Ealing Council is intensifying its crackdown on fly-tipping with a bold new step in its ongoing ‘This is our home, not a tip’ campaign.
Residents are now able to help the council identify people who are caught dumping rubbish illegally, thanks to a new webpage that will publicly name and shame offenders caught on CCTV.
The new name and shame webpage is asking residents a simple question: do you know this person?
The council uses more than 700 cameras strategically placed across the borough to keep people safe and identify criminal behaviour. Many of these are in known fly-tipping hotspots across the borough, aiming to deter fly-tippers and hold repeat offenders accountable.
Footage from these cameras will be reviewed and, where clear evidence is available, snippets of individuals caught in the act will be published on the council’s website and social media accounts. The council will also be mailing residents and businesses, in places where fly-tipping is problematic, with photos of offenders operating in the area in a bid to identify them.
Hefty fines
The council has already issued hundreds of fines, of up to £1,000, to offenders since the campaign started in May. The introduction of this new webpage is the next phase of the campaign and aims to act as a fly-tipping deterrent and a tool for residents to help identify those responsible.
Residents are also encouraged to continue reporting fly-tipping via the Love Clean Streets app or the council’s website. Greener Ealing Ltd, the council’s rubbish and recycling contractor, works hard to collect as many fly-tips as possible, as quickly as it can. Currently, 98% of reported fly-tips are collected within 2 working days.
To track down fly-tippers and issue fines, enforcement officers use evidence found in the dumped waste itself, CCTV footage and videos from witnesses.
Alongside enforcement, the ongoing ‘This is our home, not a tip’ campaign aims to increase awareness of what fly-tipping is, the impacts it has on both the council and the community, and how we can work together to stop fly-tipping.
‘You will be seen, and you will be held accountable’
Council leader Peter Mason said: “Fly-tipping is not just unsightly – it’s illegal, anti-social and a blight on our communities. We’re proud of our borough and we won’t tolerate people treating it like a dumping ground. This new measure sends a clear message: if you fly-tip in our borough, you will be seen, and you will be held accountable.”
Councillor Paul Driscoll, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, added: “This is our home. We all have a role to play in keeping it clean. If you see someone fly-tipping, report it. If you’re disposing of waste, do it responsibly. Together, we can make the borough a cleaner, greener place to live.”
CCTV considerations
The council takes the privacy of residents very seriously and won’t put a camera up unless it’s necessary.
There are a number of mobile cameras, which can be moved according to where the highest number of fly-tips are recorded.
When fly-tippers are identified using the council’s CCTV footage, the footage will be removed from the public domain, or faces will be blurred. This is to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR. However, failure to pay a fine can result in a prosecution, where the fly-tipper’s identity can then be publicised.
To view the new webpage and learn more about how the council tackles fly-tipping, visit the council’s website.
