FLYTIPPING incidents continue to plague a town in Dorset as multiple bin bags have appeared next to an Aldi.
Around 50 bin bags, filled with foam insulation material, have been left by “anti-social people” next to Aldi in Blandford Road West, Upton in the old Dorchester Road.
The dumping is the third time this has happened near the new store, opened in December 2021, after it previously happened in March and June this year.
Upton resident Lloyd Cole said: “The same thing happened a couple of months ago. I noticed it this time round when I was walking my dog.
“The last time it happened school children were kicking it around and waste was going everywhere. The bags look to be filled with foam insulation and it has gone hard.”
A spokesperson for Lytchett Minster and Upton Town Council said: “The site of the fly-tipping belongs to Dorset Council, as it is part of the former highway.
“We have reported this to Dorset Council and requested that they remove the offending materials. In doing so, they will be checking to see if there is any information contained within the waste that might identify the offenders and appropriate legal action will be taken, with the traced persons being also liable for Dorset Council’s costs.
“We understand that whilst Aldi do have CCTV cameras they do not cover the area in question. We have liaised with the store to see if it would be possible to extend their coverage, and they are looking into it.
Read more: Aldi to open brand new store in Poole next month
“We would urge all local residents, in a bid to keep our area clean and tidy, to report any incidences of fly-tipping, which is a blight on our locality to: https://dorset-self.achieveservice.com/service/DWP-Report-fly-tipping-in-Dorset
Cllr Ray Griffin, vice chair of the town council’s environment committee, said: “This is particularly disappointing after the wonderful news that our town achieved Silver Gilt in the Britain in Bloom awards, and Gold and Best Town in the South and South East in Bloom.
“The council, working alongside local volunteers spends a lot of time and effort in a bid to make our community a great place to live, work and pass through, and sadly the actions of a few anti-social people detract from this good work.”
Commercial waste cannot be legally taken to any council-run (ie. publicly funded) household recycling centre.
A Dorset Council spokesperson said: “Following a report yesterday, today (26 October) we removed around 50 bags of insulation and expanding foam that had been illegally dumped near Aldi in Blandford Road North, Upton.
"Given the nature and quantity of the material, it’s most likely this was done by a greedy tradesperson looking to save money by not using licenced commercial waste disposal facilities.
"If anyone has any information regarding this incident, we would kindly ask them to report it to our Waste Enforcement Team via the Dorset Council website.
"We would also remind anyone having work done to check that any waste produced is being responsibly disposed of as, if it is fly-tipped, it may be you that receives a fine. You can find more information on how to keep yourself protected at www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/scrap”
This story, which previously said 30 bags had been dumped, has been updated as Dorset Council confirmed 50 bags were removed from the area.
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