Council officers targeting people who illegally carry or dump waste for cash have seized four Ford Transits in a month under joint operations with local police as part of the ongoing Don’t Mess With Croydon clampdown.
• On Saturday 9 January council officers impounded a Ford Transit found in The Colonnades car park in Purley Way, Waddon – it had no licence to carry waste but contained rubbish and leaflets advertising waste removal services.
• On Wednesday 6 January council officers and Croydon police seized a Ford Transit van in Crispin Crescent, Waddon. This Transit also had no waste carrying licence and was filled with house clearance rubbish, and will be crushed if no-one comes forward to claim it by the end of January.
• Two days earlier (Monday 4 January) the council sent for crushing a Ford Transit flat-bed tipper whose driver was caught without a valid waste licence taking waste furniture along Albert Road, South Norwood, in December.
• Another Ford Transit was seized on 17 December in Purley Way for similar offences and will be sent for crushing this week.
The focus on unlicensed waste carriers comes as each week council officers clear away up to five truckloads of house clearance rubbish that is dumped on Croydon streets and industrial estates.
The council advises all residents wanting someone else to dispose of their household rubbish to only use people with a valid waste carrying licence issued by the Environment Agency. Failing to do so can land the householder and the offender with unlimited fines and a criminal record.
The clampdown comes as part of the council’s Don’t Mess With Croydon Take Pride campaign, which has so far led to dozens of successful prosecutions for fly-tipping and littering, including a man jailed for six months in May 2015 for dumping 42 tonnes of waste in Waddon.
Since launching the Don’t Mess campaign in summer 2014, the council has also encouraged hundreds of people to become community champions and lead local clear-ups.
“Even if you pay someone cash to get rid of waste and expect them to take it to the tip, you’re dicing with danger if your man with a van has no licence.
“Our Don’t Mess With Croydon campaign has scored some great prosecutions against people guilty of fly-tipping – this ongoing operation with the police goes one step further by targeting vehicles before the waste is dumped in the first place.
“We’ve now put these people out of business and they face getting possible criminal records, so to all out there thinking you can fly-tip – don’t mess with Croydon.”
Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader – Clean Green Croydon
You can report fly-tipping by calling our dedicated fly-tipping hotline on 020 8604 7000 or email flytip@croydon.gov.uk. You can also report a problem via our My Croydon smartphone app.
For more information about the campaign, visit: www.croydon.gov.uk/dontmess
