DAWN SWOOP HITS FLY-TIPPERS IN THE POCKET
A 5.30 Monday morning visit by Croydon council’s environmental enforcement staff resulted in 15 fixed penalty fines being issued to fly-tippers who had left rubbish on Portland Road and Cherry Orchard Road.
Bags of waste were carefully searched for evidence of where they had come from and whenever sufficient proof was available an £80 fine – the largest fine permitted by current legislation – was issued..
“What was found was a mixture of commercial rubbish and household waste which had been thrown out onto the street many days before a collection was due” said a council spokesman.
“The seven-strong enforcement team also spoke to the managers of several early-opening businesses to check they had all the necessary contracts in place to properly dispose of their trade waste.”
Cllr Stuart Collins, cabinet member for a clean and green Croydon, said: “Local residents who were up early enough to see this highly visible patrol operation were quick to thank our team for their efforts.
“It only takes a small minority of careless or lazy people to spoil the environment for everyone – so our staff got a massive vote of thanks for taking the time to challenge anyone who they found not following the rules.
“Tackling fly-tipping is a huge priority for this council and wherever we can we are clamping down on anyone who we catch. “People will soon get the message not to mess with Croydon – it’s so much better to take pride in the place you live or work.”
Street cleaning staff from Veolia worked with the enforcement team to ensure the roads were left in a spotless condition for people going to work or taking their children to school on the first day of term.
Croydon say officers will be continuing to target these areas over coming weeks by speaking to all nearby businesses to ensure they are not dodging costs by illegally getting rid of their commercial waste. (Source: Croydon council press release)
