Fly-tipping increases in Birmingham

Apparently, fly tipping has never been worse in Birmingham as more rubbish than ever is dumped.

Figures published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) reveal there were 17,575 incidents of fly-tipping in the city in 2018/19 – or 48 every day. That seems a lot, and is obviously far too much, but the claim that fly-tipping is worse than ever needs to be assessed with care, since better reporting can indicate increased fly-tipping where no such increase has actually occurred.

The total included 6,020 cases where people simply dumped black bags full of household waste in the streets, 1,179 fly-tipped fridges and other white goods – and 1,369 involving dead animals. There were also 155 cases of tyres being dumped, 195 involving vehicle parts, and even 44 where clinical waste was fly-tipped. The total number of cases in Birmingham was up from 15,993 in 2017/18 and is the highest number since local figures were first recorded in 2012/13. That year, there were 14,043.

Those 44 cases where clinical waste was fly-tipped do give particular cause for concern. An occasional syringe or needle together with other drug detritus dropped by an IV drug user, bags of waste from domiciliary healthcare, or waste from dentists, GPs, health clinics, first aid services, vets, beauty salons, tattooists and piercers, farmers and so on? If yes, we must wonder just how much the Council has contributed to this with unsatisfactory collection services for clinical wastes, the producers of which are not infrequently

 

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