Deputy Leader of Waltham Forest Council, Cllr Clyde Loakes, has reiterated Waltham Forest Council’s commitment to tackling fly-tippers within the borough.

Following the news that the council fined 10,000 people for littering and 1,000 people for fly-tipping in 2017, Cllr Loakes gave details of what the council will be doing in future to keep litter louts in check.

He said: “We were the first London Borough to adopt the maximum £400 fine for fly-tipping. In fact, we were the council that asked the government to raise that maximum fine.

“We are also one of the few not offering reductions for early payments of fines. We don’t believe that hard working tax payers should have to subsidise enviro-criminals. If we catch you, you’re going to pay.”

He added: “We also have three house-hold waste and recycling plants and are the only London Borough to offer free unlimited bulky waste collection.

Cllr Loakes explained the council has introduced a Chat Bot to their Facebook page, allowing residents to easily report fly-tippers and keep up to date with the progress of individual cases.

He said: “We want to involve the community more. People want to see the results and how their reporting has led to a real outcome. It’s about ownership of the areas. We can say, thanks to them we were able to issue a fixed penalty notice.”

The council are also running Task Action Days (normally on Thursdays).

On these days, neighbourhood enforcement officers go into a particular area of Waltham Forest and work in the community to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour.

Officers urge parents to turn off their engines as they wait to pick their children up from school. They also check restaurant licences and restaurant food safety standards.

Cllr Loakes said: “Officers hit an area really hard. It lets people know the council is doing stuff.”