Wolverhampton introduces AI to prevent fly tipping

Wolverhampton council has reported the cameras have been funded through a grant from the Department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) worth £49,119. It was one of 26 authorities to be given a share of Defra’s £1 million grant alongside the London borough of Hounslow and Cheshire East council. 

The grant will also be used to provide extra infrastructure in secluded areas to prevent vehicles from dumping waste. 

Recycling minister, Robbie Moore said: “We have increased the maximum penalty councils can issue for these offences, made sure money from those fines goes back into more enforcement and clean up, and now we are giving councils a further £1 million boost. 

“Our previous funding has achieved significant reductions in fly-tipping across many parts of England – which is why we will build on our successes and ensure councils have more resources to carry on the fight.” 

Cameras 

According to the council, the cameras have “360-degree vision” and can recognise when someone is fly-tipping. The camera then sends a report to the team who can then respond to the incident “immediately”. 

The images will also be used on its Shop a Tipper lampposts, poster and leaflets, which is a campaign the council has launched to encourage the public to report fly tipping.  

Wolverhampton council has stated that if the public provides information that leads to the successful identification or prosecution of a fly tipper, then it will issue a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton gift card. 

‘Blight’ 

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton council, said: “Fly tipping is a blight on the local environment and it will not be tolerated in Wolverhampton. We are focused on making our city a cleaner and greener place to live and we will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who thinks it is okay to illegally dump rubbish wherever they please. 

“AI enabled SMART cameras will make it easier for our enforcement team to identify those who commit this environmental crime while funding will also help provide infrastructure to protect our targeted spaces.  

“This will help build on the success of our Shop a Tipper campaign, which has already helped reduce fly tipping by 50% in the areas we have targeted.”