Christmas tree fly-tips could land you with a £400 fine.
Telford & Wrekin Council is stressing the importance of disposing of unwanted items and rubbish over the festive period – including Christmas trees - correctly to avoid fines of £400.
December saw 237 fly-tips recorded and disposed of which is a 22 per cent decrease on the same period in 2021.
This council puts this decline down to a number of tougher measures such as fines, high visibility patrols in the highest areas of fly tipping, CCTV footage to collect evidence and secure prosecutions and dedicated fly-tipping hotline for the public to report. Funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has also been secured allowing the council to tackle fly-tipping on private land too.
Alongside this approach aimed at people who blight the landscape, the council is offering a reduced rate for bulky item collections, with generous discounts for people likely to have lower disposable incomes, introduced on April 1 last year.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Enforcement and Transport, Councillor Richard Overton (Labour) said: “No one wants to pay to get rid of waste but it’s easier to pay a small fee than a huge fine! Would you rather pay £15 or £400?
“Most people play by the rules, disposing of waste responsibly, good quality items that we collect are even distributed to local charities to help support vulnerable people in our community.
“Everyone has the option to make an affordable choice and we will prosecute those who chose to dump waste in our neighbourhoods and green spaces, costing responsible tax payer’s money.”
Since April 1 2019 there have been 21,038 fly-tips recorded at an estimated overall cost of £1.1million.
Telford & Wrekin Council operates a confidential hotline where people can confidentially report information to help prosecute fly-tippers on 01952 388 800. Visit www.Telford.gov.uk/Watch
The hotline is specifically to provide information on fly-tippers. To report specific fly-tips and have them removed, residents should use the MyTelford app.
