Local democracy reporter Elliot Jessett joined Sefton Council’s street cleansing team to investigate the ongoing problem of fly-tipping
ECHO reporter Elliot Jessett out with the Sefton Council fly-tipping clearing team in Bootle (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Over the last few weeks, the Liverpool ECHO has received numerous complaints about an ‘epidemic of fly-tipping’ in one part of Merseyside.
As a result, the ECHO visited various locations around Bootle and was confronted by countless heavy duty items – fridges, couches, sofas, mattresses, building materials – dumped onto people’s streets and cast into rear entry ways.
Less than four weeks ago, the ECHO reported on the case of Collette Etherington who has become a “prisoner in her own home” due to piles of rubbish blocking the exit to her house. Ms Etherington said the issues started four years ago and turned her home life into a ‘living nightmare’.
A couple of weeks before this, the ECHO published a report about the despair felt by residents in Seaforth after mounds of heavy duty trash were left at the end of their street.
Alley way behind Grogan Square in Bootle documented in a previous report in March(Image: LDRS)
This was followed shortly after by a fly-tipping report in the One Vision Housing-managed entryways behind Partington Avenue, Webster Avenue and Tumilty Avenue – all of them stacked with large household items and discarded debris.
In an attempt to better understand the scale of the fly-tipping problem in south Sefton, the ECHO accepted an invitation from the street cleansing team at Sefton Council and accompanied them on their daily round.
Despite producing multiple reports on the issue of illegal waste dumping, the work-shadowing experience still produced a sense of disbelief as the enormity of the challenges became increasingly apparent.
We arrived at the local authority depot on Hawthorne Road at 7:30am and were welcomed by Kevin Shields, 51, who was already marshalling the troops for the day ahead.
There is a small map of the borough of Sefton on the office wall and staff were busily looking through schedules and plans before heading off to their first jobs – it takes an extraordinary amount of organisation to make this work.
ECHO reporter out with the Sefton Council fly-tipping clearing team in Bootle(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Kevin is newly arrived at Sefton Council’s street cleansing team, but has worked in similar roles for the last 10 years. Kevin is unflappable and is never surprised by stories involving street clean-ups – including the various oddities found on the way including a canoe and an abandoned airplane.
He said: “I don’t think it’s the type of work you necessarily choose but it’s forever challenging and often very rewarding.
“I enjoy dealing with residents, being in the community, those types of things. You do improve people’s lives in our own little roundabout way.”
Nonetheless, he expresses concerns about the impact fly-tipping is having on his staff and the wider community. Kevin said: “It can be gut-wrenching for everyone when you finish a job and see it spoiled in a matter of hours.
“We did a job a few days ago where we cleared away about 20 tonnes of waste. When we came back to do the final sweep through, there was three fridges dumped there – it’s soul-destroying.
The Sefton Council fly-tipping clearing team clean out an entry in Bootle(Image: Iain Watts)
“Nobody owns three fridges do they, so it’s clearly a trade – a business which is taking loads and then dumping illegally.”
Fly-tipping or the illegal disposal of household, industrial, commercial or other waste is a serious criminal offence and costs local authorities tens of millions of pounds. Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show there were 3,903 fly-tipping incidents in Sefton in 2023.
Asked to speculate on some of the reasons why ‘rogue traders’ are illegally dumping rubbish, Kevin said: “The obvious one is money because there’s tipping fees for trades so, if you can just leave it somewhere for someone else to move that’s keeping your profit margin.
“It’s targeted and rogue actors are responsible. Of course there’s some residents who can cause problems but the majority of it is rogue traders.”
Another issue is enforcement because evidence needs to be presented to secure a prosecution. Recently, Sefton Council was able to successfully prosecute an individual who was issued with a £400 fine for dumping rubbish. However, this is more the exception than the rule because there’s simply not enough resources.
