A new pledge to clamp down on fly-tip menace

The authority’s enforcement team says it is currently investigating a number of incidents across the borough and is encouraging residents to keep reporting intelligence to maximise the chance of catching the perpetrators.

Thanks to a report from a vigilant member of the public last year, a fixed penalty notice of £200 was issued to a man from Leigh after household waste was dumped on council land off Maple Crescent, Leigh.

The resident who witnessed the fly-tipping took the vehicle registration and the man was traced via the vehicle.

Because the fine was paid the following day the amount was reduced.

Fixed penalty notices can now be issued to offenders on the spot who are caught fly-tipping small amounts of waste.

In another case, Andrew Poole, aged 35, of Campbell Street, Bolton, appeared at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to one incident of fly-tipping.

He was fined £400 and ordered to pay £100 in court costs.

Poole had fly-tipped a large load of rubbish in a back alley in Bamfurlong in April.

Coun Kevin Anderson, cabinet member for the environment, said: “Fly-tipping ruins our communities and last year cost the council £800,000 which equates to nearly one per cent council tax.

“Through The Deal, by residents not fly-tipping and recycling their waste correctly we can keep council tax low.

“We need residents to help us by reporting incidents and hotspots so we can carry out enforcements and catch offenders.

“We will take action against people who ruin our borough with rubbish.”

Meanwhile, law-abiding borough residents have been patiently queueing to dispose of all their post-festive waste including spent Christmas trees.

The Wigan Evening Post’s photographer caught up with some of them at the Kirkless recycling centre at Ince on one of the busiest days of the year.

Figures released by the council this week show that between December 27 and January 4 alone, no fewer than 8,443 vehicle visits were made to that one centre, although bosses say that that is about normal for the time of year.

The busiest day of all was December 28 when no fewer than 1,275 cars and vans passed through the centre to deposit rubbish, mainly for recycling. Even on new year’s eve 696 visits were paid there.

The local authority will be weighing all the waste left at their recycling centres this week to gauge just what tonnage folk are now taking to the tips.

With plans afoot to make collection of non-recyclables (rubbish put into borough homes’ black bins) only once every three instead of two weeks in future in order to cut costs and make residents greener, centres such as Kirkless’s look set to become even busier.

To report an incident of fly-tipping visit www.wigan.gov.uk/reportit or download the council’s Report It app on your smartphone.