Vehicles seized in fly-tipping investigations

Croydon Council enforcement officers have seized two vehicles suspected of being used to dump commercial waste in Shirley and Thornton Heath.

Last Wednesday (9 March), council officers and police attended an address in Croydon and seized a blue van on suspicion of it being used in February to dump business rubbish at the council’s Monks Orchard recycling centre in Shirley. The council began the operation after Monks Orchard CCTV caught a man unloading commercial waste onto the ground next to newly-emptied recycling bins around 8am on 23 February. When officers confiscated the van last week they found it loaded with waste.

The other seized vehicle was a white Ford Transit van that council officers impounded in an alleyway off London Road in Thornton Road on 1 March. The seizure came after local residents told police about piles of fly-tipped waste left by a garage block around 6.30pm.

Both investigations will now involve interviews under caution to determine next steps. Any resident or business found to have fly-tipped or used an unlicensed waste carrier faces unlimited fines and a possible court conviction.
The operations come as part of council’s Don’t Mess With Croydon – Take Pride campaign, which involves both enforcement and encouraging more residents to do community clear-ups.

“All fly-tipping is irresponsible and illegal, but dumping piles of business waste in front of empty bins at our recycling centres or at people’s garages is outrageous and hampers everyone’s efforts to improve our local environment.

“Although these investigations are at an early stage, they underline how we’re focusing on tackling the issue of commercial fly-tipping by people’s homes, businesses and our recycling centres. I hope these vehicle seizures will deter people thinking of fly-tipping in our borough.”

Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader – Clean Green Croydon

Since the Don’t Mess campaign began in summer 2014, the council has prosecuted more than 70 people for fly-tipping and littering. Last Christmas alone, officers seized four Ford Transit vans caught illegally carrying rubbish. The council has also encouraged over 270 people to become community champions and carried out 57 community clean-ups.

2016-03-16T12:46:28+00:00 March 16th, 2016|Recent news|