Hounslow Borough Third Worst in the Country for Fly-tipping
Council spent over £1.3 million clearing up last year
Fly-tipping in the borough of Hounslow
August 8, 2023
Data has found that the borough of Hounslow experiences the third highest incidents of fly-tipping per capita in the country with London boroughs making up all of the top 10. The study found that boroughs registered well over one million cases of fly-tipping across the country with the capital being the worst-hit area.
Hounslow saw 116.78 incidents of illegal dumping per 1,000 people while only the City of London, which has a significantly smaller population, and Camden had more instances. Last year the council said it had received over 24,000 reports of fly tips which cost it over £1.3m to remedy.
Cases of littering and fly-tipping have prompted community volunteer groups such as Hounslow Litter Pickers as well as council-backed litter-picking events. The council also works with national bodies such as Keep Britain Tidy and the Association of Public Service Excellence and with other boroughs to share expertise and good practice.
Fly-tipping is a criminal offence and can result in a fixed penalty notice of £400. On its website, the council says that someone being caught fly-tipping something particularly large or dangerous can be taken to court, where they could be fined up to £50,000 or even face a prison sentence.
The council says many incidents of fly-tipping in the borough are people illegally leaving bags full of domestic waste next to a street litter bin which is primarily for small scale on-the-go litter. However, there are also cases of landlords not taking proper measures to manage waste either to cut costs or simply because they don’t have the right contact.
Councillor Guy Lambert, Cabinet Member for Highways, Recycling and Health Integration at Hounslow Council said, “Reducing fly-tipping is an important priority for Hounslow Council, it upsets me whenever I see a fly-tip in the borough and we’ll continue to implement a range of initiatives aimed at reducing incidents. Fly-tipping on our streets and green spaces, blights neighbourhoods, endangers wildlife and impacts on people’s pride of place, while putting added strain on Council services.
“We want to send a clear message that we will not tolerate fly-tipping and anyone caught will be punished. That’s why we introduced the Special Waste Service, a small team dedicated to targeting the worst areas in the borough and very successfully reducing offences in those areas. In the last year we issued over 580 Fixed Penalty Notices, however, we know there is still plenty of work to do and the team will be expanding to other locations to continue to tackle the problem.
“Our teams work hard to keep our streets clean, which is proven by our record of clearing 99.9% of fly-tips within 24 hours of being notified. We know our residents won’t stand for fly-tipping and they actively support us in identifying and reporting these incidents via Fix My Street or our website. This dedicated support allows us to act swiftly to ensure our streets are clean and where possible the perpetrators are caught.
“That determination is combined with other innovative approaches including our cleaner greener Hounslow process, the recently launched ‘No Time to Waste’ campaign, education programmes with residents and schools and expanding our food waste recycling offer to over 24,000 flats. All of which have contributed to a 20% reduction in fly-tipping incidents between 22/23.
“Fly-tipping will never be acceptable in Hounslow and we will continue to do all we can to eradicate this blight on our streets.”
The council adds that collected fly tipping is never sent to landfill and is recycled as much as possible. Those who are struggling with waste management are encouraged to contact Recycling@hounslow.gov.uk for advice and to help arrange appropriate waste storage.
Rory Bennett - Local Democracy Reporter