MOUNDS of fly-tipped waste is discovered in Colchester on average five times a day, new figures have revealed.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs data shows 1,649 fly-tipping incidents were reported to Colchester Council in 2019-20 – 407 fewer than the previous year.

Dumped waste was found on Colchester’s roads and pavements 945 times accounting for 57 per cent of incidents.

Fly-tipped rubbish can include household waste, white goods and construction waste.

Environmental Charity Keep Britain Tidy says the crime is being driven by conmen who offer to remove household rubbish for a fee but do not dispose of it correctly.

Across England, the most common amount of rubbish dumped and reported to councils is equivalent to a small van load.

Colchester Council took action over 81 fly-tipping offences in 2019-20 – all of them with fixed penalty notices.

Rubbish loads of this size accounted for 34 per cent of all 976,000 fly-tipping incidents nationally last year.

Across Colchester, small van loads of waste were dumped illegally on 518 occasions – 31 per cent of all reports.

The Local Government Association has warned the offence costs taxpayers almost £50 million a year to clear up.

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Martin Goss, councillor responsible for waste, environment and transportation, said fly-tipping was “disgusting”.

He said: “Fly-tipping is disgusting, anti-social and creates an unnecessary burden on the council’s precious resources.

“The council’s neighbourhood teams do a fantastic job helping to monitor and maintain our borough as a clean, safe and attractive environment in which to live, work and play.

“Their work is made even more effective by the vigilance of residents alerting them to incidents.

“People, quite rightly, expect their neighbourhoods to be clean and tidy.

“As well as a being a visual blight, fly-tipping endangers wildlife and can harm human health – but it is a problem the council cannot deal with alone.

“We need the public’s support, too, and depend greatly on people disposing of their waste responsibly.

“If anyone witnesses any flytipping in their area, they should report it to the relevant Neighbourhood Services team, details of which can be found on the council’s website.

“We would also like to remind people that it is their responsibility to check that the clearance companies or waste carriers they use have the appropriate licence to dispose of any waste, or they may also face prosecution if it is not disposed of properly.

“I can assure everybody the council will take tough action against anybody found fly-tipping anywhere in our beautiful borough.”