Fly-tipping affects me, affects you, affects everyone. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence which consists of dumping waste onto a region which does not have license to accept it. Cabinet Member for Environment and Street Cleanliness Councillor Mike Brunt said:“Every year, the council spends £5m cleaning up after the selfish minority who dump their rubbish or throw away their litter irresponsibly".

 

The illegal dumping of waste poses a threat to humans and wildlife, but also spoils the enjoyment of our towns.  Fly-Tipping is very common now, partly because some people may not be bothered to take their waste to a landfill site, while others may not be aware of what or how to go about it.

 

In fact, it is a criminal offence to do so and can be punished by a fine of up to £50,000 or even 12 months imprisonment if convicted in Court. It is a very big shame that some residents do not take responsibility and directly dump household waste or unwanted furniture in local areas. Now, many people think that it does not involve them or they cannot do anything about this issue. This is actually incorrect.

 

It is a matter of stepping up and collectively taking responsibility for the local areas, this includes everyone. All it takes is to report the issue and fill out an online form or even report it on the phone. Sutton and Merton Councils aim at providing immediate services. They take care to remove from public roads, green areas ad pavements any household rubbish, mattresses, sofas, fridges or building rubble. 

 

However, there's absolutely no excuse for dumping the waste. If anyone needs to dispose any rubbish they should take it to a local Recycling Centre or make use of various bulky waste and special collection services we are offered by the local authority. 

 

We live in the 21st century and we believe that we belong to a civilized world. It is our children who see the parks and street dirty, is this really what we want to show? The issue of global warming is often on the news, we hear about how the planet is being destructed. Therefore is our local areas not the first step we should target? The first step we should take in order to improve? We are aiming to keep our local areas nice and friendly and in order to set a good example and improve the standards of living. This issue can be solved by educating and informing people, be the first peson to improve you local areas as in the end, it affects me, affects you and affects everyone.

 

Karolina Jagodzinska, Ursuline High School