Roger Jackson, of Newark and Sherwood District Council, is on a campaign to end fly-tipping

Newark and Sherwood is the largest district in Nottinghamshire, with miles of sweeping countryside, paired with historic towns and award-winning parks. We proudly welcome visitors to enjoy our landmarks and are committed to keeping our district in pristine condition for all to enjoy.

However, one thing we do not welcome in our district is fly-tipping — the illegal dumping of rubbish blighting our countryside.

It is a source of pollution, a danger to public health and a hazard to wildlife. Councils across the country put significant resources into dealing with this and we are no exception.

With lockdown restrictions having come to an end and services able to return to focusing on the priorities residents have identified, we are aiming to crack down on fly-tippers through our Not In Newark And Sherwood campaign.

We proudly unveiled new branding on one of our refuse vehicle recently, which carries our campaign message.

Many such instances of fly-tipping in Newark and Sherwood are carried out by individuals operating as illegal waste carriers and I strongly urge all residents to do their homework when someone offers to take rubbish away. If you turn to social media pages and selling sites in search of a tip run, please check that they are licensed before handing over your money. This is perfectly easy to do and can be done on the Environment Agency’s website.

Unfortunately, we have seen many cases in which residents looking for a cheap waste removal service have been landed with hefty fines for failing to check where their waste was going. What’s more, in most cases the fees they’ve been charged are in excess of the costs of the council’s bulky waste collection service.

Some fly-tip hotspots have been earmarked for closure, entirely preventing entry for vehicles. We are installing more CCTV cameras in hotspots and we are hoping to announce a pilot trial, allowing larger vehicles to the Newark Household Waste and Recycling Centre.

A number of targeted operations will take place in conjunction with police, to tackle vehicles carrying waste without the necessary trading paperwork. We will also be undertaking several days of action at various locations in the district, for householders to dispose of bulky waste free of charge.