Wokingham Borough Council’s waste enforcement officers are to work with officers from the West Berkshire and Wokingham Trading Standards Service to fight the scourge of illegal fly-tipping by carrying out spot checks on vehicles carrying waste and investigating incidents of illegal dumping of waste. The spot checks will also be looking for evidence of overloaded vehicles and rogue trading activity.

This multi-agency approach is being driven by the concerns in certain parts of the borough about the levels of fly-tipping. The checks will include marking waste on vehicles stopped or suspected of carrying waste illegally with smart water. This mark could later be matched should rubbish subsequently turn out to be dumped. Where vehicles look to be overloaded they will be taken to a local weighbridge and weighed. If they are found to be over the legal limitthey can be prohibited from continuing on their journey.

Cllr Gary Cowan, executive member for environment, said: "This is an excellent example of specialist council officers working together with partners to protect the environment and local residents. We believe there may well be a link between illegal waste carrying, fly tipping and illegal rogue trading. Working together allows us to maximise resources as well as allowing us to build a greater intelligence picture."

Sean Murphy, trading standards manager, said: "We are looking forward to working with Wokingham Borough Council’s waste enforcement team. Joint working and sharing intelligence is the future of enforcement. This is another good step forward."

If anyone spots evidence of illegal fly-tipping they should contact Wokingham Borough Council on (0118) 974 6000 or by emailing wokinghamdirect@wokingham.gov.uk 

Should anyone wishing to report suspicious trading activity in the borough should contact the Trading Standards Helpline on (01635) 519 930 or email: tsadvice@westberks.gov.uk