Community 'angry' over fly-tipped rubbish

Councillor Waseem Zaffar reported 41 fly-tipping incidents in the Lozells area

A Birmingham city councillor said residents in part of the city are are standing together to tackle fly-tipping, but the problem has left many feeling "frustrated and angry".

Waseem Zaffar, a Labour councillor for the Lozells ward, said he reported 41 fly-tipping incidents in the area to the city council on Sunday as part of his "campaign" against the problem.

"The vast majority of residents are absolutely amazing, doing everything possible to keep the area clean but the small minority or those that come to fly tip are disrupting the community," Zaffar said.

The council said it knew "fly-tipping in Lozells is a concern" and was working with councillors and others to tackle it.

"There's a real effort from within the community to clean-up and to clean-up our neighbourhood but we are being let down by a few," Zaffar said.

He said there were some "real challenges" in Lozells, including unemployment, the skills gaps and housing inequality, adding: "But for me, a good start is by having a clean neighbourhood.

"If our neighbourhood is clean, you feel a stronger sense of belonging and connection to that neighbourhood."

Residents have been left angry and frustrated

While the city has been experiencing a bin strike for six months, Zaffar said he had no information or evidence to say there was a direct correlation between that and the high amount of fly-tipping.

"There should be no excuse to fly tip, our residual waste is being collected every week."

He believed the majority of residents were not causing the problems.

"They are the ones that are frustrated and angry like I am," he said.

Birmingham City Council said in a statement it was working with councillors and waste enforcement officers to identify the root cause of the problems and tackle the issue.

"When fly-tipping occurs, we act as quickly as possible. Our crews clear hundreds of fly-tipping reports each week; this is in addition to the work our neighbourhood crews undertake to clean up across the city," it said.

"Everyone needs to play their part in maintaining a clean environment."

The spokesperson added: "We are committed to prosecuting fly-tippers whenever possible, and we encourage residents to provide reports and evidence for us to do so."