New 'eye in the sky' will help Wolverhampton’s fight against fly-tippers to soar

The ‘eye in the sky’ will allow officers to easily scan areas that have been victim to fly-tipping and collect high quality footage to assist with prosecutions.

It will also identify hot spots to target and help officers ensure that waste businesses are operating correctly.

In addition three environmental crime officers have been fully trained and authorised as drone pilots after the council received a £49,119 grant from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

The council was among 26 to be given a share of nearly £1million grant funding from Defra to continue its innovative approach to tackling fly-tipping.

The drone adds to AI cameras introduced in the city earlier this year, which were also funded by the Defra grant. 

The smart cameras have 360-degree vision and can recognise when someone is fly-tipping, sending an immediate report to the team.

Evidence captured by the drone and the cameras will aid the council’s ongoing Shop a Tipper campaign, which asks the public to identify those responsible for breaking the law by dumping rubbish.

Under the campaign, anyone suspected of dumping rubbish will have their images shared to appeal for information to help identify them.

If the information provided leads to successful identification, and Fixed Penalty Notices are issued and paid or a prosecution takes place, residents receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton Gift Card.

Since the start of January this year, the council has issued 52, £400 fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping. 

And over the past 12 months, the council has carried out eight successful prosecutions for waste-related crime.

Letters are also being sent to hot spot areas where excess waste is being left outside properties. 

The letters remind residents of their responsibilities to dispose of waste responsibly and contain information about waste collections.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at Wolverhampton Council, said: “We are grateful for the funding from Defra, which has enabled us to introduce another tool in our ongoing fight against fly-tipping.

“The drone will make it easier for our enforcement team to investigate this type of environmental crime. It is thoughtless, unpleasant and unhygienic and we will not tolerate it in Wolverhampton.

"Our message is clear to anyone disposing of waste where they think it will go undetected: our eye in the sky will be watching."

Officers are also offering residents a gift card to help identify culprits and taken action as part of efforts to clamp down of offenders. 

Incidents include two men filmed dumping bin bags in Racecourse Road in the Dunstall area of the city on October 30 at about 6.35pm. 

Residents can contact 01902 552700 with information or report online at wolverhampton.gov.uk/reportflytipping

Waste can be disposed of free of charge at tips which are open 7 days a week from 8am – 4pm in Anchor Lane, in Lanesfield, Bilston and in Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.

A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available.