Lowestoft residents are being asked to provide any information which may help to identify a business which is illegally dumping garden waste in a residential area.
Over the past year, large quantities of wood chippings have been dumped on council-owned land in Lowestoft. There have been nine incidents to date, with wood chips being illegally fly-tipped in Blackheath Road, Laxfield Way and Walmer Road. Due to the size of the fly-tips, it is believed these are being dumped by a business, or businesses.
As well as being unsightly, these incidents have also affected local residents, as the waste is often dumped in parking spaces and areas used by dog walkers.
Anyone found guilty of commercial fly-tipping faces an unlimited fine or up to 5 years imprisonment.
Residents in these roads, and the surrounding area, are asked to be watchful for any suspicious activity and report any sightings of possible fly-tipping, or any information which may help identify those responsible.
Each incident has been cleared by East Suffolk Services Ltd however this is time consuming and expensive. Removing these fly-tips also takes East Suffolk Services staff away from other work such as bulky waste collections and street cleansing, which has a further impact on local residents.
An East Suffolk Council spokesperson said: “We want to identify the person responsible for repeatedly dumping woodchips in a residential area, with no thought for the people who live there. There are specific places for properly disposing of garden waste and woodchips and any reputable business will be aware of how to dispose of waste correctly, and the associated costs. These incidents are happening regularly and we would urge residents to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, and to let us know if they see anything which could identify the culprits.
“Residents have a responsibility to ensure their household and garden waste is disposed of properly and if you arrange for someone else to remove waste from your home on your behalf, you must keep details of this person or business. This includes any tradespeople who carry out work at your property, such as gardening work, and then take the associated waste away on your behalf. If your waste is found fly-tipped and you are unable to provide details about who took it away, then unfortunately you will be held responsible and you may have to pay a considerable fine. It is therefore important to keep a note of the name, business name or vehicle registration of anyone removing waste from your home or garden.”
Trade waste can be disposed of at any recycling centre, and can also be collected by arrangement with East Suffolk Services Ltd. More details can be found at https://suffolkrecycling.org.uk/recycling-composting/business-and-trade-waste
Anyone with information which may help to identify those responsible for this fly-tipping, or any other fly-tipping incident, is asked to contact our Customer Services team on 03330 162000 or customerservices@eastsuffolk.gov.uk