A pilot scheme by David Lloyd, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, is being expanded to help those whose green and open spaces have been contaminated.
Using £20,000 generated by the Proceeds of Crime Act, businesses in four local authority areas across the county will be able to apply for financial aid to assist with clean-up operations.
St Albans and Welwyn Hatfield district councils are now joining the scheme alongside existing members Broxbourne and Three Rivers.
Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd said: “Fly tipping is a serious crime and it has a significant impact on our community.
“I do not believe it is fair that farmers and landowners are left to pick up a bill, which can run in to thousands of pounds, because someone else has fly tipped on their property.
“Our relentless drive to support bringing offenders to justice by funding enforcement measures, making improvements to security and educating the public on responsible waste disposal, saw a 17.9 per cent drop in fly tipping across Hertfordshire
“This pilot allows funds from the proceeds of crime to be used for positive effect to remove fly tipping, target known hot-spots and advise landowners and farmers on improving security.
“As part of my Community Safety and Criminal Justice Plan I pledged to investigate the potential of using money recovered from criminals to be put to good use in this way."
NFU Hertfordshire County Adviser Rosalind David said: “Fly tipping is harming Hertfordshire’s beautiful countryside, posing a danger to wildlife and livestock and costing farmers and landowners time and money to clear away. We welcome the extension of this initiative and look forward to continuing to work in partnership to tackle fly tipping within the county.”
Duncan Jones, Partnership Development Manager and Chairman of the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group, said: “This latest initiative is another good example of how the relevant Hertfordshire agencies such as local authorities and the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner are working together to deliver new initiatives to tackle fly tipping.”
To be eligible for the funding farmers or green space landowners will have to prove they already have a waste disposal contract in place with an authorised collection firm.
The scheme is part of the county wide multi-agency and multi- channel campaign being run by the Herts Fly Tipping Group - #SCRAPflytipping. The NFU is working with other organisations as part of this campaign.
Anyone interested in making a claim or finding out more information can contact the Environmental team at one of the four district councils and mention the Police and Crime Commissioner’s private land fly tipping pilot.
For St Albans District contact David Webb on 01727 809 019 and for Welwyn Hatfield contact Christiana Akinbogun 01707 357 000.