Council to display consequences of fly tipping
The authority spends £2 million clearing waste from the county
Wiltshire Council says it will continue to pursue people dumping waste in the county as it seeks to make a statement about the consequences for offenders.
In recent weeks, a man from Swindon has been prosecuted and another offender has had his vehicle seized by Wiltshire Council for illegally dumping rubbish. The vehicle will later be crushed.
The seized vehicle is to be put on display outside County Hall to highlight that the authorities enforcement has teeth.
Cabinet Member for Street Scene, Cllr Martin Smith told us it's part of the council's efforts to showcase the work they're doing.
"We want to show clearly that fly tipping has real consequences," he said.
The Council spends £2 million every year clearing litter and waste from our environments, which Cllr Smith says could be spent on other critical services if fly-tipping is eradicated.
More offenders being caught, but offences also rising
The authority has placed CCTV cameras in strategic locations to catch offenders, which Cllr Smith said is having an impact.
"The number of people we have caught has steadily increased over the years. We've issued penalty notices, we've also taken some people to court, but having said all of that, the problem is still growing, not just in Wiltshire, but nationally, and that's a real concern for us," Cllr Smith said.
It underscores the Council's efforts to display the consequences of fly tipping, but Cllr Smith said that we all have a responsibility to ensure our waste is disposed of correctly.
If we pay someone to take our rubbish away, they must be a licensed waste carrier. Often, people posing as waste carriers later dump the waste, which can lead to the person who's waste it is being prosecuted.
As part of the Council's Stop at Source campaign, we're urged to make sure we check that those we employ to remove our waste are legally allowed to do so.
We can check for a waste carriers licence online, and Cllr Smith said it is critical that we get the name and registration plate of the person removing the rubbish for us.