Three Sunderland vans are crushed in war on flytippers

Three vans suspected to have been used for flytipping have been destroyed.
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They were crushed after their registered keepers failed to claim them in the required 15-day period following their seizure under government powers by Sunderland City Council.

The council’s ongoing crusade against flytippers – who have cost taxpayers nearly £1m over the past decade – is backed by the Sunderland Echo as part of our own Clean Streets campaign to keep the city tidy.

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The vehicles destroyed were a Ford Transit seized from Bexhill Road, Town End Farm, in February, an LDV van confiscated from Wraith Terrace, in Ryhope, in April and a Ford pickup van taken from Baker Street, Houghton, also in April.

Councillor Paul Stewart, deputy leader of Sunderland City Council, with the crushed vehicles at EMR, in Blaydon.Councillor Paul Stewart, deputy leader of Sunderland City Council, with the crushed vehicles at EMR, in Blaydon.
Councillor Paul Stewart, deputy leader of Sunderland City Council, with the crushed vehicles at EMR, in Blaydon.

Councillor Paul Stewart, the council’s deputy leader, hoped the action “sends out a strong message to anyone tempted to shirk responsibility for disposing of their waste legally or make a fast buck by using their van or car for flytipping”.

He added: "Flytipping is not only illegal but it can be a real blight on neighbourhoods and as a council we are determined to do work with communities and do everything in our power to stamp it out.

"That is why we will seize a vehicle where we have evidence to suspect that it has been involved in flytipping.”

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Cllr Graeme Miller, the authority’s leader, said there was “absolutely no excuse” for flytipping and added: “We and the vast majority of householders want and rightly expect a clean and green city.

One of the vehicles suspected of use in flytipping is crushed.One of the vehicles suspected of use in flytipping is crushed.
One of the vehicles suspected of use in flytipping is crushed.

"That’s why we slashed the costs of our bulky collection service to £10 earlier this year to make it easier for residents to get rid of up to six items in an easy, appropriate and legal way.

Our household waste centre has also reopened and is once again accepting the full range of waste it took before lockdown.”

Richard Muldoon, area manager for EMR, which destroyed the vehicles at its Blaydon premises, said: "The vehicles will be responsibly recycled through our complex processes that are capable of separating and recovering most of the materials from the vehicles. This includes the plastics which will be recycled at our specialist plant."

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Suspected flytipping can be reported online at www.sunderland.gov.uk.

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