As the council’s cabinet member for the public realm, my vision for Brighton and Hove is to create and maintain a city that is clean, inclusive and vibrant which reflects our unique character and supports the wellbeing of everyone who lives, works and visits here.
That vision does not include dumped mattresses, broken furniture or piles of garden waste left in our shared spaces.
Fly-tipping is one of the most visible and frustrating blights on our city. It’s unsightly, costly to clear and damaging to our environment. It turns our twittens, parks and verges into dumping grounds.
It is present in the city centre, our suburbs, our housing estates and our shared public realm. It undermines the pride we all take in our neighbourhoods. And – of course – it is a crime under the Environmental Protection Act.
That’s why I’m backing Keep Britain Tidy’s national “Fight Fly-Tipping” campaign. Founded in 1960, Keep Britain Tidy has been working towards a vision of a clean and healthy environment free of litter. I’m sure everyone will recognise their iconic “Tidyman” logo.
The campaign’s message is simple: When you get your unwanted stuff carted away … check for a waste carrier licence. Get a receipt.
Too often, fly-tipping starts with good intentions. Someone pays a “man with a van” to take away rubbish after a DIY job, a house move or a garden clear-out.
The problem is that not everyone advertising waste removal is legitimate. Some take your payment then dump the waste illegally – leaving you, the resident, potentially liable for prosecution if the waste is traced back to you.
The solution is straightforward: before handing over your waste, always check that the person or company collecting it is a registered waste carrier.
It takes less than a minute on the Environment Agency’s website. And always ask for a receipt or a transfer note as your proof that the waste was handed over responsibly.
Brighton and Hove City Council spends hundreds of thousands of pounds each year clearing illegally dumped waste. That is money that could be better spent on enhancing our public realm.
After becoming the Labour leader of the council, Bella Sankey outlined how our “city looks tired and dirty and needs some TLC”. I am working relentlessly to improve the look and feel of our city but I need your support.
Whether you’re a homeowner, tenant or business, please remember to check for a waste carrier licence and get a receipt to stop fly-tipping at its source.
Let’s take pride in Brighton and Hove from the seafront to the South Downs, from our green spaces to our historic streets. Together, we can fight fly-tipping and create the clean, vibrant environment our city deserves.
Check for a waste carrier licence. Get a receipt. Keep Brighton and Hove tidy.
Councillor Jacob Allen is Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet member for customer services and the public realm.
In our area, flytipping is majority domestic – that is, flytipping from residents/leaseholders/holiday lets. There’s a mix of reasons there, such as the costs of removing furniture being prohibitive, even with discounts. Even with a proactive neighbourhood, residents receive a torrent of abuse for calling out others’ behaviours.
I think the solution has to be twofold. Firstly, a seasonal and well-advertised waste amnesty is almost certainly a cost-saving, just on the logic of efficient logistics, compared to ad-hoc removals of flytipping reports. It gives people an opportunity to do the right thing, and that’s important.
Secondly, I think we need much greater coverage of CCTV in hotspot areas. Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to encourage corrective behaviour is through a monetary hit and clear messaging that if you flytip in this area, you will be fined. Having 6-8 mobile cameras to cover the whole city is limiting, because for your professional flytippers, the problem is simply displaced.