Call to extend free bulky waste collection service after record fly-tipping

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs figures revealed there were 11,564 fly-tipping incidents in Sandwell in the year to March 2022 – up from 10,330 the year before and the highest figure since records began in 2012-13.

A significant amount of fly-tipping was discovered on highways, while around a third of incidents involved council land – leading to significant clean-up costs.

A motion is expected to be tabled at a Sandwell Council meeting on Tuesday calling for a free bulk waste collection service for all of the borough's residents in order to discourage fly-tipping.

Set to be proposed by Councillor Scott Chapman, and seconded by Councillor Amrita Dunn, the motion says that Government data for the year 2021/22 has shown that local authorities in England dealt with 1.09 million fly-tipping incidents.

It says residents have "significant concerns" regarding fly-tipping in the borough and calls for a free bulk waste collection service for large items, such as sofas and mattresses, to be extended to all Sandwell residents.

The council currently charges a fee for taking away large household items, although each household with someone over the age of 60 is entitled to one free collection of bulky waste up to four items, or one fridge/freezer, in any 12 month period.

It normally costs £14.34 to dispose of one 'bulky item', £21.52 for up to four items and £43.03 for between five and eight, according to the council's website.

The motion also calls on the council to take a "zero-tolerance" approach to fly-tipping on privately owned land, ensuring that land managers, occupiers or owners of private property are responsible for clearing and disposing of any fly-tipping found on private land as soon as it is reported, with enforcement action taken if not cleared within a reasonable timescale.

"These measures are proposed to encourage local people to dispose of their waste items through the proper channels rather than dumping them in the streets or storing them outside of properties," the motion adds.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for environment, Councillor Zahoor Ahmed, said earlier this month that the authority was committed to tackling fly-tipping and taking the necessary action against those who fly-tip items in the borough.

"We are asking people to think before they fly-tip and to take care before paying someone else to dispose of their waste," he said.

"We have a very proactive approach to identifying waste and fly-tipping incidents in Sandwell. We clear fly-tipping incidents as soon as possible and check for evidence that helps us find the culprits and take the necessary action against them."

He said the council had improved the ways that people can report fly-tipping and had introduced a mobile reporting app.

"We are increasing our use of real-time intelligence to identify hotspots and emerging areas of the borough that are experiencing fly-tipping," he added.

"This intelligence will help to identify where the council can deploy its dedicated fly-tipping cameras to gather evidence and increase our enforcement action against the culprits of fly-tipping."