Letter: Ways to reduce the fly-tipping problem
I read with interest Wayne Breese's article (Shropshire Star, August 5) on fly-tipping in Lilleshall and also the poll which said 97 per cent of people would like more severe punishments for those found guilty of fly-tipping.
How many people are actually caught fly- tipping? I suspect very few. Perhaps if Telford & Wrekin Council didn't charge £18 for removal of old furniture, white goods, TVs and the like, maybe the 4,000 annual reported incidents might reduce saving the £250,000 a year clean-up bill.
Andrew Eade has pledged to try and tackle the problem, but how, when we know to prosecute successfully you need to catch someone in the act, noting the date, the time of day, vehicle description and number plate, description of the person and what was being dumped.
T&WC spokesman, Russell Griffin, says the money spent on cleaning up would be better spent on other essential services – would that include litter-picking?
Pathways, alleyways and minor roads see very little litter-picking and rather than pick litter on grass verges of main roads before grass cutting, it seems the answer is to cut the grass and shred the litter into hundreds of smaller pieces, and no one will be any the wiser.
Just to add, if you live in Donnington, the number of shopping trolleys scattered around the area just makes things worse.
Ian Brice, Donnington
