Colliers Wood man reports 237 fly-tipping incidents in one year

Dylan White, 64, counted his confirmation emails regarding fly-tipping in the Borough of Merton for the whole of 2021.

He estimated that 90 per cent of his reports related to Colliers Wood and said that Merton Borough Council "does not do enough to prevent this crime".

He described their attempts at fixing the problem as “feeble with a capital F”.

Mr White, who has lived in the area for three years, said: “In Merton, nothing is cleaned and stuff is dumped everywhere, so it’s considered the norm.

"It’s a case of ‘there’s a load of stuff dumped there, we also want to get rid of this stuff so we will just dump it’.”

Dylan works as a PR consultant and researcher and spends a lot of time driving around south west London for his career and so reports the fly-tipping when he comes across it.

He said some of the worst areas he has come across included Saint Helier Avenue in Morden and Ravensbury in Mitcham.

He explained: “You could just say ‘well he’s a do-gooder’ that is going around busy bodying and photographing rubbish all the time and then registering it online.

"Like I’m someone that has nothing better to do with my time but that couldn’t be further from the truth."

He suggested that there should be more cameras in place to catch repeat offenders as well as a change to options available.

Dylan added: “The problem is you can’t blame the people.

"People shouldn’t fly-tip, but they do, and they do it because the council charges money for it.

“The people who can afford to pay to have their rubbish collected, or they want to take it to the dump, fantastic.

"But if you can’t afford it or you haven’t got the time there should be an element of free collection.”

Dylan also feels frustrated with the state of the roads in the area and claims he has never seen a road sweeper during the time he has lived here.

“If I drive into Wandsworth, I see them all the time," he said.

"I’m almost at the point of taking photographs and saying this is a road sweeper, they exist, but they don’t exist in Merton."

Cabinet Member for Local Environment and Green Spaces, Natasha Irons, said: “I get it.

"I’ve lived in Merton my whole life and I have two small children.

"Every single person who lives here wants a cleaner, greener Merton.

"The majority of our community take pride in our borough and responsibility for their waste and they want to know that the council is not afraid to take action against those who don’t."

Cllr Irons with road sweeper

Last year Merton Council issued more than £800,000 of fixed penalty notices for littering and fly-tipping.

The cases have doubled over the past five years, with Colliers Wood having the highest instances and receiving £23,000 of fines last year.

Councillor Irons said that the council is increasing enforcement activity, including officers that are going through sacks on the streets on an almost daily basis.

She said it is looking to use mobile CCTV footage in an online wall of shame to help residents identify the culprits and to show the community some of the work that the council is doing. 

Fly-tipping can reported via the Fix My Street app or the Council website.

Councillors are hoping to use data from these tools to see where the hotspots are and where more resources are needed.

Cllr Irons said it is going to take some time to change behaviour.

She said: “96 per cent of fly-tips are cleared within 24 hours and we don’t want to leave rubbish on our streets.

"It’s a double-edged sword.

"It is important to clear it but also enforce against people who are doing the wrong thing.

“Other councils across the country have found that free bulky waste doesn’t really mean a stop to fly-tipping.

"The stuff that is getting dumped most regularly is not a typical bulky item, it is a black sack."

Cllr Irons added that the council's bulky waste fee is £30 and is much cheaper than if it was to be removed by a private company.

She also suggests other alternatives such as the free Gareth Road Recycling Centre or item donation.

A spokesperson for Veolia waste management said: “Our street cleaning teams in Merton cleared over 17,000 fly-tips in 2021, many in response to reports from Merton residents via merton.gov.uk/flytipping.

“Veolia is actively supporting Merton Council’s Love Merton campaign which highlights that fly-tipping is a crime for which residents can be prosecuted.

"We will continue to engage with local communities about their responsibility to ensure waste is disposed of safely.”