Councils in England dealt with nearly one million instances of fly-tipping, in the year running up to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of the numerous lockdowns since then has worsened the problem still.
Closed waste facilities and many houses deciding to have a ‘clear out’ has led to mountains of house-hold rubbish, electrical goods, construction waste and vehicle parts piling up on pavements, roads, highways and countryside.
WasteWatch Cam
But three leading businesses have combined their skill set and collaborated to create a bespoke solution - WasteWatch Cam, created by Business Insight 3 (Bi3), Kingdom Systems and Kingdom LA Support (Kingdom Services Group Ltd).
WasteWatch Cam is a camera system that harnesses advanced technology, combined with real-time number plate recognition, in order to not only detect the fly-tipping offense, but also see to it that the individual is held accountable.
Enterprise grade video analytics with ANPR
The technologies are linked via a software application that has been created specifically for this purpose
Experts in human, vehicle, and object detection, Business Insight 3 (Bi3) created the state-of-the-art technology behind the camera solution, through seamlessly combining state-of-the-art, enterprise grade video analytics, which learns scenes and objects through patented algorithms, with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).
The technologies are linked via a software application that has been created specifically for this purpose. Kingdom Systems, which is part of the larger Kingdom Services Group, then set about physically building and designing the camera hardware that this technology could sit within.
Real-time identification
Once in place, the camera not only detects the car or person on-site, as well as the item they are discarding but also identifies the offender in real-time. This data is then raised as an instant alert, with all the supporting details, passed to the experienced team at Kingdom LA Support who take immediate action in the form of fines, warnings, and where that is not followed through, prosecution.
Due to this, WasteWatch Cam is a completely end-to-end solution, where every part of the process is managed with little to no input needed, from the local authority and its stretched resources. This makes it very beneficial financially too.
Enhancing fly-tipper accountability
Previously, authorities would need to spend time hunting through the rubbish to find any proof of addresses that could hold the fly-tipper accountable and then, spend money clearing the rubbish. WasteWatch Cam, on the other hand, is often completely free to councils, as long as a certain, reasonably low number of offenses are detected.
And, it seems councils are already buying into the idea, with two already on board and currently using the system - these being Barnet and Dartford. In fact, within just the first week of being installed, Dartford’s WasteWatch captured and reported seven fly-tipping offenses, one of which is due to go to court in the next few months. Due to this success, the council has chosen to implement another system in the area.
Countering rise in fly-tipping offenses
You need only read a newspaper to see the sheer number of fly-tipping incidents going on in your area"
John Roberts, Head of Service at Kingdom LA Support (Kingdom Services Group Ltd.), said “You need only read a newspaper to see the sheer number of fly-tipping incidents going on in your area. The problem is getting worse and – not only is it an eye-sore, but it’s also damaging our environments, local habitats as well as taking valuable time and resources away from our local councils.”
He adds, “I believe a huge part of it is down to what is often referred to as the ‘broken window theory’. This is when the action of one person makes another think - It’s okay to do the same. For example, if one person leaves a bag of waste near to a collection bin but not in it, then another person will just add to that pile.”
24/7 monitoring and end-to-end management solution
John further said, “Not only does this make for a warm place for rodents to breed but if the bags get wet – which happens a lot in England – then companies are also not legally allowed to take them leading to an ever-increasing build-up of rubbish.”
Richard Eaves, Head of Business Intelligence at Bi3, said “We created Waste Watch to be the best possible solution to the problem. With its 24/7 monitoring, real-time detection, and completely end-to-end management – it moves beyond just acting as a deterrent, it tackles the vast problem of throwing waste from vehicles and fly-tipping at its core.”
“It’s great to see local authorities already reaping the rewards of WasteWatch”, said Craig Walton, Head of Kingdom Systems, adding “We hope that it will provide a real step forward, for the benefit of our local councils, our communities, and our much-loved green spaces.”
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