Liverpool is being hit by a sharp rise in flytipping as an “irresponsible and selfish minority” dump waste on the city's streets during the coronavirus lockdown.
The council is appealing to people not to tip rubbish over the Easter weekend as refuse collectors already battle low staff numbers and an increase in the amount of waste they are collecting.
The council's street cleaning company, Liverpool Streetscene Services Ltd (LSSL), sent out extra crews last weekend to help deal with illegally-tipped waste, which included white goods, furniture and toys.
The council-backed free bulky item collection service Bulky Bobs has been suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak and Merseyside’s Household Waste Recycling Centres have closed.
LSSL currently have a third of their workforce unavailable while the amount of general waste they pick up has increased by 15%.
Chief Operation Officer Mike Brown said the current workload was unsustainable for the number of staff available.
He said: “Our refuse and street cleansing staff are working hard under difficult circumstances to manage the city’s waste.
“Unfortunately, we now have the actions of an irresponsible and selfish minority to contend with.
“Our crews have been out over the weekend but in the current climate, this sort of operation is unsustainable, which is why we are urging residents to work with us and be considerate about their waste.
“We would also urge the wider community to work with us and if they see any incidents of fly-tipping or dumpingtaking place, to report them via the council’s website straight away.”
LSSL and council staff are working to identify those behind the fly-tipping and pledged to take strong action against anyone caught.
Cabinet member for highways and regeneration Sharon Connor said the city would take strong action against anyone found guilty of flytipping and appealed to residents not to turn city streets into a "dumping ground".
Councillor Connor said: “Scenes of alleys blocked with waste or waste just dumped on the streets would make it impossible for emergency service vehicles to get access to people who need them. And with contamination at the forefront of everyone’s minds, this extra waste poses a constant threat to both our refuse workers and members of the public.
“The council has proved that it is willing to take tough enforcement action against anyone found fly-tipping ordumping, however we would rather work with our communities to make sure this doesn’t happen and that Liverpool remains clean and green.
“We know everyone in our city is pulling together during these unprecedented times and the message is a clear one - don’t let the minority turn our city into a dumping ground and help protect the key workers who keep our city clean.”
