Free skips plan to halt soaring £400k fly-tipping problem in Walsall
Free skips on street corners, longer opening hours at recycling centres and bigger cash rewards for information are among plans to tackle fly-tipping across Walsall.
Walsall Council is set to trial several initiatives to make it easier for people to dispose of waste after fly-tippers cost borough taxpayers more than £426,000 last year.
They include:
A free skip service for the deposit of bulky household items.
Extended opening hours at two Household Waste Recycling centres in Leamore and Aldridge.
Free kerbside collections of bulky household items
An increased reward for information leading to successful prosecution of fly-tippers – from £100 to £500
It comes after almost 900 incidents of fly-tipping were recorded between April and June this year – with fridges and freezers a ‘real problem’.
Councillor Louise Harrison, portfolio holder for Clean and Green said: “Dealing with fly-tipping is a high priority for Walsall Council – in April to June alone this year, 897 fly-tips were recorded.
“We’re planning to trial a number of initiatives to make it easier for our residents to legally dispose of their waste.
“Fridges and freezers are a real problem. Having given residents the opportunity to do the right thing, we hope to see a reduction both in the number of fly-tipping incidents and also in the costs of collecting and disposing of the waste.”
WATCH: Some of the fly-tipped waste in Walsall - including fridge freezers
The skip service would be for 10 weeks – on specified Saturdays and would cost £1,840 per day across two sites.
Residents will also be offered a free home collection of bulky goods that cannot fit in bins for a 13 weeks.
The proposals will be discussed at council cabinet meetings on September 5 and October 24.
