A video was released yesterday (20 April) by Croydon Council showing two men removing black bin bags from the back of a white transit van and dumping them next to garages in Upper Norwood, Croydon.
The footage, which was recorded by a member of the public, shows the men illegally disposing of the rubbish near Eagle Hill before driving off in a white van, the number plate of which can also be seen (see picture, above).
The males were wearing high-visibility jackets and black hats.
The fly-tipping happened at 10am on 24 February, and although the footage has reportedly helped Croydon Council enforcement officers to conduct initial enquiries, they are now calling on members of the public to help identify the perpetrators.
Jo Negrini, the council’s Executive Director for Place, said: “I want to thank the resourceful resident who filmed this, and now that we’ve used the footage to gather evidence we need the public’s help in collaring these criminals.”
Anyone with information on the fly-tipping incident, or any other illegal dumping of waste in the Croydon area, should contact the council’s dedicated fly-tipping hotline on 020 8604 7000 or by emailing flytip@croydon.gov.uk
‘Don’t mess with Croydon’
This appeal for information runs alongside the council’s campaign Don’t Mess With Croydon – which aims to crack down on illegal waste activity by encouraging residents to take steps to protect themselves. Suggested actions include: asking to see relevant paperwork, including waste carriers’s licences and public liability insurance; refusing to pay for jobs in cash; never doing business with cold callers; getting at least three quotes for jobs; following up on any references supplied; and using websites such as Trustmark or Trusted Traders to find vetted traders.
Fly-tipping increase
This incident comes at a time of increasing fly-tipping incidents; according to figures released in October 2014, during the year 2013/14, local authorities in England spent £45.2 million tackling 852,000 incidents of fly-tipping, marking a 20 per cent increase in incidents in one year.
According to figures released by the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) at the time, the amount of reported cases of illegal waste dumping rose from 711,000 to 852,000 between the years 2012/13 and 2013/14, despite previous years showing year-on-year declines in fly-tipping.
Watch the Croydon fly-tipping video in full below.
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