Councillor Garry Perry, Leader of Walsall Council, Councillor Kerry Murphy, Portfolio Holder for Street Pride, Councillor Gaz Ali and Councillor Tina Jukes joined volunteers on Sunday 19 January 2025. Volunteers included members of the Pleck Picking Posse and Bloxwich Blox Busters.
The team worked for three hours to remove 40 bags of rubbish from Old Birchills, Reedswood Lane, Reedswood Gardens, Bentley Lane Edward Street, Pargeter Street, Cairns Street and Dalkeith Street.
The amount of rubbish removed reflects continuous issues faced in the area, which Walsall Council has committed significant resources to in recent years.
“ This area is serving as a real drain on our resources, resources which could be used to much greater effect elsewhere.
Despite significant efforts, including a recent large-scale removal from Dalkeith Street and multiple outreaches, the issues persist.
We will continue to do what we can to keep our borough safe and clean, but it isn’t the council dumping the waste.
There is no excuse for it, we have two Household Waste Recycling Centres that are free to use. We also offer a bulky items collection service which can be booked through the council’s website. “
On Tuesday 8 January 2025, a large-scale cleanup was conducted to remove 9 tonnes of fly-tipping removed from Dalkeith Street.
Since April 2022, Walsall Council has cleared 75 different fly-tipping incidents from the street, costing around £15,000 in total.
“ It was wonderful to join some of our committed litter pickers who do such great work.
We have done a lot of work to clear different parts of Birchills in recent times, this being the latest.
I would just encourage everyone locally to have a look at the ways they can dispose of their waste in the correct manner.
It’s so disheartening to see the flytipping reappear time and time again. The people behind it need to start taking personal responsibility and do better. “