Newly-released figures from Defra today show that
incidents of fly-tipping on public land have increased by 16%
percent across England in 2020/2021.
These figures underline the damage afflicted on councils in
England, who have dealt with 1.13 million
fly-tipping incidents during this period.
But these figures only account for waste illegally dumped on
public land which has been reported to the authorities.
Representing around 28,000 rural businesses across England and
Wales, the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) believes
these figures only tell half of the story.
The vast majority of fly-tipping incidents occur on
privately-owned land, painting an even more damaging picture of
the financial burden fly-tipping brings. One CLA member is so
badly affected that they are facing a bill of over £100,000 to
clear up one particularly shocking incident.
This highlights the need to change the current fining and
imprisonment laws, which are not enforced and do not deter
criminals.
Mark Tufnell, President of the CLA, said:
“These figures do not tell the full story of this disgraceful
behaviour which blights our beautiful countryside.
“Local authorities tend not to get involved with clearing
incidences of fly-tipped waste from private land, leaving the
landowner to clean up and foot what is often an extortionate
bill. The government figures do not reflect the true scale of the
crime because increasing reports of fly-tipping on private rural
land are not included, coupled with the country plunged into
lockdown. Fly-tipping continues to wreck the lives of many of us
living and working in the countryside – and significant progress
needs to be made to stop it.”
“It’s not just the odd bin bag but large household items, from
unwanted sofas to broken washing machines, building materials and
even asbestos being dumped across our countryside.”
“Although the maximum fine for anyone caught fly-tipping is
£50,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment, if convicted in a
Magistrates' Court, this is rarely enforced. Unless tougher or
more realistic action is taken to combat this kind of rural
crime, it will continue to wreak devastation across rural
communities This is why it’s crucial that tougher punishments are
imposed by the Courts.”
Read the figures in full here
The CLA introduced a 5-point action plan to
tackle fly-tipping which called on local authorities, the
Environment Agency and police forces to commit to stronger action
against the increase of fly-tipping on private land. The CLA
believes that each local authority should have a dedicated lead
for fly-tipping to aid partnership working.
