After seeing a significant decline in reported cases of fly-tipping between 2007 and 2012, in recent years the problem has raised its head once again. One glance at the Great Yarmouth Mercury newspaper over the weekend and we were confronted with reports of a number of incidents around the town. At each location there was a strong smell of fuel, used syringes and car parts.
“Fly-tipping is a completely selfish and unnecessary offence, is no more common here than elsewhere – but the borough council has a particularly proactive, zero-tolerance policy to tackling environmental crime and will prosecute where there is sufficient evidence†– Councillor Carl Smith.
Official statistics, published just last month, by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, show the scale of the problem:
- Local authorities were forced to deal with 900,000 incidents of fly-tipping during 2014/15 – an increase of 5.6% compared with the previous year.
- Two thirds of fly-tipping incidents involved household waste.
- The cost to local authorities of dealing with fly-tipping is estimated to be nearly £50 million – up 11% on the previous year.
The report also highlighted an increase in the number of fly-tipping incidents which involved white goods. In 2012/13, there were 13,000 cases of fly-tipping involving white goods – rising to 34,000 in 2013/14 and increasing again to 42,000 during 2014/15.
Disposing of White Goods
The most frustrating thing about fly-tipping is that it is so unnecessary. There are a number of options available to you when it comes to recycling your white domestic goods and if your appliances are still in good working order, you can safely recycle them in one of the following ways:
- Donate them to charity shops or furniture re-use organisations. Many will provide a collection service, so check to see what services are available in your area.
- Many local authorities, including Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council provide bulky waste collection services for a small charge.
- Online services, such as Freecycle, allow you to pass on your unwanted goods for free to those who are in need of them.
- You can utilise websites such as eBay and Gumtree to sell your goods.
- People are always on the lookout for domestic goods, so why not ask your friends and family if they could make use of your appliance?
If your appliance is faulty, paying for it to be repaired could be a more cost effective solution that replacing it altogether. People therefore have no excuses for dumping goods on the side of the road or in the countryside!