An operation by Redbridge Council cracking down on fly-tipping has led to a string of offenders being busted.
The council’s enforcement officers paired up with street cleansing teams to run two days of joint action every week in September, targeting fly-tipping hotspots.
Together they investigated and cleared numerous fly-tips as part of the weekly operations, which resulted in 32 fines for fly-tipping and 10 fines for littering – together totalling £14,300.
After spending hours sifting through dumped rubbish, the teams unearthed enough evidence to trace the mountains of mess back to 42 people from Redbridge.
A steam cleaner in a box and supermarket trolleys containing bags of rubbish were among the items that led to officers tracking down the offending mess makers.
Cabinet member for civic pride Cllr John Howard said: “Redbridge is our home and we all have a duty to keep it clean by disposing of our rubbish responsibly.
“This is especially important now in the face of this pandemic, so it’s particularly disheartening to hear when fly-tips have been tracked back to our own residents.
“This kind of selfish behaviour destroys neighbourhoods, leaves our streets looking messy, and makes life difficult for other residents.
“Our uniformed enforcement officers and street cleansing team are working hard together to clear up rubbish and catch those responsible, so if you see someone fly-tipping please report it.
“Dumping rubbish and destroying our environment is a criminal offence and we will not tolerate it.”
Council leader Jas Athwal added: “There is no excuse for dumping rubbish on our streets, our council provide a free bulky waste collection so it is never worth risking a hefty fine and possible criminal conviction by fly-tipping.
“The vast majority of local people take good care of our area. It’s unacceptable that a small minority of people choose to litter and dump their waste illegally – we won’t put up with it and that’s why our enforcement team are working so hard to track down exactly who is breaking the law.”
Residents can report fly-tips and find out more information about disposing of waste and recycling via the council’s website.
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