Cllr Fay Howard: Council Refusing to Pick-Up Green Waste Fly-Tipping

Swindon Council is refusing to collect most fly-tipped green waste and are instead sticking enforcement notes to the bags, leading to unsightly areas in the town. This decision follows the Council’s introduction of an optional £40 per year charge for green waste collection.

Swindon Council is refusing to collect most fly-tipped green waste and are instead sticking enforcement notes to the bags, leading to unsightly areas in the town. This decision follows the Council’s introduction of an optional £40 per year charge for green waste collection.

Since the introduction of the new chargeable green waste collection service fly-tipping has dramatically increased and Labour Shadow Lead for Streetsmart, Fay Howard, has said she is receiving several complaints a day regarding fly-tipping.

The Labour Group have been told that the new Council policy is to not immediately collect fly-tipping but instead leave an enforcement note on the fly-tipped bag and then collect it after a couple of months.

The Labour Group have been told that exceptions where the Council may immediately collect fly-tipped green waste include where it has been left blocking a path for pedestrians, if the green waste is loose rather than in bags and where it has been left in sensitive areas.

The Labour Group’s Shadow Lead for Streetsmart, Councillor Fay Howard, said:

“The fly-tipping of green waste has become a new issue since the introduction of the green waste collection charge. When the green waste collection charge was proposed, we said repeatedly that this would lead to increased fly-tipping which would be an additional expense to the Council to collect.

It seems that rather than pay for the collection of the increased fly-tipping of green waste, the Council have decided to instead just leave them for a few months leading to a poorer environment for the town.

I understand that the Council are reluctant to immediately collect the green waste fly-tipping because of the cost and because it will encourage further fly-tipping, but this is all the more reason to scrap the green waste collection charge as we have proposed and bring back a free service. Only through doing this can we stem the tide of increased fly-tipping and also reduce the huge queues at the waste and recycling centre.”
 
Cllr Fay Howard
Swindon Labour Group Shadow Lead for Streetsmart