CLA litter strategy reaction

CLA North Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Director North Dorothy Fairburn said: “Ministers are right to tackle this important issue. The CLA has been lobbying hard over the last decade for a tougher stance on fly tippers, and it is gratifying to see some positive changes within the government’s proposed litter strategy.

“We must all work together with central Government, councils and others to tackle the attitudes and behaviours that lead to people not taking responsibility for the waste they create. We would like to see more creative use of measures like naming and shaming, confiscation of vehicles and other property and better education about the consequences of careless littering.

“Our members have reported a big increase in fly-tipping on their land. It’s not just the odd bin bag but large household items from unwanted sofas to broken washing machines, building materials and even asbestos being dumped across our countryside. Local authorities tend not to get involved with clearing incidences of fly-tipped waste from private land leaving the landowner to clean up and foot the bill, and if not, they risk prosecution for illegal storage of waste. This is simply not right or fair.

“Last year, we welcomed new government regulations which enable local councils to issue fixed penalty notices or fines of up to £400 for small scale fly-tipping, but this is not enough. We will also continue to call for a speedier and more effective legal system to deal with offenders more robustly, and urge councils to exercise their powers in prosecuting fly tippers.
“The maximum fine is £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment if convicted in a Magistrates' Court, but this is never enforced. If it was, it might deter fly-tippers. Frequently, it costs more to bring an offender to court than the penalty actually imposed.”

Earlier this year, the CLA called on local authorities, the Environment Agency and the police force to commit to stronger action against the increase of fly-tipping on private land by:

• Extending the local government zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping over the festive period into a year-round initiative.
• Ensuring powers to issue fixed penalty notices and/or seize vehicles are used.
• Imposing and enforcing stronger penalties to act as a deterrent.
• Investing time and resources tracking down the culprits.
• Reducing council fees to legally dispose of waste.

The CLA says farmers and landowners can go some way to preventing fly-tipped waste on their land by ensuring gates to fields are locked, opening up concealed entrances so they more visible to passersby, using CCTV in black spots and reporting all instances to the local police force.