An Isle of Wight man dubbed a litter-picking hero by Islanders has been accused by the Isle of Wight council of flytipping.
Broc Silva has been a ‘man on a mission’ in recent months, working long, hard hours picking other people’s rubbish out from hedges, roadsides etc in Newport.
Bags and bags of rubbish collected
So far he’s worked his way along the dual carriageway, by the underpass to the College, Hunnyhill to Medina, Carisbrooke, the banks of the bridge by LIDL, as well as Lukely Brook (Sainsbury’s).
He’s collected bags and bags of rubbish, but it appears the Isle of Wight council (and in Broc’s view, the County Press – see their latest article about him) have missed the point of his recent humorous additions to the piles of rubbish he cleared.
Hours of back-breaking work
Broc spent hours doing what the Isle of Wight council is responsible for doing, the back-breaking work of pulling rubbish out of hedges etc at the Newport location.
He decided this time to leave the rubbish on show in a pile – with the intention of shocking passers-by – and added signs such as ‘art installation’, ‘materials supplied by the public’ and ‘the art of filth’.
IWC: “Fundamentally a flytip”
However, the IWC posted the following statement on their Facebook page yesterday, saying it has been treated as flytipping – something that is a criminal offence.
While we support community art, unfortunately this ‘installation’ contained loose refuse on council land. It was installed close to a waterway and could have caused significant harm to the wildlife.
While it seeks to make a statement, it is fundamentally a flytip and has been treated as such. Our team returned the site to its usual pleasant state for people to enjoy over the weekend.
Click on images to see larger versions
“Psycho lunatic dumps litter bags in street”
In response, as a man with a sense of humour, Broc posted the following message to Facebook:
Breaking news: concerned citizen removes litter so the Isle of Wight countryside is 3 bags of rubbish cleaner,
or, the county press version…
Psycho lunatic dumps litter bags in street where innocent humans might injure themselves, police seek man with stupid haircut in connection with this heinous crime against humanity
He was paraphrasing of course.
Kickstart positive response and change in attitude
Broc told OnTheWight,
“I’m glad it’s causing a bit of interest, hopefully it might kickstart a positive response from Islanders and a change in attitude.
“The most shocking thing is that this is caused by island people, their children, students… I have no idea how we’ve come to this so quickly but some of the cans have been there for years.
“I understand the council having to remove the litter once complaint is made. I was planning on doing it on Monday anyway.”
Support from police officers
Broc went on to say that when he was clearing the rubbish on Medina Way two police officers stopped to chat to him and said they’d seen him on Facebook and “were behind me”.
If you see Broc out and about pulling litter from hedges, give him a pat on the back and a helping hand [thanks Lisa Warder for the suggestion].
Writer and poet
Or better still follow this link to see Broc’s collection of books and poems on Amazon.
Perhaps buy two or three (there are Kindle editions as well as paperbacks) of them to show your support.
Yes, he’s not just good at picking litter, he’s a writer and poet too.
Examples of recent clearances
Below are photos of some of the areas Broc has cleared in recent weeks, all off his own bat.
Click on images to see larger versions