ECHO reporter out with the Sefton Council fly-tipping clearing team in Bootle(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Kevin said: “When we talk about ‘rogue traders’ coming into neighbourhoods and secretly dumping three fridges – it’s very hard to get evidence of that because resources are limited.
“The resources we do have are being wasted by these people illegally dumping. Whether a clean-up costs £1,000 or £100,000, you spend the money to return it to how it was in the first place. It’s money that could be better spent elsewhere on other services.”
“But saying that, we work very hard every day and focus on the things we can do for people and residents see that because they’re proud of their neighbourhoods. They live in the real world and appreciate staff are working hard for them.”
The Sefton Council fly-tipping clearing team clean out an entry in Bootle(Image: Liverpool Echo)
After speaking to Kevin, we head out in the truck with Dominic and Sam who will be showing us the ropes. We head out to a corner of Bootle where a rear entryway has been worked on for the last week.
Dominic Hannigan, 48, is originally from Dover, but moved to Liverpool more than 23 years ago and has been working for Sefton Council’s clean-up team for the last eight years.
Dom enjoys his work – especially in the summer months – and likes making a difference to the communities he serves. Nonetheless, he is not immune to the frustration felt by his co-workers when it comes to tackling the daily challenges of fly-tipping, Dom added: “It can feel like you’re fighting a losing battle.
“Sometimes we’ll do a clean-up and get the place looking really smart and then, not even an hour later someone has dumped a load of rubbish.”
Asked to expand on the ‘three fridges’ incident, Dom said: “We were working on a stretch a few days ago and had to use the bobcat because there was just so much rubbish – it was about 20 tonnes in the end.
“We were standing in one of these side streets, having our lunch, having a chat, and by the time we got back, somebody had put three fridges in there.
ECHO reporter out with the Sefton Council fly-tipping clearing team in Bootle(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“I get people’s frustrations. I’m a Sefton resident, I live here and I pay council tax and I can tell you right now I don’t want people living in areas with piled up rubbish.”
Dom points to the corner of a road he worked on two days ago, adding: “This was cleared and now there’s a bloody mattress and some random wheelie bin.
“You can clear this every day, and within an hour, there’ll be rubbish dumped there.”
Asked how he and the team stay motivated, Dom said: “Look around, it’s a beautiful sunny day and you’ve got to try and stay positive and appreciate the good things people are doing. You can’t let these people illegally dumping get you down because we’ve got a job to do.”
Sefton Council workers tackling the fly-tipping issue in Bootle(Image: LDRS)
During the shift with the cleansing team, the LDRS found multiple discarded mattresses, sofas and chair, masonry, large cabinets and white goods such as fridges and freezers. Responding to a question about whether this scale of rubbish was typical, Nathan said the scene was nothing special and fairly low-level in comparison to most jobs.
Darren Phillips, 39, has been overseeing the clean-up work done Dom and Nathan and explained the day-to-day operations, Darren said: “We try and work from ward-to-ward starting at the top of the list, rotate and then start again, but it’s like an epidemic of fly-tipping right now.”
Changes are happening and both Sefton Council and local housing association One Vision Housing (OVH) do have plans to address the fly-tipping issue both in the immediate and long-term. OVH said it is witnessing increased customer concerns and reports over recent months and acknowledges the negative impact it’s having on people’s lives.
ECHO reporter Elliot Jessett out with the Sefton Council fly-tipping clearing team in Bootle(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Last week, Sovini – maintenance contractor for OVH – launched its Alleyway Strategic Action Plan with a clean-up event in Bootle. The initiative is aimed at combatting fly-tipping and improving the quality of life for local residents.
Susan Levey, Property Clearance Operative at Sovini Property Services added: “Being part of these alleyway clean-ups is about taking pride in our communities and ensuring everyone has a clean and safe environment to live in.
“Fly-tipping has a detrimental effect on the safety and appearance of our neighbourhoods, and it’s important we work together to tackle it.”