acting responsibly now will also mean they will avoid hefty fines in the process.”
However Conservative Councillor, Greg Stafford, says it's not good enough:
'' Residents experience and the Council’s own performance figures indicate that the Labour is actually failing on street cleaning. The latest published figures showed that 30% of Ealing’s streets failed to be cleaned to Grade A standard.
'' Targeting people for pouring coffee down the drain or leaving packaging out for recycling, which the Council failed to collect on time, is hardly a tough stance; it’s more like robbing soft targets.
Residents can report cases of fly-tipping online, or by calling the council’s hotline on 020 8825 8825.
26th March 2018