Rural crime 2024: tackling fly-tipping

Two-thirds of all farmers and landowners have at some stage been a victim of fly-tipping. It blights rural communities, with many incidents going unrecorded on a mass scale. Offences on private land in particular are often not reported as many farmers have little faith in the ability of the police or council to deal with fly-tipped waste – which landowners then have to remove at their own cost. Despite some perceptions, the CLA encourages private landowners to always report fly-tipping incidents to their local council and police.

Litter isn’t the only thing that can blot the landscape. Tonnes of household and commercial waste is dumped on public and private land in rural areas, including hazardous chemicals and asbestos. This endangers farmers, visitors to the countryside, wildlife, livestock, crops and the environment.

Farmers and landowners often bear the cost of removing fly-tipped rubbish. They pay on average £1,000 to remove such waste and in some cases have paid up to £100,000 to clear up other people’s mess or risk facing prosecution themselves. It is therefore unjust for local authorities to threaten action against private landowners, most often farmers, as it criminalises the victims of waste crime.

Criminals clearly do not fear the sentencing system. While courts can sentence offenders to prison or unlimited fines, fly-tipping prosecutions are rare.

The CLA is calling on local authorities to help clear fly-tipping incidents on private as well as public land, while the various enforcement agencies must also be properly trained and resourced. Householders whose waste is fly-tipped can be prosecuted, so if you pay someone to dispose of your rubbish, make sure they have a waste carriers licence. Otherwise, their fly-tipping could be your responsibility.

PC Phil Nock from West Mercia Police has been temporarily seconded to the force’s National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU), and alongside NRCU Co-ordinator Judith Skilbeck, he has taken an in-depth look into fly-tipping incidents. The report, which was sent to Defra, includes some key findings and identifies some of the reasons for the year-on-year increase in this type of crime.

In addition, PC Nock has introduced some of his new insights and ‘best practice’ to his home county, and now works closely with Shropshire Council to reduce fly-tipping in the area.

One such method includes the use of forensics as significant fly-tips generally include the use of polythene bin liners, and West Mercia Police has agreed to look at a number of these bags to use fingerprint analysis.

Shropshire Council is also playing a more proactive role by looking through all fly-tipped materials in an effort to gather evidence of the offender and establish more fixed penalty notices issued and prosecutions. In addition, West Mercia Police and Shropshire Council are currently awaiting funding to trial new high-tech cameras, which will be placed across the county at known ‘hotspots’.

PC Nock is hopeful that other counties will learn from this work, and with these protocols, Shropshire’s countryside will be a safer place to live and visit.