This is a journalism exercise I wrote for my online course, I thought it might be fun to put this up here for you to read. The people may be fictional, but the issue of fly tipping here very much isn't.
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Anger Grows Over Fly
Tipping
Newark councillors today
responded to claims that the town has become a magnet for fly
tippers.
Newark town council has
stated that they are determined to stamp out the problem of fly
tipping around the outskirts of the town, after a local resident sent
them twenty-three pictures of individual fly tips in the roads around
Newark.
“We understand that fly
tips are a blight on our townscape, and we are doing all we can to
eradicate the problem” stated Council Environment Spokesman Alan
Smith.
“If we receive notice that
rubbish has been dumped in our area, we will normally try and arrange
its removal within forty-eight hours.”
However, the resident who
took the pictures, local cyclist Simon Jones, said that some of the
tips had been there for weeks without being cleared.
“It's a disgrace. There's
builder's rubble dumped on the Cotham – Elston road that has been
there for four weeks at least, and asbestos too. Other stuff I've
seen includes fridges and freezers, and garden waste too.”
“The council needs to do
something about this, and those responsible have to be punished. They
are an eyesore and a health hazard.”
Mr Smith denied that fly
tips had been left for so long, but added that the council could only
remove dumps that they knew about.
“We are reliant on the
public to locate and remove these sites, especially those in remote
country lanes. They can do this by phone, e-mail or even by notifying
our twitter account.”
“If we can identify those
responsible, then they will be prosecuted.”
He added that even in times
of economic hardship, people should be careful about who they ask to
dispose of their waste.
“Many people,
understandably, do not wish to pay for the council or genuine waste
disposal companies to collect their builder's rubble or old white
goods. But it is important they understand that by using unregulated
waste disposal, their rubbish may not be disposed as properly as
they'd like.”
“In the case of white
goods, the metal parts such as the pumps are removed for recycling
for profit, while the carcasses containing toxic chemicals are left
on the roadside to pollute the environment.”
When we reported Mr Smith's
response to Mr Jones, he replied “I don't care how they do it, I
just want to see these harmful eyesores removed.”
