Fly-tipping incidents fall in Northumberland as efforts to tackle 'hotspots' in Ashington and Blyth reap rewards

Northumberland County Council has reported that tougher action and a publicity campaign to raise awareness of the consequences is delivering impressive results, especially in ‘hotspots’ such as Ashington and Blyth.

As part of the campaign over recent months, ‘crime scenes’ have been identified and marked with tape and the authority is tracking down and fining the offenders.

In addition to enforcement measures, officers have also been on educational door to door visits to explain exactly what fly-tipping is, the consequences of it and to discuss the many ways to dispose of waste easily, properly and legally.

Results show that between April – November 2024, there has been a 30% reduction in fly tipping incidents in Blyth compared to the same period in 2023. This is down from 1227 incidents to 865

Between the same timeframe, there has been a 21% reduction in fly tipping incidents in Ashington, down from 1408 incidents to 1107.

County wide, in October alone there was a 45% reduction overall with 236 incidents compared to 429 in October 2023, and in November there was a 29% reduction overall, with 248 incidents compared to 351 a year ago.

Cllr Colin Horncastle, cabinet member with responsibility for Looking after our Environment, said: “Our publicity campaign has been both hard-hitting and eye-catching - and it has generated significant social media coverage, but most importantly it is getting results.

“Despite the downward trend this is just the start and the council’s campaign will continue – in addition to the existing CCTV cameras, we’ve just installed a further 16 cameras around Ashington in known fly-tipping locations which have already caught a culprit.

“We will be distributing more leaflets and we’ll be promoting the campaign on refuse vehicles, there will also be more fines and prosecutions for those found guilty of this environmental crime.

“Discarding rubbish on the street should never be an option, and yet some people think it is.

"Every time we clear illegally dumped rubbish it costs us resources and money, which could have been avoided and better spent elsewhere on other services for residents.”