Community skips proposed to fight fly-tipping

City chiefs are to vote on installing community skips in an effort to tackle fly-tipping and help clear a waste backlog.

The trial scheme being put before Sunderland councillors would see skips placed in Deptford and Hendon, Pallion and Ford and Washington Central wards, with a hope to expand it across all areas of the city if successful.

The plan has been proposed by Liberal Democrat councillors who form the main opposition on the Reform UK-led authority.

Wednesday's council meeting is also set to discuss measures for "maintaining and improving access to free bulky waste collections". Currently a collection of up to six items is free to residents.

Liberal Democrat Heather Fagan, who represents Doxford Park, said there was a "big backlog" of bulky waste in the city, with collection taking between six and eight weeks in some places.

"A community skip would give people a chance to have a good clear-out of things that need bulky waste collections," she said.

"It would need to be worked out so it isn't abused for commercial waste... but I do think we could work out a solution to help clear the backlog off bulky waste and also help on fly-tipping."

Fagan said any "teething issues" with the proposed scheme would be ironed out as part of the trial and the skips could be rotated around the city "even if it's just once a year where we have a skip in different wards".

Similar trials have been launched recently by Southwark and Lambeth councils in London, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen on BBC Sounds.