Fly-tipping hurts nature the most: residents urged to protect Crawley's green spaces
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Crawley Borough Council is supporting Keep Britain Tidy’s Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight national campaign by encouraging residents to help protect the town's green spaces and report fly-tipping incidents.
From woodland and parks to footpaths and open spaces, Crawley is home to fantastic local parks. However, fly-tipping continues to damage these valued places, harming wildlife, blighting communities and costing taxpayers’ money to clear up.
The council is Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight to highlight the impact illegal waste dumping has on nature and remind residents of the responsible ways to dispose of unwanted items. The campaign uses iconic parks of Crawley and shows the damage illegal waste can do.
Councillor Nick Hilton, Cabinet member for the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change at Crawley Borough Council, said: “Crawley is fortunate to have some fantastic green spaces that residents and visitors enjoy every day. Fly-tipping can damage these places, harm wildlife and spoil the environment for everyone.
“Most people dispose of their waste responsibly, but a small number of people continue to dump rubbish illegally. Anyone thinking of fly-tipping should expect to be caught and fined.”
Councillor Julian Charatan, Cabinet Member for Public Protection said: “We are asking everyone to play their part by disposing of waste responsibly, using licensed waste carriers and reporting fly-tipping when they see it. Last year, the council spent £1.3million removing fly-tipping, that is money that could be spent on play areas or protecting nature. It simply isn’t fair that the vast majority of taxpayers have to pay for a small minority.”
The council investigates reports of fly-tipping and will take enforcement action. Those responsible may face fixed penalty notices, prosecution and substantial fines.
Residents can help by:
disposing of household waste responsibly
checking that anyone they pay to remove waste is a licensed waste carrier
keeping records of any waste transfer
reporting fly-tipping incidents to the council
For more information on waste disposal services or to report fly-tipping, visit crawley.gov.uk/waste