Fly-tipping now down by 14 per cent in Northampton

Councillor Mike Hallam said numbers of fly-tipping incidents were reducing

Northampton Borough Council’s cabinet member for the environment, Councillor Mike Hallam, had estimated that fly-tipping had reduced by 10 per cent when speaking at a recent scrutiny meeting.

But the latest figures now published by the council show that it’s in fact down by 14 per cent.

Between June 2017 and January 2018, the council received a total of 21,704 reports of fly-tipping. But in the same months the following year, ending in January 2019, that number had decreased to 18,614.

Veolia took over the council's environmental services contract in June last year.

The figures have been welcomed by Councillor Hallam, but he maintains that the problem is worse in some areas, where there remains room for improvement.

He said: “It’s going down and we’re heading in the right direction, but there’s a lot more to be done. It still needs to be improved in some areas and we’ve got schemes coming up which will help us focus on that.”

The schemes include a three-month trial where the price of using the bulky waste removal services has been reduced from £25 to £15, while there will be an upcoming trial for the use of clear recycling sacks in Far Cotton, which will replace the recyclable containers.

The next two to three months are typically the busiest time of the year for fly-tipping in Northampton, Councillor Hallam added.