Liverpool City Council cracks down on illegally dumped waste

Liverpool City Council is ramping up its efforts to tackle fly-tipping, dog-fouling, and littering by seeking an external partner to provide additional enforcement support.

The move, from Liverpool City Council, comes in response to resident feedback, which identified illegal waste disposal as a top priority for improvement across the city.

The council is inviting applications for an external partner to provide additional enforcement and is set to award a contract in March.

The successful bidder will begin work early this summer, enhancing efforts to eliminate environmental offences in Liverpool.

Combatting fly-tipping, which is the illegal dumping of waste, was highlighted in a series of recommendations to help drive up environmental standards across the City were agreed by Cabinet last year.

As part of these recommendations, the Council is also revising the cost of Fixed Penalty Notices for anyone who is found to be fly-tipping or littering.

Each year, clearing fly-tipping costs approximately £1m, which could be used to improve services elsewhere within Liverpool. Nine out of 10 reports are responded to and cleared in five working days, but the issue is one that could be avoided entirely.

Last summer, the Council appointed a new Environmental Enforcement Team to identify and take action against offenders. The team patrol the streets every day of the week to educate local communities on correct waste management and investigate environmental crimes.  

Working closely with Merseyside Police, the team also check waste carriers to make sure they are disposing of waste correctly and carry the right licence to be able to do so. 

Since June last year, the team has spoken to over 450 residential properties and businesses about fly-tipping, issuing almost 100 written warnings. This team is set to double in size in the coming months, providing more capacity to work with residents and businesses to prevent future fly-tipping. 

The incoming external partner will work closely with the taskforce to increase awareness of correct waste disposal and clamp down on illegal dumping, littering and dog-fouling. 

The Council offers a free bulky item collection for anyone looking to get rid of items that are too big to place in household waste. Up to five items, including fridges, wardrobes, and sofas, can be collected at one time. Once taken away, these items will then be safely recycled. Alternatively, excess waste can be taken to a nearby Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetscene said: 

“Fly-tipping is an ugly and hazardous act. Liverpool is a fantastic city that we should all be proud to live in, but it’s clear that a small minority has no respect for our streets. 

“In the past year, we’ve cleared over 20,000 instances of illegally dumped waste, many of which have been reported by concerned residents.

“We know that fly-tipping is unsightly and can harm the environment, so a lot of time and resources are committed to cleaning it up quickly. The time and money we’ve spent on doing this could have been used on improving our City rather than having to fix a problem that selfish people have created. 

“Residents have said to us that this is a major issue, and we agree. We’ve already taken significant steps internally by hiring more enforcement officers and the next step is to expand our operations through an external partner.

“Our procurement strategy is focused on finding the best possible partner to achieve our aims of tackling fly-tipping, littering and dog-fouling across Liverpool.” 

Find the latest news across Liverpool HERE.