City of Wolverhampton Council is running a social media campaign to encourage residents to check licenses before paying waste collectors to remove unwanted items from their property.

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Unlicensed waste collectors are often those who fly tip bulky household items after weighing in scrap metal.

The city council is running a social media campaign to educate residents about the risks that can follow once using these services.

Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member City Environment at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: "It is the legal duty of householders to check that anyone collecting waste from their home is registered and has a waste carrier licence from the Environment Agency.

"All householders and businesses have a duty of care to dispose of their waste legally and responsibly. By failing to carry out these important checks you are putting yourself at risk of committing a criminal offence.

"If you hand over your waste to someone who offers to take it away for a bargain price, then it's highly likely that your waste will be dumped somewhere.

"By using these services, you are encouraging fly tipping behaviour. Bulky household waste can be disposed of at local household recycling centres or you can use our bulky waste collection service for a reasonable fee.

"It is completely unacceptable to fly-tip and the council will continue to prosecute anyone who uses an illegal collector."

To book a bulky collection service please visit Type=articles;Articleid=2498;Title=Book a bulky item collection;. To report fly tipping visit Type=articles;Articleid=7761;Title=Report fly tipping; or call 01902 551155.

  • released: Tuesday 8 May, 2018