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Fly-tipping – when waste items are dumped where they’re not supposed to be – isn’t just unsightly, it’s also terrible for the environment. But while fly-tipping is a problem more commonly associated with rural areas, it’s an issue in plenty of areas across London, too.
And three boroughs in particular have experienced whopping increases in fly-tipping over the past year or so. According to government data, one place in particular has experienced a jump in fly-tipping cases of over 90 percent. That’s right: 90 percent.
Fly-tipping in Tower Hamlets apparently increased by more than anywhere else in the UK between 2022 and 2023, with cases almost doubling from 8,199 to 15,861.
A spokesperson for the council told the BBC that fly-tipping ‘exerts a great pressure in the borough due to it being the most densely populated borough in the country’. To combat fly-tippers, Tower Hamlets Council is apparently investing £5 million into waste services and increasing the number of nighttime and weekend waste collections.
But Tower Hamlets isn’t the only place in London to have seen a massive jump in fly-tipping. Not far behind is Barnet, where fly-tipping incidents increased by 65 percent to 9,763, and Westminster, where they jumped 64 percent to 30,737. Camden, Hackney and Croydon were among other London boroughs with high increases.
In terms of the highest number of fly-tipping incidents overall (rather than largest increase in cases), a London borough took top spot for that, too. Brent had a total of 35,000 incidents in 2023.
Borough wars
London’s boroughs vary massively, each one with its own merits and flaws. You’ve got the ones that have been named Britain’s best places to retire, the fact that one borough was recently named the safest place to raise a family, and the boroughs named among the UK’s most ‘depressing’ places. Or take a read of why we crowned London one of the world’s best cities right now.
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