Monday, 21 April 2008

Fly-tipping - is it still a blot on our landscape?


In this day and age, we are all told to cut our carbon footprints and not to waste energy, our industry is told to cut its emissions and the government looks at new, environmentally friendly ways of powering the nation. All these measures are essentially there to help slow down the threat of global warming.

But an old problem still remains, and it’s getting worse. Due to lazy or even criminal actions, serious and fly tipping still blights our countryside, towns and cities – and the situation is five times worse than it was in the 1960’s.

According to Flycapture, a fly tipping database set up by DEFRA, The Environment Agency and The Local Government Agency, Yorkshire and the Humberside accounted for 163,480 of the 1.3 million fly tipping incidents in the UK in 2006-2007(discounting Liverpool County Council’s 1.3 million incidents).

Although these figures were down 25% in the region from last year, fly tipping was still expected to cost the region over £6.5 million and Yorkshire and the Humberside still accounts for the most recorded incidents of fly tipping behind the North West and London.

Fly tipping occurs generally because people want to avoid paying a disposal fee called the landfill tax. This charge generally comes into force when non household waste is removed or even having to pay to dispose of these types of waste in the local tip.

However, there is a more sinister element involved with fly tipping, as Ian Cowie, the Environment Agency’s Environmental Crime Team Leader for Yorkshire explains:
“We deal with the more serious ‘big, bad and nasty’ of organised crime etc, rather than a guy tipping a mattress onto wasteland as a one off. These incidents are within the local council’s remits, and the Flycapture database was set up to allow us to collate national data” he said.

The problem of fly tipping has been met with a tough response from the authorities, which has led to 194 of 195 successful prosecutions by Yorkshire and Humberside councils. The Flycapture database has been key to this, allowing local authorities to record incidents and helping them to improve intelligence on fly-tipping and focus resources on fly-tip hot spots.

Other measures like www.fixmystreet.com, which was set up by the Ministry of Justice, allow the public to report instances of fly tipping and other local problems by locating the instances on an interactive map. Education for small businesses is also on the increase by the Environment Agency.

But for the more sinister elements, a tougher approach is needed, as Ian Cowie explains:
“My team deals more with people who think they can make a bob or two out of buying a skip, getting paid for filling it up with people’s waste, and then dumping it in the countryside. Last year we prosecuted 53 people in various incidents of serious organised tipping”.

Local initiatives are also in force, for example, Sheffield City Council, whose area has the worst statistics for fly tipping in Yorkshire (108,000+ incidents), has set up sting operations in co operation with South Yorkshire Police to catch un-licensed waste collectors who account for a high percentage of fly tipping incidents.

Despite fly tipping still being a major issue in the country and our region, Ian Cowie believes that’s there’s more to it than meets the eye, and is hopeful for the future in Yorkshire, especially with the recent impressive drop in incidents in the region.

“I believe fly tipping and serious tipping are at the levels they are because of the economic background of the South, Western Yorkshire areas and the sheer weight of the population there.

“But it’s clear to see we’re improving the situation, you can see for yourself how much we’ve cleaned up some of the rivers for example. If we continue hitting our targets, we’ll continue to make our region a nicer place to live and work.”

>>Menstoners punished for helping the environment?
>> Fly Tipping In Yorkshire

By Paul Bolton
Image: iwouldntstay

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