20 December 2018
There has been an increase in the number of fly tipping reports around the island this year as more people use the Love Jersey app and website to alert the States to a range of issues.
So far in 2018 there have been 159 fly tipping reports to the Environmental Protection department compared to 105 last year. The majority of fly tipped items have been household goods such as furniture and mattresses. The worst month for fly tipping was April with 27 reports. The outcomes of Environmental Protection’s investigations will be published in 2019 along with fly tipping figures from the Parish of St Helier and Growth, Housing and Environment recycling operations.
A revised fly tipping strategy in conjunction with island parishes, waste recycling and waste operations, the National Trust for Jersey and Jersey Water will begin next year. Among the plans is to help islanders understand what fly tipping is and the correct ways in which people can dispose of their discarded items.
Islanders are being encouraged to continue to report fly tipping incidents through Love Jersey, an app and website that allows people to pass on information to States’ departments.
Waste and Water Management and Regulation officer Richard Runacres said that information such as the registration number, colour and make of the vehicle being used to dump fly tipped waste can help investigators.
“We have made some good steps forward in revising our strategy to combat fly tipping,” he said. “Identifying fly tippers and obtaining sufficient evidence is difficult and time consuming, that’s why we encourage those who witness fly tippers in action to record details of what they see and let us know.
“Fortunately Jersey doesn’t currently have the same scale of fly tipping incidents as the UK and we’d like to not only keep it that way but to keep Jersey’s streets and countryside clean and free from dumped rubbish. To meet this aim, we need to educate islanders about what fly tipping is, how to prevent it and what to do with their waste, particularly bulky items such as furniture.
“Although Jersey has some well-used recycling facilities, we need to encourage more people to use them. We will continue that encouragement through 2019, but where we can identify those who choose not to take responsibility for their waste they should expect a more robust approach.”
gov.je