Derbyshire: Disgusting fly-tipping mess in Sawley street

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Meanwhile separate research has indicated Camden in north London is the nation’s fly-tipping hotspot, with almost 35,000 reported incidents – in other words, close to 100 a day – last year. Figures published today by the Local Government Association revealed that local authorities were forced to clear up 976,000 fly-tipping incidents in 2019/20, from tarmac and asbestos, to tyres and even a boat.

Fly-tipping is inexcusable

Cllr David Renard

The number of court fines issued increased by 30 percent to 2,671 in the same period and the total value rose to £1,090,000 – seven percent up on the previous year, suggesting the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdown may have actually made the problem worse.

Cllr David Renard, Environment spokesperson for the LGA, said: “Fly-tipping is inexcusable.

“It is not only an eyesore for residents, but a serious public health risk, creating pollution and attracting rats and other vermin.

“It also costs local taxpayers almost £50 million a year to clear up which could be better spent on other vital services in our communities.”

Mr Renard added: “Councils are determined to crack down on the problem.

“However, prosecuting fly-tippers often requires time-consuming and laborious investigations, with a high threshold of proof.

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“With 20,000 incidents of fly-tipping a week, it is time the Government looks at its sentencing guidelines to ensure that those caught and prosecuted for fly-tipping receive significant fines that are recovered quickly to deter them from spoiling our parks, highways and verges again, and to help offset the huge costs to councils.”

The GLA is urging anyone using a private company to dispose of any waste to check that they have a Waste Carriers Licence, required by any business which buys, sells, disposes of or transports waste.

The Government are currently looking to strengthen the scheme which currently fines those without a licence up to £5,000.

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To illustrate its point, the GLA has highlighted a number of case-studies:

• East Herts Council successfully prosecuted four individuals in relation to fly-tipping this April, including one man who dumped a blue boat in a layby, causing obstruction to drivers.
• St Albans City & District Council collected 750 bags of litter, 19 tyres, nine car bumpers and more during four litter picks by their waste contractor.
• Hull City Council used CCTV to catch and fine nine offenders and upload the footage to YouTube for all to see. The fines ranged from £400 to £1,400 and saw individuals punished for dumping household waste, gardening materials and a sofa.
• Durham County Council ordered two men to pay more than £3,000 for fly-tipping building waste in two separate cases.
• Braintree Council were forced to remove twenty tonnes of wood chippings that had been illegally dumped.
• Mid Devon District Council cleared forty bags of hazardous asbestos from a verge easily accessible to members of the public.

The investigation by OnlineMortgageAdvisor.co.uk used Government official fly-tipping incidents and actions 2019/20 data to focus on the percentage of incidents resulting in fixed penalty notices specifically for fly-tipping.

This indicated:

• The region doing the most to tackle fly-tipping is London with 2.53 percent of reported incidents resulting in fixed penalty notices
• Out of the total 975,631 reported incidents of fly tipping in England (2019/20), just 13,416 resulted in a fixed penalty notice (1.38 percent)
• The local authority doing the most to tackle fly-tipping in their area is Islington in London, with 71.88 percent of fly-tipping incidents resulting in a FPN.
• The worst area in England for fly-tipping is Camden in London with 34,465 reported incidents in 2019/20 alone.

Almost 50,000 people have so far signed an open letter from the National Farmers’ Union to Police & Crime Commissioners up and down the nation demanding action to tackle the problem.

The letter states: “The current system of reporting fly-tipping is frustrating and confusing, which means the true scale of this problem is hidden.

“Many farmers and landowners are the victim of this crime, as they have to spend time and money cleaning up other people’s rubbish. It shouldn’t be this complicated to keep our countryside looking beautiful.

“Please help care for our countryside and use your authority to make a difference and reduce the scourge of fly-tipping.”

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