Cllr Angus Ellis, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment said: “We need people’s help not only to report fly-tipping to us but also to encourage others not to do it. “
A Peterborough resident has shared their frustration towards “horrendous” fly tipping in places around the city. Mark Fishpool, who has lived in Peterborough all his life, runs a community volunteer group and carries out a clear up most days.
Mark expressed his frustration after finding fly-tips in various places across Peterborough and particularly in Fengate. Some of the places Mark and his volunteer group have recently found fly-tips include Storeys Bar Road, Edgerly Drain Road, Willow Hall Lane, and near Manor Drive Academy.
Mark is calling for “urgent action” to fix the “epidemic”. He said that he is lucky to have not found a “huge industrial fly tip” so far but if it carries on, he said “one day it will be somewhere hidden away”.
Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, Cllr Angus Ellis said: “We are fully aware of fly-tipping levels locally and are actively working to tackle the issue. Several measures have been implemented across Peterborough and surrounding areas, including investing money in new cameras in hotspot locations and are working with communities to educate them about correct waste disposal.”
The 70-year-old resident explained that Willow Hall Lane is a fly-tipping hotspot, and described it as “horrendous” there. Mark said that he finds fly-tips on both private and publicly owned land, and he documents all his findings with photographs to report to Peterborough City Council.
Mark explained that he has been campaigning for the last three years in order to “get things changed”. He believes that the “system needs to change” and “more pressure put on from people with a little bit of power.”
He said: “It is the pollution of the river courses and the streams that is the heart-breaking thing. When I see all this in dikes and ditches, I think, this isn’t doing the environment any good whatsoever.”
The waste that Mark said he is finding can sometimes leave roads blocked. Some of the worst things that Mark and the volunteer group have found include oil containers, old chemicals, and tins of paint, which can leak into the watercourses and once it gets into the water “it is impossible to clean it out”. It is “killing all the wildlife and wild animals” and “it must make them suffer tremendously”, he said.
The volunteer has previously been sent pictures of animals caught up in wire, netting or in a tin can, and said “I don’t think the general public realise the damage they are causing by just going out and thinking ‘I’ll just dump this here’.”
Mark works everyday to clear the fly-tips, and said: “I see things that other people don’t. When you drive along a road in your car, you only see half the picture but when I am walking along, I can see the dikes and the ditches, and the fields that other people don’t see.
“What annoys me most is, instead of just dumping it on the side of the road where it can be collected easily, they [fly tippers] are throwing it into dikes and ditches, which sometimes are ten feet deep, making it difficult to clear it. I do not agree with fly tipping, but they are causing a double problem.”
“It makes you wonder what goes through their mind when they are doing it”, Mark added.
Last week Mark was litter picking on Highbury Road in Peterborough, and he said that “when you look down into the dikes and ditches, it is full of everything under the sun that is laying there in the water.” He also sends his photographs to local councillors but they are only able to report it he said, and he assures that “they probably try their best”.
Peterborough City Council said they have also set up a cross-party task and finish group to look at fly tipping and increased Fixed Penalty Notices for fly tipping offences to the maximum amount.
As well as this, Cllr Ellis said that they have also ran a public awareness campaign to educate residents about the environmental and legal consequences of fly-tipping and plan to continue these in future.
Cllr Ellis continued: “As part of our most recent campaign, we updated our website section on fly-tipping which now contains helpful advice about using registered waste carriers and how businesses and landlords should dispose of waste. Our officers also regularly visit local schools to teach children about the importance of proper waste disposal.
“We need people’s help not only to report fly-tipping to us but also to encourage others not to do it. I would also like to remind people that we are only responsible for cleaning fly tipping from council land and if people witness a fly-tip taking place they should report it immediately to the police.”