A few months ago green charity Hubbub dropped a plastic bottle on New Street and filmed 952 people walk past before one community spirited chap picked it up and put in the litter bin a couple of yards away.
That public spirited gesture earned the guy a little goodie bag.
It is likely that many walk down New Street but few have ownership of it - it is not their street and they feel no responsibility for it.
But after a morning with the council’s waste enforcement unit it became clear that there are equally people who refuse to take ownership of their own streets - even when a giant pile of rubble is dumped a few yards from their front door.
Of course a majority of the 12,000 incidents of fly-tipping involve stuff driven to a secluded country lane or back alley and quietly dumped under the cover of darkness
But there was also a considerable amount of waste tipped in residential roads.
Officials were left scratching their heads as none of the residents in a Highgate street heard someone dropping NINE fridges a few yards away. “They just appeared there this morning,” the inquisitors were told.
And in Bordesley Green residents shook their head as to how a hefty pile of broken ceramic bathroom tiles, which made ear-splitting clanking and rattling noises as they were picked up, were deposited near their door.
In many cases evidence, such as discarded junk mail among the debris, suggests that the rubbish is local.
The unit says they get this all the time. People are quick to complain about the waste and blame ‘gypsies’ or some other group but few ever see or hear anything or even have the presence of mind to take a number plate or film the act on their iphone.
Boss Tony Quigley says that some do point the finger, but few if any will sign a statement to that effect making their evidence useless for prosecution purposes.
They do have ten cameras spread thinly about the city in hot spot areas. But rightly, due to anti-snooping laws, they need to justify each an every act of surveillance in court. Cameras are expensive and contrary to popular belief the council does not keep any fines levied on wrongdoers, the courts do.
A problem for the enforcers is someone needs to clearly see, or film, the people doing it and have no doubt as to their identity - either a crystal clear footage of the person’s face or a visible car number plate. Otherwise the culprit claims mistaken identity and walks away from court. It is easy to blame the cuts, but the loss of free garden waste collection is only a factor in suburbia. Businesses, who are in the main responsible, have always had to pay for their waste collections although some seek to avoid it.
Surprisingly audited Government figures suggest incidents of fly-tipping are in decline since 2014 - either a result of the waste enforcement unit being set up, or because people are getting used to paying for garden waste collections.
Clearing up the mess is also costing the council about £800,000 per year, and this is an avoidable cost if people could only behave.
In this era of austerity the council’s resources are increasingly stretched and communities are expected to take more responsibility. There are shining examples in this city such as the Frankley Street Champions who use their own truck to clear up dumped rubbish. But while so many residents turn a blind eye to the problem their streets will remain blighted.
Calming Influence
THE council’s planning committee has quietly turned into a roundabout appreciation society. A month ago they ruled that the ‘pretty’ Sutton Coldfield Town Centre island could have some nice advertising boards put on it.
And now a similar deal was done for the island outside Fort Dunlop – which is currently topped with some fetching greenery. Councillor Peter Douglas Osborn was opposed as he says the island looks quite ‘calming’ as it is and may sooth angry motorists stuck in the nightly queue up to Spitfire Island. But chief planning officer Richard Goulborn dismissed this saying that as a regular commuter it is a far from soothing.
But he was forced to admit this is not necessarily the roundabout’s fault. “I’m usually passing on my way home from Villa Park,’ he added ruefully.
