New figures show flytipping incidents in Bolton have reduced by a third.
The latest figures show a reduction in flytipping incidents reported by the public to the council from 2,964 in 2015/16 to 2,065 incidents in 2016/17 – a drop of 899 reports.
The latest data released by the council follows figures issued by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which showed a reduction in flytipping incidents in Bolton from 4,903 in 2014/2015 to 2,964 in 2015/2016.
The year on year drop has been attributed to a combination of targeted education of residents and consistent enforcement against flytippers.
Reports of flytipped black bags have reduced from 607 in 2015/2016 to 496 in 2016/17. Reports of other household waste such as furniture and appliances have also gone down from 1,607 in 2015/16 to 1,039 in 2016/17.
In 2015, the council invested £1.3m on improving the local environment, including developing new behaviour change teams to educate local residents about how to deal with their waste.
The teams have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to residents who are not disposing of their waste correctly, and this mix of education and enforcement has brought about noticeable improvements to the environment in the borough.
Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Councillor Nick Peel, said: “I’m really pleased that reports of flytipping have reduced by a third.across the borough.
“We are committed to tackling enviro-crime and we will issue fines and pursue prosecutions to flytippers.
“Our investment in dedicated behaviour change teams has also been a huge success, and they are a significant reason why the figures have fallen.
“The teams work incredibly hard across the borough – if they notice that waste has been dumped at the back of properties, they will attempt to engage with residents to try and get to the bottom of the issues.
“They will talk to residents and advise them on how to dispose of their waste correctly and see if any further support is required.
“This usually results in residents removing the waste themselves but in cases where residents refuse we will issue fixed penalty notices and we will seek to prosecute more serious cases.
“I would encourage all residents to continue reporting flytips to us along with any other information that will help us identify those responsible.”
Flytipping can be reported online www.bolton.gov.uk/flytipping