Scheme that cut fly tipping cut by half to be extended

The Great Yarmouth Borough Council scheme focused on the area around Great Yarmouth's Salisbury Road, which had been identified as a hotspot for fly tipping in alleyways and areas where wheelie bins were frequently left out.

After a period of monitoring, the first phase of education and engagement saw residents encouraged to take ownership of their bins and their waste.

Every household was given a pack which included numbered bin stickers, information on the SCRAP fly tipping campaign, and a letter from their local bin men and street cleaners.

After four weeks, the enforcement stage saw fly tipping incidents reduce by over half and the number of bins regularly left out went from 70 to almost zero. 15 unclaimed wheelie bins were removed from the area completely.

Enforcement also saw the officers give out three formal warnings, one caution and one prosecution for fly tipping is underway.

Nathan Preston, a member of the HIT Squad Team, said "When we first started the project in the Churchill Passageways there was a lot of rubbish, debris and wheelie bins left out. In the first two weeks we completely cleaned the passageways top to bottom to start fresh. We also spoke to some of the residents about what we were doing each day and what we would like to achieve.

"After a few months we started to see an improvement in the area, and we found there was less rubbish and fly tipped items blocking access to the passages. The residents started taking their bins in after collection day, this helped us maintain the cleanliness of the passageways as it stops litter blowing out of fallen bins.

"I would say the project has brought a sense of pride back to the area and to its residents. It is nice to see the area looking clean and it's also nice to bring the community back together."

The scheme is now set to be extended to the Cobholm and Nelson Road South areas.

Cllr Paul Wells, chairman of the Environment committee, said: "Fly-tipping is a crime that can stain an area, and this campaign has successfully raised awareness of simple steps residents can take to ensure their waste is disposed of correctly.

"As this campaign is progressed across other parts of the borough, we hope everyone begins to help us keep it a clean, safe, and well-maintained environment for all of our residents."

Fly tipping crimes can be reported to the Environmental Rangers by calling 01493 846478 or via the Love Clean Streets App. As much information as possible should be provided such as the location and time of offence, what occurred, the description or address of offenders, and any relevant vehicle registration numbers.