Salford is getting “record numbers” of fly-tipping around the city, a councillor has said. John Mullen, who represents the Barton and Winton ward in Salford, said the problem has become a big issue in the Greater Manchester borough, and residents are being hit in the pocket with their council tax due to the growing cost of dealing with it. Council officers told the Community and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Panel that it uses different methods to clamp down on fly-tipping and littering, but court backlogs mean it is taking a “minimum” of 18 months and in some instances up to two years for cases to be resolved. Coun Mullen said: “We are seeing record numbers of fly-tipping. I’m constantly being berated about litter on the streets. For me the key issue is we have work to do in terms of winning over hearts and minds. “Last week, I saw a Facebook post about someone who fly-tipped in Langworthy and they spent two days berating local councillors and the council, and the fact that the pile was growing every day. “I sent that to our team who were as usual efficiently out there and sorted it. “The post went on as if it was the council’s fault. It was this person’s neighbours and friends on that street that were doing that, but there was no acknowledgement of that or the responsibility of the public. “I think we need to do a piece of work around changing that mindset. I think we need to point out, in hard financial facts, how much it’s costing the city, and how much it’s costing residents in terms of clear up. “That will ultimately go onto your council tax, there’s no where else that money will come from.” Members were told that fly-tipping incidents are increasingly being shared on social media, and that the town hall’s team is using websites such as Facebook to identify and tidy up some of the worst hot spots. Councillor Andrew Walters said the council has to meet its minimum legal obligation on keeping the streets clean, but acknowledged there are issues with litter which the town hall can help with. He said: “The reporting service is still not working. I’ve been here for two years, it wasn’t working then and it’s not working now, things are still not getting through. I personally have reported things through the service and officers haven’t had them.” He added: “With mechanical street sweepers, if there are parked cars on the roads, they could be there all day so it’s a waste of time, it’s a waste of our resources. How are we supposed to sweep the streets when there are cars parked there?” Council offers said criminals are getting smarter by removing envelopes with addresses from their fly-tipped waste to reduce the chance of being caught. Those found guilty of fly-tipping can be fined and even jailed for up to five years depending on the circumstances.
