Area of the city where fly-tipping is reported 'almost every day'

Relentless fly-tipping in one area of Liverpool sees dumped waste on the streets being reported to the council almost every day.

Abandoned and broken fridges, microwaves, mattresses, bed frames, bikes or toys are often found abandoned on the streets and in the alleyways in Walton and Orrell Park. Councillor Alan Gibbons, 70, said: “I report incidents in Walton almost every day and the vast majority of residents in my ward are responsible people who are disgusted by this dumping.”

This persistent fly-tipping happens despite the fact Liverpool City Council offers a free bulky item collection from people's homes. This service includes five bulky items, five smaller electrical items and five bags of textiles.

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Despite the City Council supplying industrial size bins for communities, residents claim these have only encouraged more fly-tipping as well as being an eye sore. Mr Gibbons said: “[The bins] are my only regret as a councillor in my three years here, we were told they would be temporary but actually they look awful… we were also promised bin sheds to hide them but haven’t received any.”

A Freedom of Information Request (FOI) from Cllr Gibson to the City Council revealed the number of fixed penalty notices issued relating to the dumping of waste drastically rose from the year 2021/22 to 2022/23.

In 21/22 16 people were prosecuted for fly-tipping, nine were prosecuted for littering and only one person was fined for dog fouling. In 22/23 there 35 people were prosecuted for fly-tipping, 26 for littering and 23 for not picking up after their dog.

Residents now want to see a more visible police enforcement and harsher fines for perpetrators. The current fine for fly-tipping is £400.

Groups like the Orrell Green Team meet up every Saturday for litter picks. Between April 2023 and March 2024, the group collected 522 bags of litter, weighing a total of 5.74 tonnes.

Ruth Black, 64, of Warbreck Road, works for the council and has been an active member of the Green Team for around two years. She is part of the 18 ‘core’ members who do the litter picks each week.

She said: “We have an absolutely focused and dedicated core group of 15 who are there every single week. It is a really nice community-minded area really, we are so proud of Orrell and Walton.”

Local businesses are very supportive of the group, often giving freebies on group meetings, thanking the group, or watering their planters around the area. But more still needs to be done.

Pat Duffy, via the Walton Facebook group, said: “Our Councillors are constantly reporting this Grot Spot in Walton Village. No sooner is it cleaned they are at it again. People need to be fined and take responsibility for their actions.”

Residents are worried it reflects a larger trend within Liverpool with figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reporting a 23% increase in fly-tipping in Liverpool in 2022-23 with 23,404 incidents compared to 18,976 incidents in 2021/22.

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