A staggering 22 tonnes of rubbish has been removed from an alleyway in Wilkinson Way after residents complained to their local councillors.

Southfield Ward Lib Dem Cllr Harvey Rose took action after he was approached with complaints about the amount of rubbish blocking the passage.

Ealing Council was persuaded to remove overgrown tree branches as well as flytipping which included a mattress, dumped pieces of wood and many other items.

The council is responsible for clearing flytipped waste on the public highway, council maintained parkland and green space, and public (paved and lit) alleyways.

The flytipping of waste is a serious criminal offence, it carries a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine or up to five years imprisonment. It is also an offence to permit flytipping on your land or land that you rent.

To report flytipped waste, you will need to provide the following information to Ealing Customer Services:

• exact location
• description of items
• the approximate size of waste (more or less than three cubic meteres - half a standard sized skip)

Residents are advised not to touch flytipped waste, as it may be dangerous.

Flytipping on private land (eg on the front/rear garden or land attached to a property) is the responsibility of the owner/occupier and must be removed by them. The council will only take formal action against the owner/occupier if the flytipped site does not comply with environmental standards or is deemed a health hazard. This would be determined by a site visit.

Owners may be served with a formal notice requiring them to remove refuse within 21 days. If they do not comply the council will remove the refuse and the owner will be charged.

October 27, 2009