Flytipping falling in Burnley but council pledges to continue zero tolerance approach

Newly-released figures from Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) revealed that 3,101 flytipping incidents were recorded in Burnley in 2016-17, down from 5,962 the previous year.

The clean-up cost to taxpayers in the North West totalled an eye-watering £9.2m.

Coun. Lian Pate, Burnley Council’s Executive member for community services, praised the hard work of the council’s streetscene unit, and pledged to drive the figures down further.

A council spokesman said: “It’s good to see the number of flytipping cases has dropped by almost half in just one year, but we recognise there is still work to do.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to flytipping which has seen Burnley become one of the leading areas in the country for prosecuting offenders.

“We encourage residents to tell us about flytipping so that we can go out and clear it as quickly as possible, and our online reporting service makes that easier for people to do.

“The vast majority of flytipping in the borough is rubbish dumped in back yards and back streets.

“The cost of cleaning up flytipping is being met by council taxpayers, the vast majority of whom get rid of rubbish in a responsible and proper way, but who unfortunately have to pay for the actions of the mindless minority who selfishly don’t care about their neighbours or the environment.

“There’s no excuse for flytipping and we encourage anyone with any information about those responsible to get in touch with the council so we can investigate who is responsible and take action against the offenders.”