Fly-Tipping

Combatting Fly-Tipping

by Rhiannon Fisher

This is the scale of the problem:

Each month in England there are on average 89,173 reported incidents of fly-tipping
Over 550 black bags are illegally dumped every day
Only 1,500 prosecutions were taken against fly-tippers between April 2005 and March 2006
Every day almost 2,500 small loads of rubbish are illegally dumped
Rubbish is illegally dumped somewhere in England every 35 seconds.

Rubbish is illegally dumped somewhere in the United Kingdom every 35 seconds, costing local authorities almost £100 a minute in clean-up costs. Since these statistics only include fly-tipping on public land, the situation is far worse that even these dreadful figures suggest.

CPRE Hampshire considers fly-tipping a pressing issue which is worsening. For the past six months the Hampshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England has been working on a campaign against fly-tipping in the area. After communicating with the Environment Agency and DEFRA, and speaking to local farmers, CPRE felt that little was being done to combat fly-tipping on private land. As you may be aware, the Environment Agency and local authorities are responsible for clearing fly-tipped waste on public land such as in lay-bys, verges and pavements. However, if waste is illegally dumped on privately owned land the landowner is responsible for clearing the waste and covering the cost of doing so.

CPRE felt that something should be done to help land managers deal with the problem which has been complicated with the implementation of the new agricultural waste regulations which must be adhered to by the 16th May. In an attempt to help farmers and land managers deal with the problem easily and cheaply, CPRE Hampshire has produced a 16 page leaflet covering the issues involved with fly-tipping. The leaflet covers subjects such as how the new regulations will affect how fly-tipped waste can be disposed of, what measures can be put in place to deter fly-tippers and how you can gain convictions. The leaflet also contains the contact information for all the waste disposal sites in Hampshire and a quick reference guide of who to contact if fly-tipping occurs on your land.

If you would like a free copy of the leaflet please send a self addressed C5 size envelope with a 1st or 2nd class stamp to the following address:

Fly-tipping leaflet request
CPRE Hampshire
Beaconsfield House
Andover Road
WINCHESTER
SO22 6AT.

You can download a copy of the 16 page booklet here. (Please note: This is a 450K PDF file. The pages are ordered for printing on double-sided paper and binding into a booklet. For screen viewing you will need to scroll down the pages twice and carefully check that you are following the correct page order.)

March 2007