WALL OF SHAME – help us catch them!

Do you know someone standing in the Wall of Shame?

This week the Council has launched a new initiative to tackle fly-tipping, and appeals to residents to share any home or dash-cam CCTV footage to help us catch those illegally dumping rubbish in our borough.

Last year eyesore fly-tipping in the borough cost a staggering £250,000 to clean-up and dispose of, money which could be better spent elsewhere.

So today we are asking you: do you recognise anyone from this CCTV footage?

If so we’d love to hear from you.

New CCTV ‘episodes’ will be uploaded to the Wall of Shame YouTube channel every 28 days, launched in response to resident’s frustrations, allowing anyone to watch footage and identify those involved.

Members of the public are being encouraged to visit the Wall of Shame and help us name those burdening our borough with junk.

You can do this by completing an online form that can be found on the Wall of Shame webpage, hosted on the Council’s website.

As well as identifying culprits from other CCTV footage on the Wall of Shame, residents are able to submit their own evidence.

If you have caught someone fly-tipping on a home security or dash camera, you can submit this footage to the Wall of Shame.

This will then be uploaded, if approved, and other members of the public can help to identify those shamelessly committing waste-crimes in your hometown.

Fly-tipped waste has a direct impact on financial, staffing and equipment resources on already stretched and depleted budgets, whilst causing misery for residents in the neighbourhoods where this is most prevalent.

The Council have already installed a network of 20 CCTV cameras in the hotspot areas for fly-tipping across the borough, to help deter, prevent and prosecute those damaging our environment.

Whether it is fly-tippers, litter-louts or rogue landlords – we’re clamping down on the lot.

Once an offender has been identified, the Council’s waste crime enforcement team will do everything in their power to ensure they are caught and prosecuted.

The team are already working tirelessly to find and prosecute those responsible for blighting our borough – but they can’t continue to do it alone. They really need your help.

Cllr Jim Smith, Executive Member for Environment, said:

We know the majority of our residents take pride in their areas and are fed-up with the minority who make parts of the borough dirty and unsafe.

We’re investing further in our street-cleaning services and working with our incredible volunteer groups to make sure we’re doing our bit.

We are asking residents to be our eyes and ears to help play their part, so we can tackle and take action against those who do not take pride in where they live.

No one wants a pile of rubbish dumped on their street and some places are getting fly-tipped week in week out. It’s completely unfair on the residents living there.

Cllr Smith added:

Since April this year, our enforcement teams have dealt with over 2000 grime-crime cases to help clean up the borough, so that gives an idea of the scale of the problem.

The Wall of Shame is a way everyone can help do their bit. If you see someone you know doing something they shouldn’t, you can tell us anonymously.

It doesn’t matter how small the offence, we will be taking each bit of evidence very seriously and working to stop these actions as soon as possible, before they progress into bigger problems.

We’re aware this is quite a confronting approach, but taking this action is a last resort and a necessary one to protect our environment, save funding and look after our community.

The message is clear – you don’t want to get caught standing in our ‘Wall of Shame’, because you will be named and held responsible!

Since April this year, the Council has issued 29 fixed penalty notices and taken 75 Court prosecution fines for enviro-crimes, plus 106 fines for littering, and dealt with 410 reports of eyesore gardens.

The average fine for waste-associated offences awarded by the courts is £450. The maximum penalty for fly-tipping is an unlimited fine, with prison terms up to five years if convicted.

This is not the first initiative undertaken by the local authority to tackle unwanted rubbish in the borough.

The Council is adopting a multi-pronged approach, including:

• A dedicated education officer working with schools and community groups to help increase understandings.
• All bins had new stickers placed on them and 3 leaflets have been delivered to each household, detailing what recycling and waste goes where, to avoid contamination and confusion
• A recently appointed waste enforcement officer whose focus is to work with landlords and tenants on managing waste at properties.
• ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ campaign, based on Keep Britain Tidy’s best practice, has been rolled out in 20 worst hotspot areas.
• Roll out of the blue bin paper and cardboard recycling scheme, avoiding 3,900 tonnes of clean cardboard and paper going to landfill
• Launching the recyclebwd.org website to inform and educate residents
• Videos in several different languages, thanks to the help of local neighbourhood volunteers, to ensure all our residents know and understand what can go in each bin
• Affordable bulky waste collection services
• Supporting and working closely with our incredible keep-it-tidy volunteers across Blackburn and Darwen
• Dedicated back-street clearing team
• Supporting residents and community groups to reimagine their alleyways, instilling community pride across the borough and encouraging people to take care of their local area