I’m sad to say hotspots in Brownhills and Aldridge – as well as across the area – are still being blighted by flytippers, often clearly working on a commercial scale. Flytipping is a public menace, harms the environment, can be a danger to people and wildlife and costs a lot of money to clean up.
This morning (4th September 2015), Brownhills Councillor Steve Wade posted the following image of flytipping in Coppice Lane, Brownhills. Later in the day, Tweeter @Anthonygrangad reported the same mess.
Image from Councillor Steve Wade and posted on Facebook.
Walsall Clean and Green have been informed and will deal with this as soon as possible.
The same lay-by has been repeatedly hit – presumably by the same idiots – so can we please all keep an eye out and note the registrations of any vehicles behaving suspiciously. Councils can and will act, with Walsall having a high-profile success this week, where a flytipper was fined and had a driving ban imposed for illegal dumping.
There was an incident last week too, in another regular haunt of the flytippers – Back Lane between Aldridge and Mill Green. Walsall Environmental Health Dept. are investigating, and officers wonder if anyone recognises the (clearly very old) sign that was dumped amongst the huge quantity of waste tipped there.
The fact is lads with the pickups are out, now punting for rubbish removal (presumably, the tatting market is becoming too crowded). They charge a small fee, then dump your waste in lay-bys, industrial estates, car parks and anywhere they can’t be seen. This leaves you as well as the dumpers open to prosecution, as giving waste to and unlicensed carrier is an offence and councils do prosecute.
If you need rubbish removal, either call Walsall Council for bulky waste collection, or employ a reputable firm. Ask to see their waste transfer license, and ask for, and keep the relevant paperwork. No genuine carrier will be offended by your asking for proof of their validity.
We all hate flytipping and the nuisance it causes. Please think carefully about who you give your waste to – and that includes scrap metal collectors who patrol the streets. By encouraging them, you’re perpetuating metal theft and other environmental crime.
If you have any idea who these flybynights are, please do contact the council’s street pride unit on 01922 653344 or better still, the police.
By the way, for the person who angrily mailed me and asked why Councillor Wade is getting so much exposure here, it’s quite simple: should any other local councillors break cover and actually mail me to run a piece, I’ll only be too happy to do so. The email address is BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com, and works for all councillors, should they choose to use it.
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Walked past that at 7:30 this morning walking up to work. Disgraceful. This lay by is a favourite spot for fly tippers, but this is the largest load I’ve seen.
A local councillor informing residents what is doing on social media should not be sniffed at. Whether Tory, LD, Lab or the others we have here
I think a lot of people don’t realise that if their waste is traced back to them it does not matter who dumped it. In other words if you give your rubbish to the wrong people you could be prosecuted because you have not taken reasonable steps to ensure that it is disposed of properly and legally.
If you are a person of integrity (that is pretty well everyone) and you see some fly-tipped waste that has some identification on it – without risking your own health and safety – you should report this to the local authority as a matter of urgency as it gives them a better chance of prosecution.
For bulky waste the Walsall Council offers a service that is cheap and easy to use and they turn up when they say they will. Better safe than sorry!
I agree with the final comment. Councillor Wade is the only Brownhills councillor who seems to care enough to stand up for the people he represents
Having to clear my dads house in the last few weeks, we have had to contract a couple of genuine lads with three big loads of crap. It cost us £450 with paperwork and they are known to our kid and the company he works for. Always use genuine guys and not some idiot chancers.
In these days of cheap technology, you can fit a motion detector camera by the hot spots, and assuming the vehicle is registered to the scum you can nail them!