13/02/2024 - Luton’s War on Waste – we need your help

Now the council is asking for support from residents to help join them in its aim to make Luton a cleaner, greener and more attractive place. By signing up to the War on Waste they can show their support by reporting fly-tipped waste, incidence of fly-tipping in the act, evidence of fly-tippers, they could get involved in or organise litter picks. They could also suggest ways the council and community could tackle excess waste and rubbish. The council is always looking to recruit enthusiastic and dedicated staff to roles in these areas too.

Councillor Tom Shaw, portfolio holder for waste and environmental enforcement at Luton Council said, “We need to make a strong statement about our future objectives on waste – both in terms of waste production and waste crime. Too much waste is produced and too much waste is being dumped or dropped on our streets. It’s making the people of Luton cross.

Most people don’t want to live in a messy and dirty town but there are some that clearly just don’t care and we will come after those people and hit them hard in the pocket.

“As an organisation we are leading the way to improve things and we know communities also contribute to keeping areas clean. We want to extend this out and invite everyone to work with us to ensure that Luton is seen as a positive example of how to tackle this issue. We’re determined that we can come together to clean Luton up”.

There are simple steps that can be taken to reduce waste in the town. There are 1,500 litter bins people can use, or they can take their rubbish home. If renovating they should check they are using a licensed waste carrier. The council has two tidy tips and offers a bulky waste collection which is free for those receiving benefits. They can help reduce the amount of waste by reusing or recycling items wherever possible.