Extra CCTV to help tackle fly tipping in Bristol
Bristol City Council is excited to announce they now have additional funding from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Rural Payment Agency, enabling new 4G connected CCTV cameras to be installed at Albany Road in Ashley, Claremont Street in Easton, Constable Road in Lockleaze, and Gloucester Road in Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston.
These installations are intended to reduce fly tipping rates that have been seen as hotspots for this illegal activity.
The council has linked these cameras with its own CCTV operations centre so that enforcement officers can regularly examine footage to gather information necessary for taking action against those dumping waste on city roads, pavements or public land. In addition to this vital work, staff intend to trial software that can detect fly tipping automatically in order to send images straight away for swift investigation by local authorities.
Fly tipping has been a costly and persistent issue in Bristol. Over half the instances of fly tipping have involved amounts equivalent to a small van load, largely consisting of ‘other household waste’.
There is a cost to the council to clear up after people who continue to leave litter and rubbish around the city. In 2021/22 there were more than 10,000 reports of fly-tipping, each incident costing approximately £150 to remove and enforce.
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: ‘We are working hard to continue to clean up Bristol through our Clean Streets campaign and this additional funding will help us address the issue of fly tipping in these hotspots. Fly tipping is a crime, a huge public nuisance, and the waste that is left is often hazardous to both public health and the environment.
“By having a zero-tolerance approach to enforcement, we are making sure that all waste disposal is done legally, using licensed waste disposal companies, or by going to one of our local recycling centres instead. There is no excuse for dumping waste in our city and we do not hesitate to take action against those who show such disregard to Bristol.’
The project will run for the next six months and if successful, could be rolled out to other parts of Bristol. Other local authorities may also be able to benefit from the project with Bristol providing a model for them to trial nationwide.
The CCTV cameras will also complement the work of the Big Tidy, which was launched by the Mayor in 2019 to give a deep clean to every area of the city.
In the last four years the Big Tidy has:
• Cleaned 1,823 streets
• Removed 815 fly-tips
• Cleansed 11,217 illegal graffiti tags
Letters have been sent out to local residents to let them know about the installation of the new cameras in their area. Signs and posters will also be placed at each site, letting people know that CCTV is in operation. Anyone caught fly tipping faces prosecution and a fine of up to £50,000.
You can read more stories like this in Bristol Weekly Magazine here
