Major campaign to crack down on scourge of fly-tipping in Newark and Sherwood

A major new campaign is being proposed to crack down on the scourge of fly-tipping in Newark and Sherwood, where the equivalent weight of 30 double decker buses is dumped every year.

Councillors will consider ramping up action to catch and punish offenders in order to combat the unsightly and costly problem, with incidents of illegal dumping on the increase and running at nearly four a day.

The new campaign, Not In Newark and Sherwood, follows on from Newark and Sherwood District Council’s highly successful Cleaner, Safer, Greener initiative that was aimed at creating a greater sense of pride in the environment and tackling environmental crime.

During the financial year 2018-19, the council removed 1,438 fly-tips with a combined weight of 361.89 tonnes.

For the current 2019-20 period, 425 fly-tips had been removed between April-July with a combined weight of 81.36 tonnes.

Fly-tipping, the illegal disposal of household, industrial, commercial or other controlled waste without a waste management licence, has been highlighted as a particular problem for the district because it is covered by large areas of open countryside.

In many cases, it is suspected offenders are rogue waste operators who work for cash and do not operate with the necessary licences.

The district council works closely with police to tackle rural crime and employs Environment Protection Officers who specifically deal with environmental offences.

Last month, the county-wide Not in Notts campaign was launched to ensure closer partnership working between councils, including Newark and Sherwood, to target the offenders.

Earlier this year, the district council adopted a new community plan with one of its key objectives being to improve the cleanliness and appearance of the local environment.

Roger Jackson, chairman of the district council’s leisure and environment committee, said: “Four incidents of fly-tipping every day is a real stain on our district but we are absolutely determined to confront the issues and deal with those who are responsible.

“The council proposes to embark on a wide range of actions throughout this campaign, but would appeal to the public to be our eyes and ears in helping identifying the cowboy waste operators who are spoiling the environment.”

Members of the council’s leisure and environment committee will discuss the proposals at its next meeting on Tuesday.

Key aspects of the proposed new campaign are likely to include:

• Stop and check days of action, in conjunction with police, to target vehicles carrying waste without the necessary trading paperwork.

• Specific ‘bring out your dead’ days for householders to dispose of bulky waste free of charge in specific communities.

• Challenging local social media sites to stop the promotion of illegal tip-run requests and services.

• Covert surveillance to snare rogue waste removal operators who take rubbish away or cash but do not have waste carrier notices.

• Shutting down public access to problem fly-tipping sites

• Relaunching and reviewing the council’s bulky waste collection service which not only provides for the ethical disposal of waste but is cheap as well as protecting householders from possible prosecution.

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