Newham will start providing free bulky waste collections.

In a motion passed during Monday’s full council meeting, councillors agreed to a proposal which would see residents get up to three free bulky waste collections a year.

The motion was put forward by Manor Park councillors Mariam Dawood and Salim Patel.

Councillor Dawood said: “We are all aware that this borough is infamous for its flytipping.

“When we walk about our wards, we see rubbish across our streets. We see rubbish everywhere.

“We hear these concerns from our residents, and we understand that this is a serious issue which has a real negative impact on their day to day lives.”

The councillor pointed to neigbouring boroughs Waltham Forest, Redridge and Tower Hamlets, who already have a similar system in place. She said Croydon Council, who introduced the policy in February, believe the system pays for itself, as they can spend less energy tackling flytipping.

She said the free collections would give residents greater incentive to have their waste collected, rather than dumping it, and meant the council could focus their efforts on prosecuting “malicious” flytippers, rather than those simply too poor to pay for collections.

“This motion doesn’t claim to resolve the entire issue of flytipping,” she said.

“It would provide, however, relief to an issue which is out of control.

“This motion would not only be practical and flexible to implement, but it would be welcomed by our residents.”