Countryside Alliance - love the countryside

Local Authorities in England report that they had dealt with 1.28 million incidents of fly-tipping – a 7.5% decrease from 2006-07

The estimated cost of clearance of illegally dumped waste reported by local authorities in this period was £73.8 million – that’s roughly £14,680 per month

Fly-tipping incidents on private land are currently not recorded but the Government estimates it costs land owners upwards of £47 million

Local authorities carried out 1,871 prosecutions in 2007-08, of which 95% achieved a successful outcome.

It is estimated that local authorities spent £16.8 million on enforcement action against fly-tipping in 2007-08

54% of all fly-tips were recorded as being in the car boot or small van load size category

60% of fly-tips dealt with by local authorities involved household waste such as black bags - this is approximately the same as 2006-07.

11% of all fly-tips recorded involved single black bags. 50% of all recorded fly-tips occurred on the highway.

The number of inspections carried out by local authorities to check for compliance with the waste duty of care has increased from 25,745 in 2006-07 to 39,485 in 2007-08.

In February 2007 polling commissioned by the Countryside Alliance showed that 74% of peopl

The Law

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (CNEA) gives local authorities and the Environment Agency powers to tackle fly-tipping and the courts the ability to impose penalties.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence. The CNEA increased the penalties for dumping waste in England and Wales – fly-tippers can now be fined up to £50,000 and/or six months imprisonment in Magistrates’ Courts and face unlimited fines in higher courts, as well as community punishment orders or prison sentences of up to five years.

Those convicted of fly-tipping offences can now be made to pay the costs of enforcement and investigation, as well as the clean-up costs.  It is also an offence to permit or authorise fly-tipping on land where a Waste Management Licence is not held.  Where fly-tipping involves the use of a vehicle, the driver can be prosecuted, as can the owner of the vehicle and the police have powers to seize vehicles used for fly-tipping.