“It’s outrageous that people think dumping rubbish on a road, blighting our city, is acceptable – it is not.” Jacqui Kennedy
Waste Enforcement Officers from Birmingham City Council are appealing for the public’s help to find flytippers who dumped more than a hundred fridges in a Hawkesley street.
110 fridges dumped
Officers attended Ithon Grove in Kings Norton yesterday (20th February) after receiving a report that six fridges had been left there. On arrival they discovered 110 fridges abandoned in the road in the latest large scale flytipping incident to hit South West Birmingham.
Jacqui Kennedy, Acting Strategic Director – Place for Birmingham City Council, said: “It’s outrageous that people think dumping rubbish on a road, blighting our city, is acceptable – it is not. Enforcement officers are currently investigating to try and identify the perpetrators, so if you have any information please contact the council.”
‘Totally unacceptable’
Jacqui Kennedy said: “I know the local community will be as horrified by this as I am, so I hope anybody with information will be brave enough to come forward. This is totally unacceptable and we will prosecute flytippers where evidence is available.
“Keeping Birmingham’s streets clean is everyone’s responsibility – no one wants to live in a dump – so we will continue to clamp down on these criminals, targeting areas where there’s a persistent problem.”
Big problem locally?
Aside from people flytipping their own waste, there have been numerous reports of large scale flytipping happening in South West Birmingham over recent months.
The area around Ithon Grove, off Green Lane in Hawkesley, is awaiting redevelopment and has regularly seen flytipping. In June last year there was a large dumping of items including sofas, microwaves, ripped bags of clothing, baby seats and even several car bumpers along the slip road running adjacent to Redditch Road.
In March 2016, Bell Holloway in Northfield was completely blocked as rubbish was strewn along 70 metres of the pretty thoroughfare.
September saw a criminal investigation as a large truck, hired from a company in Yorkshire, was abandoned after getting stuck in a ditch on public land in Frankley after dumping tonnes of processed waste.
Reporting flytipping
Flytipping offenders can face an unlimited fine and up to five years’ in jail if convicted at Crown Court.
Birmingham’s Waste Enforcement Unit investigates dumped rubbish with a view to prosecuting flytippers.
If you have any information on this or any other flytipping, visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/dumpedrubbish or email flytipping@birmingham.gov.uk
Disposing of larger items safely
If you have rubbish that you need to have removed from your property, it is worth noting that metal recycling plants won’t take appliances such as fridges, freezers and washing machines.
Ideally, use the council’s own bulky item collection service to ensure your rubbish is disposed of correctly and safely. The service costs £23-25 and you can book online. The collection can include up to 6 bulky items and 3 bin bags can count as one item.
Companies have to be registered with the Environment Agency to carry waste. If you don’t wish to use the council service, we would recommend that you ensure anyone you use is officially registered. You can check the waste carrier register online