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Derby litter crackdown welcomed by city residents

Derby City Council RubbishDerby City Council
The scheme will focus on the city centre and the Normanton, Abbey and Arboretum areas

Residents in Derby have welcomed plans by the city council for a crackdown on fly-tipping and litter.

The authority is increasing its fixed penalty notice charges for both offences and has partnered with a private firm to bolster enforcement.

The 12-month contract with Kingdom Local Authority Support is due to start on 2 April.

Derby City Council said it spent about £330,000 each year dealing with fly-tipped waste.

It added its deal with Kingdom would be funded by increased penalties of £150 for those who litter and £600 for fly-tippers.

The crackdown will initially focus on Derby city centre and the Abbey, Arboretum and Normanton areas.

Adrian Perry
Adrian Perry said fly-tipping could be "difficult to control"

BBC News asked people in the city for their views on the plans.

Adrian Perry, from Darley Abbey, said: "A lot of fly-tipping is difficult to control. I understand the fines are going up, which clearly needs to be the case, but it's enforcing them which seems to be the problem."

Paul Preston, 79, and his wife Jean, 74, said they could not understand why people chose to fly-tip when the Raynesway recycling centre was available to use all-year round.

Mr Preston said: "I think it's wholly irresponsible to fly-tip, it's laziness and the lack of social awareness is a trait that will be hard to change overnight.

"The council's enforcement should have some sort of effect."

Ella Whitehurst
Ella Whitehurst said she had seen people throw rubbish out of their cars while driving

Ella Whitehurst, 19, said a shortage of bins in the city centre could be part of the reason for people littering.

"More bins around would help," she said. "How lazy can you be if there are multiple bins that are really close to you?"

Bill Grange, 78, said more CCTV cameras around Allestree would help catch people that fly-tip near his local park.

"In the areas that are prone to fly-tipping, some CCTV cameras wouldn't go amiss so the council can catch their vehicle registration number and fine them," he said.

"It's really awful, I can't understand the mentality behind it."

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