Later this year, the government will abolish the fees local authorities charge for disposing of DIY waste at household waste recycling centres (HWRCs). The changes outlined this week will mean councils treat DIY waste the same as household waste.
Read our consultation response: Defra consultation on free disposal of household DIY waste - NFU response
Announcement welcomed
NFU Vice President David Exwood said: “The NFU has long called for action to make it easier for the public to recycle rubbish, so we very much welcome this announcement which will hopefully encourage anyone who has DIY waste to dispose of it easily at a recycling centre and reduce the chances of it being fly-tipped illegally.
“Waste crime and fly-tipping continues to plague the lives of so many of us living and working in the countryside, and increasingly we’re seeing industrial-scale amounts of rubbish, such as builder’s rubble and hazardous materials.
“We very much welcome this announcement which will hopefully encourage anyone who has DIY waste to dispose of it easily at a recycling centre.”
NFU Vice President David Exwood
“This is affecting farmers’ efforts to produce food and care for the environment but is also taking a huge toll emotionally and financially.”
Members can find out more about our asks on fly-tipping: Our latest briefing on fly-tipping
Economic cost
Fly-tipping and waste crime is estimated to cost the economy £924m per year in England. The government has also announced grants totalling £775,000 to help councils roll out a range of projects to crack down on fly-tipping.
The latest government fly-tipping statistics show local authorities dealt with over one million incidents in the year to March 2022.
Impact of fly-tipping
Fly-tipping was the most prolific category of rural crime experienced by our members according to our 2021 Rural Crime Survey, with nearly half (48%) of those surveyed saying they had been affected by fly-tipping in the previous 12 months.
The NFU is an active part of the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group which is developing a fly-tipping toolkit to help share best practice among local authorities and landowners on tackling the issue.
We have also responded to the government’s consultation on reforming the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and on introducing mandatory digital waste tracking.
