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Time to Clear Up Fly-Tipping

29 September 2020

Green councillors will, this evening, put a motion to Norwich City Council asking for improvements to the way rubbish is dealt with and hoping that the mounds of household waste that can be such an eyesore in the city can be reduced, improving the quality of life of residents. The Green councillors believe that drastic action needs to be taken to prevent environmental damage such as plastic polluting our rivers and useful materials being wasted rather than recycled.

Green councillor for the city centre Mancroft ward, Martin Schmierer, will be proposing the motion at today’s meeting which will take place on Zoom and be available for members of the public to watch on the council’s YouTube channel.

Councillor Schmierer said:

“”Flytipping is more than just a nuisance, it is an unsightly blight on neighbourhoods across Norfolk and the problem seems to be getting worse. It is clear that the old approach is redundant and new methods of dealing with this problem need to be tried out. 

“I hope that Norwich City Council trials measures such as kerbside collections and amnesties which could mitigate the problem and ensure residents have safe and legal ways of disposing of unwanted items or materials.”

The Green motion acknowledges that it can be expensive to dispose of waste, particularly bulky items, and offers alternative solutions, such as community skips. Community skips have the added advantage of reducing vehicle traffic on our roads as a whole skip full of rubbish can be taken away to be recycled at the same time. The Green councillors would also like the city and county council to work with other organisations, such as the police and the Norwich Car Club, to solve the fly-tiping problem.

Thorpe Hamlet councillor, Ben Price, who will be seconding the motion, added:

“It’s very easy to recycle your rubbish correctly if you have a large car or can afford to pay to have it taken away. But a lot of people on low incomes couldn’t afford to pay £23.50 for one item to be collected. The council and others also need to publicise information which helps people understand the impact of what they buy. People should understand what happens to the things they throw away and consider buying things which might last longer or which are made of materials which will break down safely when they are no longer useful.”

Council Meeting

6pm, Tuesday 22nd September, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_kzIWwc-LQJDHZkJqDwOKQ.

Further information from:

Councillor Martin Schmierer           m.schmierer@cllr.norwich.gov.uk

Councillor Ben Price                      b.price@cllr.norwich.gov.uk