Community skips could stop 'persistent' fly-tips

Community skips could be introduced in a town to tackle "persistent" fly-tipping which is costing a council hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

A pilot scheme hoped to be launched in a small number of areas, it forms part of a proposal brought to Swindon Borough Council by Labour councillor Princia Fernandes.

It comes as council figures show it spends more than £200,000 each year on collecting fly-tipped waste and taking enforcement action.

Swindon borough councillor Paul Dixon said a community skip scheme was "worth trying" to tackle the issue in "problem areas".

The proposal also calls for intervention including surveillance, improved signage, lighting, changes to waste collection arrangements and physical prevention measures.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) community skip schemes have been piloted in other parts of the country, including Boston and Ealing.

The skips would be for residents and household waste only and would exclude commercial waste and unsuitable or hazardous materials.

It follows the council's Big Town Centre Clean-Up in August, which saw more than eight tonnes of litter, overgrown vegetation and fly-tipped waste removed from Swindon town centre.

However, Dixon said the initiative was a "short-term measure" and did not address the wider challenges of fly-tipping across the borough.

Councillor Marina Strinkovsky added: "A lot of issues that drive fly-tipping are to do with difficulties that residents have disposing of domestic waste appropriately because the systems are not there to support them."

Councillor Imtiyaz Shaikh said the council must ensure "offenders are identified, waste is removed promptly and preventative measures are put in place to stop the same problems recurring".

Cabinet member for recycling and streetscene Kevin Parry said "tougher fines" of £5,000 would form part of the council's "zero-tolerance" approach.

"We also continue to upgrade CCTV across the town including Fleming Way, Spring Gardens, Brunel West and Whalebridge car park, helping us crack down on fly-tipping and wider anti-social behaviour," he added.

The proposals are due to be discussed at a council meeting on Thursday.

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