They reside over some of the borough's most fly-tipped areas, and now they have spoken out about what action they would like to see taken to stamp out the problem.
As previously reported in the Gazette, Norden and East Popley have each ranked in the top five most fly-tipped wards at least twice in the past three years, with East Popley cracking the list each year since 2017.
RELATED: Basingstoke's most fly-tipped streets and wards have been revealed
Speaking to the paper, Norden Independent councillors Paul Harvey and Laura James voiced their opinion on the blight that saw more than 2,000 fly-tips reported across the entire borough last calender year.
“We and our community do not condone or excuse fly-tipping," they said in a joint statement which was also endorsed by East Popley councillors David Potter and Janet Westbrook.
"It is a problem where a few people cause harm to our wider community.
"The borough, county and vivid could and should do so much more to prevent fly-tipping."
Stratfield Road
In Norden specifically, they highlighted the prevalence of private garage, which they said are prone to fly-tipping.
"It is a very lengthy process to get this fly-tip removed," the councillors added.
"The continuous reoccurance of fly-tipping is a problem in these garage areas. It is to not that those dumping live locally either, on many occasions it's commercial waste dumped by people who drive into the area and fly-tip."
But public land is also an issue.
They highlighted a case where a freezer was dumped late on a Saturday by two men who drove to the open space specifically to offload it before being challenged by local residents.
Dumped freezer
"It is not helped by the Borough Council increasing bulky waste collection charges, or the County Council charging for using the tip or reducing the open hours," the statement added.
"People work long hours and they need to be able to dispose of waste in evenings and weekends.
"Many people don’t have a car to get the waste to the tip in first place. The bulky waste collection is simply too expensive now.”
So what would they like to see done to fix these issues?
This carpet was dumped in the garages off Upton Crescent
The need for a dedicated officer whose role is specifically to proactively tackle the problem was brought up, as was the need for a program of education and encouragement to act responsibly.
"We need a much clearer grasp of why it’s happening, mapping hotspots and looking for specific solutions," they finished.
"The bottom line is that waste is removed quickly and where possible those fly-tipping identified."
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