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Residents accuse council of fly-tipping rubbish

Ruby Gregory,LDRSand
Victoria Cook,BBC News
BBC Cardboard boxes and blue, orange and black refuge bags are piled on a street corner. They have yellow environmental crime scene tape stuck across the messBBC
The blue, red and orange bags have permission to be there, and include rubbish from the street cleaners. The rest of this pile has been fly-tipped.

People living in a south east London neighbourhood have accused the local council of effectively fly-tipping by failing to collect their rubbish.

Some residents in the Lee area of Lewisham say rubbish bags "with dog poo and needles" left by street cleaners are regularly not being collected by Lewisham Council and are then being torn apart by foxes.

They said if the issue does not get resolved, they are considering pursuing a private prosecution against the council.

A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said they are aware of the issue and are responding to residents' concerns.

Residents said they first began reporting issues of bags not being collected in 2024.

Matthew Richards claimed in some cases bags of rubbish are left on Woodyates Road "for days on end" and residents are left to clean up the mess.

Richards told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "It's hypocritical of (the council) to be campaigning against fly-tipping, fining people, putting up posters, and so on when they're (effectively) doing it themselves.

David Ford Rubbish bags can be seen across a road, with rubbish spilling out of themDavid Ford
Residents say bags of rubbish are being left too long and are then ripped apart by foxes

The issues being reported by residents come after a clampdown on fly-tipping by Lewisham Council last year.

And it's not the first time that the piles of rubbish bags left by street cleaners has caused problems locally.

In December, enforcement officers showed the BBC that in some parts of Lewisham, bags of rubbish are piled up by street cleaners and these are added to by authorised rubbish bags from flats and businesses. These piles of rubbish, they said, are then attracting fly tipping.

Eiman Rostami, from the council, said: "Unfortunately, human nature, you see a big pile of rubbish bags on the side of the road, and you think 'oh, I've got some rubbish as well - I can't be bothered to take it to the dump, I'll just put it next to there'."

The council increased the maximum fine for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000 last year.

Facundo Arrizabalaga The two residents stand on the side of the road, with blossom trees seen in the backgroundFacundo Arrizabalaga
Lee residents David Ford and Matthew Richards have accused Lewisham Council of fly-tipping and failing to collect rubbish

A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said: "Our staff avoid placing bags on Woodyates Road (in Lee) where possible and ensure that bags are not left on the street for extended periods before being collected.

"On occasion, bags may still need to be temporarily placed in the area before collection. We ask for residents' patience and understanding in these instances."

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