ONE of the worst areas for flytipping in Oxford is next to a recycling centre.

All kinds of domestic rubbish and household items are dumped next to recycling bins in Ambassador Avenue, on the approach to the Oxford Retail Park in Cowley.

On Tuesday our reporter joined a dedicated Oxford City Council patrol at the site.

Although the facility is designed purely for recycling, a microwave oven, an electric keyboard, an office desk and 10 bags of household waste were left strewn across the layby when we visited.

David Walker, the council’s street scenes manager, said: “Some people don’t have any consideration for the environment.

“The council operates a free bulky waste collection service where people can have three large items collected at a time so there really is no excuse. It’s just sheer laziness.

“In addition there is the Redbridge recycling centre on the doorstep.

“What never ceases to amaze me is why people chose to dump rubbish so close to a recycling plant. I mean why put a fridge in the back of your car, stop in a layby and throw it out?”

When bags of domestic waste are found, hit squads rifle through the rubbish to search for evidence of who it belongs to before deciding whether to prosecute.

Since April last year there have been 1,073 incidents of flytipping across Oxford, which have cost £46,000 to clear up.

Last year the council issued one formal caution and secured two prosecutions for flytipping.

Mr Walker said: “Although we are reducing the number of flytipping incidents we still have a big problem.

“Increasingly we are finding that smaller household items are being dumped by the roadside. The problem is so bad that we are going out several times a day to clear up after people who are just too lazy to dispose of their waste properly.

“It’s sad to say but it’s a British disease.

“It just wouldn’t happen on the continent.”

The layby on the Oxford ring road near to the Heyford Hill roundabout is another favourite place to dump household waste.

Fields off the country road linking Bayswater Road and the B4027 north of Barton also regularly fall victim to flytippers, and on Tuesday the council officers found an array of household waste including three mattresses, carpets and broken chairs at the site.

In November, the Oxford Mail launched the Cleaner, Greener Oxford campaign in conjunction with the city council.

Council leader Bob Price said: “Flytipping is one of the most antisocial forms of behaviour because it destroys the natural environment and makes people very angry.

“I would urge people who have information about flytipping to get in touch immediately.”

l Do you know a place which regularly falls victim to flytippers? Call the Oxford Mail on 01865 425405 or email us at news@oxfordmail.co.uk