Florin Fotache is a man on a mission. As a member of Ealing Council’s specialist fly-tipping enforcement team he is keeping local streets clean one day at a time and tackling the rubbish dumpers head-on.

Whilst he has seen a real improvement in some areas of the borough there’s still lots of work to be done to tackle the problem, as Florin explains: “Since I have been part of this team I have definitely seen a big improvement on the streets, in certain areas the message is getting through and we are seeing less fly-tipping.

“However, we do still come across some large commercial fly-tips, and plenty of small, household fly-tips in certain areas, which can be frustrating as this waste is easy to dispose of correctly.

“My team and I often search and clear 10 to 15 fly-tips on a single morning and sometimes have to take six or seven truckloads of rubbish to the tip every day.

“We see old furniture and sofas, fridges and washing machines, mattresses and bags of rubbish. Unfortunately some of the largest fly-tips are building materials and bricks, which take longer to remove and are more dangerous to passers-by as they can block the road and be hazardous to passers-by.”

Hundreds of fly-tips are cleared off the streets every month. Every fly-tip cleared means time and council resources spent on the clean-up, as Florin points out: “It’s so important for local people to get rid of their rubbish in the right way. Even fly-tipping once is too much – it costs public money to clear, and this all adds up.”

“I think some people may not even know that what they are doing is fly-tipping. Even leaving a bag of rubbish next to a public bin is a something we fine people for. We see it often and a lot of our time goes into dealing with these problems – please find out the facts and make sure you keep on the right side of the law.

“We regularly find mattresses and appliances on the streets – if you are a landlord you must make sure that these bigger items are accounted for and don’t end up on our streets or you will be fined.”

Florin’s day-to-day role involves not only removing fly-tips but finding the evidence that helps track down and fine the perpetrators. It means that dumping your rubbish on Ealing’s streets will lead to a hefty fine and even prosecution.

“We investigate rubbish and waste for any evidence of who dumped, whether it is an address of a house or details of a local company says Florin.

“We are able to use this information to track down that person or business and fine them. There is an issue of rogue companies dumping large amounts of waste on the street and we are tackling this.

“However if you hire a rogue company to take your waste away and it end up on the street you will be held responsible so it’s vital to avoid this and a hefty fine.”

• The council offers a bulky waste collection service and will collect up to eight items for just £40. Alternatively bulky waste can be taken to one of the borough’s reuse and recycling centres.
• To avoid possible fines, it is vital to check whether a waste clearance company is licensed and legal.