A COUNCIL is set to “step up a gear” in its fight against littering and flytipping across Colchester by appointing an enforcement company to dish out fines.
Martin Goss, Colchester councillor responsible for waste, said the authority will enlist the help of Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement Services (WISE).
WISE works with dozens of councils to enhance enforcement against littering, including the dropping of cigarette butts and dog waste, and flytipping.
Last month, figures showed there have been 1,794 incidents of fly-tipping so far in Colchester in 2022/23.
This is down on a record year from March 2021/2022, when 2,824 flytipping incidents were recorded.
The council previously said the April to June 2021/22 period was “heavily impacted” by Covid restrictions, while fly-tipping is “always seasonal”.
In the year to March 2023, 12 fixed penalty notices were handed out in the city for littering.
Addressing the authority’s cabinet, Mr Goss said he is ready to scale up enforcement action against offenders.
“We also have a new company coming in called WISE, who will be communicated about more publicly shortly, where we're taking a lot more action around enforcement of people that litter across the city and also people that flytip," he said.
“We are stepping up a gear, and we are bringing in external professional expertise to help us with that, an extra resource at absolutely no cost to this authority."
Mr Goss told the Gazette the council will not pay for the added service, with WISE taking half the revenue from fixed penalty notices handed out.
“They work with dozens of other councils across the country and we will be working to enhance the enforcement action already in place,” he said.
“They are enforcement specialists. It will be at absolutely no cost to the taxpayer.
“It’s not just about catching people who litter, but there will also be also education and community work.
“The coverage will be across Colchester, so not just the city centre.
“If you drop litter, you’ll get caught and fined. We are really upping the ante.”
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