Crackdown on organised crime vital to tackling fly-tipping in countryside, says CLA

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Defra secretary Michael Gove has announced a three-month review to strengthen the Government’s approach to tackling fly-tipping in England.

The CLA which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses has welcomed the call for evidence launched to find new ways to crackdown on organised crime in the waste sector. 

CLA President Tim Breitmeyer said: “Fly-tipping is not a victimless crime. The Government, local authorities and the Environment Agency must work together with farmers and landowners to help reduce fly-tipping on private rural land. It’s a vicious cycle of costly clean-ups by the victims who bear the burden of waste crime and the threat of prosecution.

“It is easy to blame householders for the significant rise in fly-tipping but we’re seeing more and more waste on an industrial scale dumped across the countryside. Part of the problem is council fees putting people off lawful disposal at the local tip but it is also businesses not complying with existing waste disposal regulations. The costs and process of getting a waste transfer licence prevents legal disposal and encourages organised crime.

“It is vital that more prosecutions are brought forward successfully to encourage people to do the right thing and dispose of their rubbish through proper legal channels, but to really combat this anti-social behaviour we need to see tougher penalties which act as a true deterrent. Imposing and enforcing penalties which better reflect the seriousness of the crime, such as seizing vehicles used to fly-tip, is crucial.”