Clearing Peterborough's fly-tipping is a continuous job, says worker

Thousands of cases of fly-tipped waste were recorded in Peterborough in 2021-22

A man employed to clear up fly-tipped waste says dealing with the mounds of dumped rubbish is a "continuous job".

Paul Putnam, who works for Peterborough City Council, said it "opens your eyes up to how much waste is generated".

The council said it was clamping down on both fly-tippers and unlicensed people paid to take away rubbish.

The council recently published details of three people who admitted using unlicensed carriers and were fined in the region of £500.

The authority said fly-tipping was a "blight on our city".

Paul Putnam works for the council's waste team

Mr Putnam, part of the council's waste team, has to deal with fly-tipping daily.

"We work five days a week and this is continuous," he said.

"We don't stop, but it does open your eyes up to see how much rubbish there is."

Mr Putnam and his colleague Michael Lee spend their working days clearing up what others have dumped

His colleague Michael Lee said they do their best to trace dumped waste back to its source.

"We look to see if there's any evidence, addresses which possibly could give us an idea of where it could come from, so we've got a rough idea of possibly who it could be," he said.

"The situation we're dealing with at the moment, it's a crisis. We do our absolute hardest."

Between March 2021 and March 2022, the city council recorded 8,981 cases of fly-tipping but only 139 resulted in any kind of legal action or penalty.

Nigel Simons, the council's Conservative cabinet member for waste and the environment, said: "We want to stop fly-tipping and I think with people having a mobile phone these days, stop turning a blind eye and report the incidents to us, and we will prosecute."

Referring to recent cases documented on the council's website, he added: "Now we're naming and shaming, I don't think we are losing the fight.

"We're getting more surveillance cameras, and it's crucial that we don't lose the fight."