Coventry council policies 'encourage fly-tipping' claims councillor

[dutchman]

The Green Party have called for a strategy to crack down on litter



Not enough is being done to tackle fly-tipping in Coventry and the council is even encouraging it with some of its policies, a councillor claimed. Hundreds of people have backed calls by the local Green Party for the city council to create a strategy to tackle fly-tipping and litter across the city.

Green councillor Stephen Gray presented a petition signed by almost 500 people at yesterday's council meeting. The Holbrooks councillor said that while volunteer litter-pickers do a brilliant job, their efforts aren't enough to solve the problem - and the council needs to encourage people to do their bit.

"I'm sure every member in this chamber has been frustrated when they report fly-tipping in an entry, a path or a car park which we can't remove because it's technically private land," he said. "We need to develop an easier way to deal with this very common situation."

"[The petition] also suggests we rethink some of our waste management policies," he added. "The census told us that more than one in four Coventry households do not have a car or van.

"And yet we only provide a way for these households to dispose of a tiny proportion of bulky goods. We also have restrictions on using the tip.

"Is it really necessary for households to have to book in advance? And households like mine, whose only vehicle is my lodger's work van, are limited to a single visit in a year.

"Such policies simply encourage fly-tipping." The petition also asked the council to consider doing the following:

• Running a public awareness campaign to reduce the amount of litter being dropped
  
• Encouraging Coventry businesses to reduce single-use plastic and other unnecessary packaging
  
• Making it easier to remove fly-tipping from land that is technically private property but is de facto public land, such as entries
  
• Ensuring that provision of public bins is adequate for the need and that public bins are emptied in a timely manner

A record 10,765 incidents of fly-tipping were reported in Coventry in 2021. Since then, there has been a downward trend - but thousands of incidents are still being recorded in "difficult" areas such as Foleshill.

[dutchman]

Fury as Coventry council puts stickers on mounds of fly-tipping to tell people 'it is a crime'



Anger is growing in a Coventry community blighted by fly-tipping as locals claim the council's solution is simply to put stickers on the mess. Householders say that the grassed area at the junction of Clements Street and Villiers Street has become a dumping hotspot.

Not only are they tired of constantly seeing mounds of abandoned waste, but also the council's response to it. One resident said that the city council has been putting stickers on the rubbish warning that it is a crime and to dispose of rubbish responsibly.

"What does this achieve? Nothing," the resident said. "The council send workers out who clear it away, only for it to happen again a matter of days later."

He said that he has supplied dash cam video footage of a fly-tipper in action. But he said the council's alleged response was that the rubbish had already been cleared and that they could not take any action.

The resident has called for tougher action to prosecute fly-tippers. The council does have four state-of-the-art CCTV cameras and a specially trained officer to help crack down on the scourge of fly-tipping across the cuty.

He said it was time that they paid a visit to his community. "The council could put up cameras and actually prosecute those doing it," he said.

"I'd even accept them putting a skip in the location so it is then controlled and not spilling out all over the pavement and making the area look bad. But they haven't done either.

"Instead, they choose to keep spending money clearing it, rather than dealing with the actual problem. It is no wonder pride in communities is low."