Luton residents 'fed up' of overflowing bins and rubbish as 100 prosecutions launched by council

Pictures were sent to Luton News showing fly-tipped waste in Addington Way in Leagrave, as well as Salisbury Road in central Luton.

Luton Borough Council states that over 100 fly-tipping prosecutions have been launched this year, with 275 fly-tips visited by council officers since November 9.

One resident said: "The green bins in Salisbury Road have food and household waste in them, and they were infested with flies, maggots and rats over summer. I’ve reported it to environmental health at the council.

"I’m ashamed to live in my area as there’s a pandemic on and we’ve been left to rot in squalor."

An Addington Way residents said the street was become a "ghetto" due to fly-tipping.

Alternate weekly bin collections were introduced in Luton in October 2018, and yesterday (Monday) Luton Borough Council approved plans to introduce charges for green waste collections from March next year (see here).

A Luton Borough Council spokesman said: "We have a new, specially designated 'fly-tipping response crew’, which works proactively to locate dumped rubbish and so far they have collated enough evidence from the contents to pursue 100 prosecutions.

"It is every residents' responsibility to keep Luton clean and tidy. Fly-tipping is an ugly crime and there is simply no excuse for anybody leaving their waste in this manner.

"We have two excellent household waste recycling centres and a bulky waste collection service that residents can use if they have excess rubbish to get rid of.

"Residents also have the option of using an independent waste carrier to take bulky items away but must check they are registered on the Environment Agency website as, if they are not, it could result in prosecution and a fine.

"To report fly-tipping or dumped waste, as well as log any other issues you’ve seen across the town, visit www.luton.gov.uk/wallofshame or [email protected].

"Regarding overflowing bins, our street cleansing teams work hard to ensure these are emptied weekly.

"We ask people to please take home their rubbish or find another bin nearby if they come across one that is full. Report a full bin at https://m.luton.gov.uk/Page/Show/Environment/Pages/Report-a-street-care-or-cleaning-problem.aspx?redirectToMobile=True.

"The fly-tipping response crew has gone to 275 fly-tips since November 9. The council is currently investigating 236 potential offenders who were identified through our new approach. We are in the process of undertaking caution interviews with all of these individuals and have started to issue warnings, fixed penalty notices and taking improvement action.

"Offenders face a fixed penalty notice for £400 or can be prosecuted through the courts if they dump items illegally."