Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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London council fights back against fly-tippers
Havering Council tells us that it has saved around £50,000 in fly-tip clean-up costs since December, as a result of having stamped out large-scale fly-tipping in the London borough's most notorious hotspots for organised rubbish dumpers.
Fly-tipping in the area has seen a major decline since a joint operation, involving officers from Havering and Newham Councils, Environment Agency, police and HMRC Officers, which targeted a site on Aveley Road in December.
Since the raid, there have been no further incidents of large-scale fly-tipping in the area and the actions taken by the Council appear to have disrupted a well-organised and illegal waste operation.
The Council has also installed barriers and bollards at Little Gerpins Lane and Sunnings Lane, Upminster, that will prevent further incidents of large-scale fly-tipping in the area.
The area around Little Gerpins Lane and Sunnings Lane had become the target of large-scale fly-tipping of industrial waste. The fly-tipping was occurring practically every night and was well-organised environment crime.
Following local intelligence, a vehicle yard in Aveley Road was suspected of being the base for the vehicles involved in the fly-tipping activity. A planned raid on the premises saw five vehicles including cars and a skip lorry being seized on suspicion of illegal waste activity. Three of the vehicles were later destroyed.
Whilst no one was arrested at the scene - a number of offences were identified and investigations are ongoing.
Havering Council has also crushed a number of vehicles linked to a traveller incursion and fly-tipping in Grenfell Park. Environment officers seized the vehicles after fly-tippers dumped a pile of household and building waste in the park in November last year.
Investigations to track down the fly-tippers are ongoing.
"Fly-tipping is a serious crime which has a detrimental effect on residents, businesses and the local environment," notes Councillor Osman Dervish (pictured between two of the crushed vehicles), Cabinet Member for Environment.
"Each year we're left with an unnecessary clean-up bill of around one million pounds. This is money which could be better spent on critical frontline services and improving the lives of our most vulnerable residents.
"The Council would like to thank all the residents and businesses who are helping us to tackle this common threat, by coming forward with vital information. We ask everyone to continue to report any suspected fly-tipping to help us drive out organised waste gangs from Havering."
29th March 2018