What lies beneath: part of the Rochdale canal was drained and revealed swathes of detritus
People who illegally dump their waste should be given "hefty" jail sentences, a senior councillor said.
Fly-tipping cost Manchester City Council about £1m in 2016-17, with over 2,000 legal notices served last year.
Part of the Rochdale Canal in Manchester city centre was drained earlier this week revealing a huge amount of litter on the canal bed.
Councillor Pat Karney said "fines don't work" and those caught should be "in Strangeways as quickly as possible".
On the spot fines were brought in for fly-tipping, external by the government in May. The penalty is £400 payable within 14 days, reduced to £250 if paid within 10 days.
'Serious perpetrators'
Manchester City Council said a total of £30,000 of penalties were paid for fly-tipping last year and 51 prosecutions relating to waste crimes resulted in £42,000 in fines and costs.
In February, the council secured a further eight prosecutions at Manchester Magistrates' Court, with fines issued totalling £5,685, it said.
Mr Karney said: "If we could catch these people they should be before the courts and in Strangeways as quickly as possible.
"You are getting regular and serious perpetrators. These fines need looking at - we need to jail these people who are spoiling the environment for all of us."
Other areas in Greater Manchester also suffer from fly-tipping, a ginnel off Henderson Street in Levenshulme has become a dumping ground
Gillian Renshaw from the Canal and River Trust said it was "totally disheartening" to see what people dumped in the canal.
"[It] is not a rubbish bin, it is something that is a very valuable asset for the community and people should embrace that and celebrate it and want to make it look as best it possibly can."
Cans, bottles, glasses and larger items were revealed when the canal was drained
Mr Karney said he could not comprehend the thinking of those who dumped litter.
"I try and work the logic of people. They've has a good time at bars and lovely restaurants and they're so selfish they throw bottles and cans in the canal.
"It doesn't matter what you throw you should be before the courts and should have hefty jail sentences."
He added: "In the end we need to send the message out that you could be on the way to jail if you keep dumping."
- Published6 February 2017
- Published19 September 2016
- Published19 September 2016
