Fly-tipping concerns

Once again the blight of fly-tipping is brought to the fore as these figures show the alarming regularity of rubbish being dumped illegally by criminals who have no regard for the law.“It should be remembered that these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of incidents of fly-tipping take place on private land and these are not included in the statistics. Landowners are too often victims of fly-tipping with tyres, asbestos, fridges, building waste and many other types of rubbish dumped on their fields and in gateways. If the landowner doesn’t clear the waste, at personal cost, they can risk prosecution. They are effectively paying the price for being a victim of crime.“We believe that if a landowner removes the waste from their land, they should then be able to dispose of it free of charge at a local authority disposal site. They should not have to pay the cost to clean up the crimes of others.“The punishments for those caught fly-tipping do not go far enough – it is often just a fine of just a few hundred pounds. Until this changes and large fines are handed out to those caught committing this crime there simply won’t be a deterrent to stop it taking place.“It is crucial that the police, local authorities and the Environment Agency work collaboratively to help tackle this issue.