Statistics published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs show that local authorities in the UK dealt with around 900,000 incidents of fly-tipping during 2014/15. As if these figures were not bad enough, they do not include those incidents where waste was illegally dumped on farmland or other private land.
The impacts of fly-tipping should not be underestimated.
• It can lead to pollution of the environment and potentially becomes a risk to the health and well-being of humans, wildlife and farm animals.
• It spoils the quality of life for people living in the local area.
• It costs landowners and the taxpayer around £100million each year to clean up.
• Local authorities also have to pay an additional £44million each year to clean up after fly-tipping.
• Local waste companies are undercut by fly-tippers.
“It spoils our enjoyment of the countryside, can harm human health and wildlife, and damage farming and rural tourism. It also undermines legitimate waste businesses where unscrupulous operators undercut those that operate within the law and this is a drain on both local authorities and landowners that clear it up. Tackling this scourge and other forms of illegal waste activity is a property for the government.†– Lord Gardiner, Defra’s spokesperson in the House of Lords.
To help combat fly-tipping, local councils now have the powers to fine members of the public who have not taken care to use an authorised waste management company. If you hire a company to remove your waste and it is later found to have been fly-tipped, you could be liable and receive a fine.
So what can you do to ensure that your waste is safely and legally disposed of? We would recommend that you ensure your chosen waste management company has a waste carrier licence number – details of our waste carrier licence can be found by clicking here. Alternatively, you can call the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 and ask them to verify your chosen waste carrier, or visit their website and complete the process online.
If you are looking to dispose of your waste, don’t fly-tip! Hire of our skips starts from just £85 for 14 days. Call us on 01493 668118 or use our online booking system to arrange delivery of your skip.Â