South Cambridgeshire's District Council officers staged a 'mock fly tip' as part of an effort to raise awareness of the impacts that stem from improper waste disposal.
Items dumped at a bus stop during rush hour included a fridge, freezer, mattress, pallets, packaging and many bags of other waste. Officers had hoped that those close to the incident would report it to the police, and though no one did, there was one witness who had made it known to the staff at the Milton Park and Ride.
A video of the mock fly tip was shared on both social media and South Cambridgeshire's website in order to highlight the problem. It is part of the council's campaign to try to reduce fly tipping in the district, as there are 900 incidents reported in the country each year.
South Cambridgeshire, as a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership, joined the SCRAP fly-tipping campaign this month. SCRAP aims to raise awareness of the responsibilities of the public to ensure that the waste carriers that are used have a proper waste transfer license, to stop fly-tipping before it happens.
Councillor Neil Gough, the Deputy Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, said "fly-tipping is a despicable environmental crime and we are working hard to investigate and clear fly-tips more quickly. But we want to stop fly-tipping happening in the first place to save the environmental and financial costs and we really need residents to do their bit too".
The council has estimated that cleaning up just a single incident of fly-tipping can cost the local authority or landowner anywhere from £100 to £2,000.
