Lewisham Council has failed to control fly-tipping…. this is how the Liberal Democrats would fix it
Every year the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), publishes detailed statistics on the level of fly-tipping and enforcement action taken by every council. The figures they publish are based on the information that councils provide to the Government.
The latest figures are grim reading for our borough. They show that in the year 2023/24 Lewisham had 27,599 recorded incidents of fly-tipping across the borough.
That meant there were 92 items of recorded fly-tipping per 1000 people in our borough.
Fly-tipping in Lewisham is higher than all our neighbouring boroughs, where the comparable figures of fly-tipping incidents per 1000 residents are:
- Bromley 14
- Greenwich 46
- Southwark 73
Indeed, of the 32 London Boroughs only three have a higher rate of fly-tipping than Lewisham.
Lewisham council’s record of enforcement action is also poor. There was a fall in fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping between the years 2022/23 and 2023/24. This is despite the bold claim made in the 2022 Lewisham Labour manifesto to: “Increase the number of prosecutions for fly-tipping and street littering, expanding the use of CCTV in fly-tipping hotspots.”
Widespread fly-tipping is a blight on our pavements and public spaces. Extensive fly-tipping also acts a magnet for other anti-social behaviour which makes an area feel unwelcoming and unsafe. And of course, collecting fly-tipping is a huge expense for council taxpayers.
The fact that other boroughs across London have lower levels of fly-tipping should be a wake-up call.
This is what the Liberal Democrats would do
So, what can be done to improve our streets and public spaces in Lewisham?
To start with Lewisham Council needs to examine why so many other councils have a better record in tackling the issue.
For example, Kingston council has a much lower record of fly-tipping than Lewisham. The Liberal Democrat council has shown real determination in enforcement action against fly-tipping through the use of sophisticated camera technology. This video demonstrates what is has achieved.
Neighbouring Bromley Council offer an award of up to £500 for any resident who helps secures a prosecution against fly-tipping. If it is a policy that works why not adopt it in Lewisham?
In addition to better enforcement action it would help if Lewisham Council simply made it easier for people to dispose of their waste. Yet Lewisham Council’s only Reuse and Recycling centre in New Cross closes at midday on a Saturday.
Some local authorities, such as Brent and Richmond also offer temporary community skips to allow people to dispose of bulky items, but Lewisham Council has consistently refused to consider this option.
Another simple action that Lewisham Council could take is to simply ensure that recycling bins for textiles and other materials were regularly emptied. Sadly, too many are full and overflowing, making it difficult for people to dispose of items and the areas around the bins becoming a site for fly-tipping.
Josh Matthews, Catford Campaigner and environmentalist
We should also recognise that fly-tipping is not just caused by households, but also by a small number of businesses that act in an irresponsible and illegal manner in disposing of waste. By law every business in Lewisham should have a waste agreement in place, but it is far from clear that Lewisham council is doing everything it can to check up on businesses who have no waste agreements.
There is nothing inevitable about the very high levels of fly-tipping in Lewisham.
Our streets and public spaces could be far cleaner, and taxpayers’ money saved if Lewisham Council were bold and far more effective in tackling the issue.
If it learnt from best practice in London and around the country, we would all benefit.