Incidents of fly-tipping have rocketed across Lichfield and Burntwood since the coronavirus lockdown began, council chiefs have revealed.
Lichfield District Council said cleaning teams had been tackling incidents of household, garden and commercial waste being dumped.
Cllr Angel Lax, cabinet member for legal and regulatory services, said April had seen the number of fly-tipping reports on roads and public spaces rise by a quarter.
Reports of waste being dumped on private land are up by 30%.
“We know the vast majority of our residents are responsible with their waste, and will be just as disappointed as we are to hear of the increase in fly-tipping that we’re experiencing at the moment.
“It’s really important to keep the district tidy, and our teams have been working hard to retain a full waste and recycling collection service.
“Our crews have been overwhelmed by the positive response and support from residents and we know most people are doing their very best at this challenging time.”
Cllr Angela Lax, Lichfield District Council
The rise in fly-tipping has also coincided with the closure of household waste and recycling centres in Lichfield and Burntwood due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
But Cllr Lax said she was hopeful they would soon be open again.
“I take encouragement that the Government has asked councils across the country to prepare to reopen household recycling centres, and I know that Staffordshire County Council is working on its plan for re-opening their centres with social distancing measures in place.
“Although I am aware that other areas have seen large queues at these facilities, I am sure reopening the centres will help to relieve much of the pressure on our service and we hope to see them back up and running soon.
“In the meantime, we know many households have been having spring cleans and I’d like to thank you for holding onto any extra rubbish that can’t go in your bins until the recycling centres reopen.
“This is obviously outside of our control and thank you for your patience.
“There is also the option to pay for a waste company to take any rubbish away, checking first that they are correctly licensed as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency and always asking for a receipt.”
Cllr Angela Lax, Lichfield District Council
Incidents of fly-tipping can be reported at www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/report or by calling 01543 308999.
