A new team dedicated to tackle littering and flytipping in Basildon is set to begin work on Monday 3 February.
At a meeting of the Neighbourhoods and Public Spaces Committee last November councillors agreed to boost environmental enforcement activities in the borough by bringing in National Enforcement Solutions. A total of five officers will undertake targeted and out of hours enforcement across the borough.
Basildon Council already has a small team of Street Scene Education and Enforcement Officers. In July 2018 the decision was taken to increase the number of officers by two to five to focus on educating and enforcing against the flytipping of househould waste, which makes up more than 80% of the borough’s flytipping. Since then incidents have reduced by 21%.
The council has entered into a trial with National Enforcement Solutions to further boost enforcement activity within the Borough.
Committee Chair Councillor David Harrison, said: “We realise that the vast majority of residents do the right thing with their waste. This is about targeting those who drop litter so we can hold them to account and deter others from this kind of behaviour. Litter affects our environment and we don’t want litter in our Borough.
“Last summer we ran the We’re Cleaning Up campaign to highlight the work we are doing to combat flytipping and littering through education and enforcement.
“This trial will enable us to take more action on those who continue to blight our communities – so my advice is don’t drop litter or dump waste, and dispose of it in the correct way.”
Basildon Council removed 3665 incidences of flytipping for the 2018-2019 financial year, which is down from 4620 removals in 2017-2018.
Anyone caught flytipping can be issued with a £200 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). Littering carries a £75 fine.
