The Green Goblin Project
“We Gobble Pollution”
A community-in-action volunteering project tackling illegally dumped waste, protecting neighbourhoods and rebuilding civic pride.
The Problem of Fly-Tipping
“Every 30 seconds in England someone fly tips.”
Incidences of fly-tipped waste are increasing all over the UK. This waste is eventually collected, but due to the time lapse it takes for councils to respond, it escapes into the environment and creates more work and costs, impacting on already scarce council resources.
What do people fly-tip?
In the UK, pretty much everything you can think of that might be disposed of as waste is fly-tipped. Among the most common things that you will see are:
- Household litter
- Fridges and freezers
- Left-over construction material
- Garden litter
- Used or old car parts and tyres
Nearly half the population admit to dropping litter - that is a staggering 48%.
The amount of litter dropped yearly in the UK has increased by 500 per cent since the 1960s.
How Does It Occur?
The current economics of the country are not at their best. Everyone is looking for ways to save money or, worse yet, they cannot afford for their waste to be collected or taken to the appropriate waste facility.
Punishment for Fly-Tipping
Dumping waste illegally is a serious criminal offence that carries a fine of up to £50,000. You can even serve a prison sentence of up to 5 years.
The facts
- Over half (56 per cent) of fly-tipping incidents reported were in alleyways.
- Black bags full of domestic rubbish account for 63 per cent of all fly-tipping.
- 77 per cent of fly-tips involved household waste - a 5.4 per cent increase on 2005-06.
What We Do
Our aim is to target 10 boroughs and collect 5 tonnes of fly-tipped waste from each borough.
By engaging with respective councils, we can identify fly-tipping “Hot Spots” where the problem is prolific or of regular occurrence and a key contributor to local environmental degradation.
- 95 per cent of farmers have cleared up other people's rubbish from their land.
- Most people fly-tip to avoid paying the disposal fee called landfill tax. Household rubbish is already paid for through council tax, but other waste is not, and a charge generally exists to have this waste removed or even to drop it off at a licensed tip yourself.
Fly-tipping can incur fines of up to £20,000 and/or 6 months' imprisonment. Fines are unlimited if the case goes to the Crown Court, with up to 2 years' imprisonment, and up to 5 years if hazardous waste is dumped.
The Outcome
The aims and objectives of the project are to remove material which has been illegally discarded or fly-tipped from various locations.
We shall seek to work in local urban communities which are regularly impacted by incidences of fly-tipping. As a FREE service provider to these communities, we shall also seek support from the respective local councils, which could assist us in identifying “Hot Spots” prone to fly-tip incidences.
Areas subject to repeated fly-tipping may suffer declining property prices, and local businesses may suffer as people stay away.
Project Delivery and Reporting
The outcome will deliver a reduction in fly-tipped waste and will have a measured outcome on the environments - towns, villages and cities - targeted under the project.
The Green Goblin will advertise the achievements of its project to the local public of each area by publishing information on our website as well as social media.
Illegally dumped waste reported by local authorities in 2006-07.
The source material states an incident of fly-tipping occurred every 12 seconds, costing the public purse around £72 a minute.
Is Our Project Sustainable?
The project is intended not only to recover a minimum of 50 tonnes across 10 boroughs, but also to build engagement from stakeholders such as councils, community groups and the general public.
The illegal disposal of waste is anti-social behaviour that adversely affects the amenity of our local environments and reduces civic pride.
Fly-tipping poses a threat to humans and wildlife, damages our environment, and spoils our enjoyment of towns and countryside.
A MORI poll in July 2007 found the public more concerned about litter and graffiti than they were about climate change.
Environmental Fly-Tipping Facts
It is estimated that every year over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 turtles and sea mammals die of litter-related causes.
The rat population has boomed to 60 million due to huge amounts of litter - almost as many rats as people in the UK.
Over 69,000 animals were reported killed or injured by litter in Britain in the referenced year.
Litter such as cigarette butts, plastic bags and other plastics harms animal and marine life through water pollution, being mistaken for food, and entanglement or strangulation.
Over 373,000 pieces of litter were found on UK beaches in 2006 - equivalent to 1,989 items per kilometre. The Marine Conservation Society reported a 90 per cent increase in beach litter since 2004.
Biodegradability
Any type of litter takes a long time to disappear naturally, so whatever the material, the right thing to do is not to drop it in the first place.
Degradability depends on climate and circumstances, but under unfavourable conditions the source material gives these estimated time spans:
Meet the Green Goblin Project Team
The original project materials introduce the campaign characters Dusty Bin, Crusty Bin and Rusty Bin as part of the “We Gobble Pollution” identity.
Dusty Bin
Crusty Bin
Rusty Bin
Help us gobble pollution.
Volunteer at clean-ups, support transport and logistics, document outcomes or promote the campaign locally.
Become a Green Goblin Volunteer