Pilot reporting scheme launched to tackle flytipping in Newham
Less than one in 1,000 incidents of flytipping in Newham last year resulted in a successful prosecution.
Environment Agency officers are running a pilot scheme in the borough so residents can report the illegal dumping of waste anonymously through Crimestoppers.
More than half of the 36,000 incidents reported to the council in 2010/11 involved household rubbish.
Newham outstripped every other borough in London apart from Lewisham, south London, for the amount of illegal waste generated.
More than �2.5 million of Newham council taxpayers money was spent cleaning up the mess left behind during 2010/2011.
Environment Agency senior crime analyst, Laura Whitehead, said: “Environmental crime not only harms the environment and its communities but also has an impact on legitimate waste companies.
“Illegally dumped waste is a blight on our communities and on the environment. The public are our eyes and ears so we rely on them for information.”
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Newham Council carried out a total of 2,337 investigations into flytipping in 2011 but only 30 resulted in prosecutions.
Almost 11,000 incidents of flytipping involved commercial and construction waste.
A Newham Council spokesman said officers visited premises to give advice to residents and businesses.
He said: “We always try and ensure that businesses have effective trade waste agreements so that they are not tempted to fly tip.
“We will not tolerate flytipping and we will take tough action against those who dump rubbish in this antisocial way.”
“Flytipping is a problem throughout the whole of London but we are actively combating the problem.”
To report waste crime anonymously contact 0800 555 111.
