An unsightly pile of waste weighing in at 1,500 tonnes has been successfully removed following a concerted effort by Enfield Council’s waste enforcement officers.
The illegally dumped waste – a mixture of general household rubbish and commercial industrial waste – had been left in an area off the A10, known as the gravel pit, opposite the Enfield Crematorium.
Enfield Council took action following a number of complaints from residents about the plot of land leased by Forty Leisure Ltd. Three of the 10 acres were accessed by fly-tippers on two occasions to dump waste without the leaseholder’s knowledge.
The eyesore could be seen by residents from the first floors of their homes as well as pupils and staff of nearby St Ignatius College. Walkers crossing the footpath over the A10 were also greeted by the huge mound of waste.
As a result, Enfield Council’s Waste Enforcement Team served a notice under Section 59 of the Environmental Protection Act (1990) to the leaseholder to remove the waste and clean up the site. It took over a month for the dumped rubbish to be cleared entirely.
Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Guney Dogan, said: “The fly-tipped waste has been removed, the land is now fully secured and security has been heightened.
“The Council’s intervention now means the land can be used for appropriate development to the benefit of all in the surrounding area. In this case, the leaseholder has been a victim of a crime.
“However, we cannot allow dumped waste to fester and the Waste Enforcement and Legal teams at Enfield Council worked hard to resolve this issue to the benefit of all in the surrounding area.”
Recently, Enfield Council’s Waste Enforcement Team was commended at a regional conference on Strategic Waste Crime, for its proactive approach and partnership work with the Police and Environment Agency in tackling fly-tipping and other waste offences.
Inspector Christopher Byrne of the Metropolitan Police noted how powers under s61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) have been effectively used across Enfield.
He said: “Waste crime costs the economy approximately £1 billion per year in England alone to be dealt with. Waste crime undercuts legitimate business, poses a nuisance and safety risk to local communities and provides legitimacy to organised criminals. This is why it is so important to work with local authorities such as Enfield Council to tackle this modern scourge.”
If you are aware of an illegal waste site, call the Environment Agency’s hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. If you see someone illegally accessing a site to dump waste, you are witnessing a crime and should call the police. You can also report fly-tipping to Enfield Council, here.
