The government has outlined its new Waste Crime Action Plan which, among other measures, will see fly-tippers ordered to complete up to 20 hours of unpaid work cleaning the streets, as part of new ‘clean-up squads’. They will also have to cover the cost of clearing the waste they illegal dumped.
The NFU has long called for more assistance with fly-tipping clean-ups on private land and we welcome plans to force perpetrators to clean up our streets and parks and pay the costs of clearing their mess.
NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt said: “Increased funding, ‘clean up squads’ and a firm commitment to tackling waste crime at its source will help ensure perpetrators are held accountable and made to cover the cost of the damage they are causing.
“This is a vital step to deter criminal behaviour, protect our environment, and prevent the victims of the crime from having to pay the penalty.”
“We urge the Environment Agency to use this £45 million of funding to ensure it is properly resourced and equipped to strengthen its enforcement against waste crime.”
NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt
Currently, landowners can only recuperate the clean up costs after fly-tippers have been convicted, although Defra’s new plan states that it will work with the insurance industry to explore allowing farmers, businesses and landowners to be indemnified against illegal fly-tipping on their land.
A Landfill Tax rebate will also be introduced to help ease the pressures on local authorities that are clearing illegal waste dumping sites. The government has also said it will fund the clean-up of the the worst affected areas including Wigan, Sheffield and Lancashire, where it says a combined total of 48,000 tonnes of waste has been illegally dumped.
Lack of resource
New police-style powers will be given to Environment Agency officers, allowing them to intervene earlier. Operators who ignore restriction notes, which can shut down an illegal waste operation immediately without warning, could face up to 51 weeks in prison.
NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt said it was “reassuring to see the government recognising waste crime as a serious, criminal offence and taking meaningful steps to crack down on this illegal activity”.
“There were 1.26 million recorded incidents of fly-tipping last year,” she said. “From the elderly Hertfordshire farmer who faced a £40,000 clean-up bill following 200 tonnes of rubbish dumped on his land, to the Lincolnshire farmers who were victims of waste-dumping from the illegal drugs trade, waste crime is not just a blight on our countryside but an unjust and costly burden on the farmers and growers who care for it.”
Over the next three years, the government will invest £45 million, which the NFU has said it hopes will address the lack of resource behind enforcement activity on waste crime. “Success doesn’t just depend on greater powers,” Robyn said.
“We’ve seen local authorities, which were recently given new powers to seize and crush vehicles involved in fly-tipping, struggle to do so due to a lack of capacity. We urge the Environment Agency to use this £45 million of funding to ensure it is properly resourced and equipped to strengthen its enforcement against waste crime. We are calling for a simplified reporting system to better capture data of waste crime on private land.”
Currently, farmers and land managers who discover fly-tipping often have to report it to several different authorities. This process can be time-consuming, confusing and frustrating. The NFU wants to see one clear reporting system where victims can log an incident just once, know that the right authority has been informed, and receive updates on what action is being taken.
Reporting is vital
On the launch of the plan, Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds said “waste criminals have been damaging our communities, countryside, environment and economy for too long”.
“This Action Plan sends a clear message: dump illegally and you will face the full consequences.”
EA Chief Executive Philip Duffy said the measures will ensure “we stay one step ahead of waste criminals” and called on everyone to report illegal dumping through the Crimestoppers hotline.
If you know or suspect illegal waste activity is taking place, report it anonymously to Crimestoppers: Give information | Crimestoppers or call 0800 555 111. The 24-hour incident hotline is also available on 0800 80 70 60.
The NFU encourages farmers and members of the public to report incidences of fly-tipping to the local authority. Even when fly-tipping occurs on private land, the local authority should be informed so that the statistics reflect the scale of the issue more accurately.
