FLY-TIPPING in Stratford is way below the national average according to a new study.
A study from sustainable living expert The Bower Collective has compared average waste, recycling and fly-tipping towns across the UK.
And the town came in with the low number of 26 fly-tipping incidents per 10,000 residents – approximately 90 per year by the latest population figure.
According to figures recorded in 2020, the national average number of fly-tipping reports per year was 148, while in the Midlands it was 114.
The town ranked 28 overall for its sustainability, let down by household waste figures of 437kg per person per year – 24kg above the national average.
Meanwhile, it ranked 22nd for its recycling efforts.
The study also compares the latest figures against those in 2015 and, despite the low fly-tipping rates, incidents had still increased by nearly 40 per cent.
A spokeswoman for Stratford District Council said: “Our fly tipping figures have always been lower than most authorities and even though we have seen an increase in fly tipping over the last few years, the incidents are relatively lower than most authorities.
“Fly-tipping is environmental vandalism – it’s unpleasant, unnecessary and unacceptable. Sadly, like many local authorities we have to spend money each year tacking litter and fly-tipping and this is money that could be better spent on other service areas.”
Household waste was also up by six per cent in 2020, while recycling rates were down three per cent.
However, the council has argued the waste figures were misleading because they did not take into account garden waste.
The spokeswoman added: “Figures are published nationally by Lets Recycle annually based of the waste data flow figures, this report shows the percentage figures. If this report looks at the total waste collected per kilo per person, this will have a skewed affect because of the weight of the garden waste collected in our district.
“For recycling, we have one of the highest recycling rates in England and our reported figures have consistently shown Stratford to be in the top 10 highest recycling for the last 10 years.”
Meanwhile, fly-tipping reports in neighburing Warwick soared to 69 per cent, with 104 reported per 10,000 residents in 2020 – 15 below average.
Household waste-wise, the town is faring better at 365kg per person in 2020, with residents’ recycling efforts falling in at number 20.
