The streets of Britain have become swamped with tons of rubbish and clothes to be recycled in coronavirus quarantine clear-outs.
Councils have warned of a ‘wave of waste’ coming from homes across the country.
As most of the nation is in quarantine, families are generating much more food leftovers. And many are using the spare time to carry out home and garden makeovers, creating even more rubbish and recycling.
On top of that, people are even dumping items outside charity shops – building mountains of clothes and bric-a-brac despite the fact they are not open.
Piles of recycling and general rubbish lay uncollected at Tesco Extra Store in Wembley North London this morning
Cases of fly-tipping across Britain have sky rocketed as coronavirus chaos sweeps the nation, with many tips up and down the country being closed completely or left severely short staffed.
Selfish individuals have used the window of opportunity while the nation rallies together to tackle Covid-19 to dispose of unwanted items, causing scenes of filth and clutter across both rural and urban areas.
Fly-tipping figures have now surged by up to 300 per cent, officials have revealed, and look set to get worse with many key tipping sites and recycle centres remaining closed for the foreseeable future. Kerbside collections have also been scaled back in some areas.
Shocking images across the UK show piles of waste dumped on roadsides, lanes parks and fields, left to the responsibility of local communities.
Pictures across the UK shows piles of waste dumped on roadsides, lanes parks and fields following the closure of waste centres.
Fly-tipping is now surging across the UK as tips are forced to close during the rapidly escalating coronavirus pandemic. Pictured, a battered refrigerator lays at the roadside in Ashford, Kent
Selfish individuals have used the window of opportunity to get rid of waste items while the nation rallies together to tackle the spread of Covid-19
A Twitter post revealed discarded clutter at the entrance to a farmer’s field in the Cotswolds
Officials say many people are taking rubbish to recycling centres and when then finding the location closed, simply dumping it outside on the journey home.
One council says the amount of waste dumped in this manner has gone up ‘three fold’, with West Oxfordshire District Council now urging its residents and businesses not to dump waste in communal recycling areas.
They noted that recycling areas are having to be cleared every day by the council’s waste team, before posted images on Facebook of revolting piles of bin bags, household clutter and a baby’s high chair in the supermarket car park.
Cllr Norman MacRae, cabinet member for the environment, said: ‘While we have some sympathy with residents who may have quantities of waste building up, we must emphasise that for everyone’s safety please refrain from dumping it in public spaces.
‘This places an unnecessary additional workload on our cleaning teams and is not acceptable at any time let alone the current coronavirus situation.
‘The law has not changed and anyone caught fly-tipping will face prosecution and a large fine.’
A spokesman for the council said: ‘We have not calculated the exact tonnage data as yet but we can say we have seen a threefold increase in items at key sites which is forcing us to carry out additional collections with a dedicated crew and truck.
Councillors in Lancashire branded fly-tippers ‘disgusting’ for taking advantage of the coronavirus outbreak to dump rubbish.
Cllr Ray Davies, the Darwen East Liberal Democrat, said: ‘We are in a situation where we are advised to isolate but, in some areas, they are taking advantage and simply fly tipping and not making full use of the bins.
Tameside council of greater Manchester have been sharing images of mess on social media
Streets in the Manchester area are now filling up with discarded sofas and large items
Locals councils are being pushed to the limit as a result, as the clean up operations begin
‘People are simply throwing bags and furniture into the back alleys and saying ‘nothing to do with me’.
‘This is appalling. We need to be cleaner and more hygienic but here we have thoughtless residents taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic and dumping rubbish in back alleys while the borough council staff are busy with other issues to do with the Covid-19 outbreak.
‘We are in isolation because of dirty habits, this must be a warning to all of us that we cannot keep doing this and must work together for the sake of future generations and the planet.
Alleyways in Stoke-on-Trent are also strewn with household waste, including uneaten food and fridges, which locals now harbour growing concerns about animal infestation.
Monienne Stone, secretary of Fenton Events Board, said: ‘Fly-tipping has been an ongoing problem in many areas of Fenton.
‘It’s an urgent public health issue. People need to understand that it’s not OK to dump litter as it endangers all our health.
Fly tipped rubbish around Small Heath, Birmingham, showing a complete lack of regard for public health with ditched items ranging from suitcases to children’s playing toys
A wrecked office chair was seen among the debris which now lines the streets of the area
Mouldy mattresses now occupy the roadside, collecting germs and posing a health risk
Authorities point to people realising the tip is closed and then deciding to fly-tip their waste on the journey home, in hope of going undetected
Dumped bin bags are now collecting in large quantity after kerbside collections were cut back
The disgusting scenes are becoming more prevalent after fly-tipping surged by 300 per cent
Local councils warned of the vast cost of taxpayer’s money which will be needed to clean up
‘There’s also the cost to the taxpayer to clear it up.’
In Greater Manchester where recycling centres have also closed and there are fewer council workers to collect waste, fly-tipping is also on the rise.
Heaps of bin bags, household furniture items and cardboard boxes are piled on streets in Collyhurst, Chadderton and Saddleworth.
Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, said: ‘Further to a fly-tipping incident on Sand Street, Collyhurst, we are currently looking into evidence provided to us by a local resident and will do everything in our power to secure the culprit’s conviction.
‘While this investigation is carried out, the dumped waste will also be cleared.
‘At a time when we should all be pulling together, it is disgraceful that anybody still thinks that it is OK to fly-tip in our neighbourhoods.’
Scotland is also feeling the effects of opportunistic fly-tippers, with numerous tourists spots and places of natural beauty now starting to fill up with carelessly disposed waste.
Scotland is also feeling the effects of fly-tipping, with rubbish now strewn across country roads in Fifa (pictured) including mattresses and garden waste
An entire cooker was seen discarded in a local neighbourhood, in the middle of a public path
Local governments have insisted offenders will be identified and prosecuted in court
A whole host of items are being littered across the roads, with evidence of Christmas trees left over from December ditched as part of the fly-tipping offences
In some communities an excess of abandoned food is causing concern regarding an outbreak of animal infestation
Mattresses were abandoned at a recycling centre in Fife, while household rubbish spilled across a grassy verge at a rural beauty spot on the outskirts of the city.
Selfish fly-tippers are ignoring government guidance against non-essential travel leading Fife Council to slam residents’ ‘irresponsible’ behaviour.
Dawn Jamieson, safer communities team manager, said: ‘Fly tipping is an issue. I think it’s probably been highlighted a bit more over the past couple of weeks.
‘What we’ve been trying to do is make people a bit more responsible.
‘Because centres have been closed people will be thinking it’s acceptable to be putting their rubbish and that’s not the message we’re trying to get across.
‘There really isn’t an excuse at all – people are very irresponsible.
‘With everything else going on at the moment, how people are finding the time to go out and go against the government’s advice to make unnecessary journeys and dump rubbish is beyond me.’