Plus Dane has teamed up with Sefton Council and other partner organisations to help combat fly tipping in the borough.
Through the #WFT (Why Fly Tip?) campaign, the local authority is highlighting how piles of unwanted items and rubbish can make the ideal home for unsanitary neighbours like maggots and rats.
The campaign was launched in part of Bootle where homes have shared rear entries, a spot where the reporting of fly-tipping - and complaints about the problem - is high. Lessons learned from the campaign will be used to tackle fly-tipping in other areas, and all the information can be found at www.sefton.gov.uk/WFT.
Council refuse teams have begun clearing these shared rear entries of dumped rubbish, weeds and overhanging vegetation. Residents are being reminded of their responsibilities to dispose of rubbish, and the enforcement action that can be taken if and when necessary.
Often, items of furniture can be passed on to local people who need them. Sefton Council works with local charities who collect furniture in good condition and can be re-used, free of charge. Alternatively, they can collect and take away up to three bulky waste items for £14.
Rats, mice and insects love the environment that fly-tipped rubbish and furniture creates. And once they’ve made themselves at home, they can multiply at an alarming rate.
If a female rat gives birth to around six litters of up to 12 baby rats each year and these babies start reproducing when they are 10 weeks old, the original pair that snuggled up in an abandoned sofa can become over 1,000 in just 12 months!
Rats can transfer a range of infections to humans, including a type of meningitis.
House flies can lay up to 500 eggs over a three-to-four-day period. They are attracted by food waste and rubbish feeding across different food sources and causing cross contamination.
House flies transmit around 65 diseases, like salmonella and E. coli, which can result in diarrhoea, vomiting and lead to serious health complaints.
As well as all this, fly tipped items in communal entryways can be a fire hazard, preventing fire service crews from gaining access in an emergency.
Cllr Peter Harvey, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Street Scene said: “When you look at the creatures you may find living and breeding on your back doorstep in abandoned furniture and other rubbish - along with the diseases they may carry, and also consider the risks like fire, the inevitable question is ‘Why Fly Tip? or as our campaign says, #WFT.
“By clearing the shared back entries areas and then visiting them regularly to provide support and remind people about the ways they can act responsibly, we aim to stop the problem re-occurring in the long term.
“It costs the Council a six-figure sum every year to remove and dispose of fly tipped items, and that’s hundreds of thousands of pounds that could otherwise be spent on important local services to benefit people in the Borough and nice things.
“That is why where we can trace the culprits, we will take enforcement action, which means they could receive Fixed Penalty Notices or be faced with prosecution.
“We do ask that anyone spotting incidents of this anti-social behaviour reports it to Sefton Council at www.sefton.gov.uk/fly-tipping or by calling 0345 140 0845.”
