Fly-tipping fines worth £1,250 have been issued in just one day after takeaway packaging, cardboard boxes and household rubbish were abandoned at a council recycling site.
Officers at Westmorland and Furness Council issued fixed penalty notices to five individual people – for £250 each - after sifting for evidence in the mess left behind at the council’s recycling banks near Ulverston Leisure Centre.
The fly-tipped waste discarded on the ground at the Priory Road site included cardboard boxes, polystyrene, bubble wrap and household waste such as loaves of bread, letters, takeaway cartons and fried chicken packaging. All five fines were issued on the same day after the council’s Locality Team investigated a report of fly-tipping at the location.
Councillor Dyan Jones, Cabinet Member for Customer and Waste Services, said: “The last thing any of us wants to come across when we do our recycling at any of our public sites is unsightly and disgusting waste left on the ground. It’s a health hazard and it’s highly unpleasant for recyclers as well as taking our busy Street Scene teams away from their usual work to then clean up the mess.
“This recent spate of fly-tipping at our Ulverston bring site is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to abuse of some of the council’s recycling banks. One of our first major tasks as the new Westmorland and Furness Council was to overhaul all our recycling banks by removing the old containers, sweeping and cleaning the sites and installing new banks. This was accomplished in the first weekend of April 2023 thanks to determined teamwork by our officers and contractors, Sinkfall, and so it is incredibly disappointing to see this misuse by some individuals.
“We want sites to be clean, tidy and welcoming, as you would expect from a council that is ecologically aware and puts our customers at the heart of everything we do, as we state clearly in our brand new Council Plan.
“Most of us would never dream of contaminating our local recycling site in this way. For those who think they can get away with it, be aware - Locality Officers are carrying out regular spot checks and they won’t hesitate to issue fixed penalty notices for £250 where there is sufficient evidence.”
Once you have gone to the trouble of driving to a recycling bank, please use it with respect and follow these simple instructions:
- Only drop off domestic recycling such as paper, card, cans, glass and plastic containers
- Check the signs on the containers to see what each one holds
- Remove any polystyrene packaging, bubble wrap, plastic bags etc
- If the nearest container is full, use another one for the same type of recycling.
Any non-recyclables or bags of household rubbish that won’t fit in your bin at home should be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC).
Click here to find out more and also report fly-tipping.