Below is a link to a recent article I wrote for a local newspaper. My article is on page 10 of this digital on-line edition.
Bottom of the page is a news release from the CLA (Country Land and Business Association) asking fly-tipping victims to speak out.
Forest and Wye Valley Review
______________________________________________________
NEWS RELEASE
Date: 2 June 2010
Rural watchdog urges fly-tipped victims to speak out.
There's a warning about a surge in the number of people illegally dumping rubbish around the West Midlands.
The CLA ( Country Land and Business Association) says the amount of DIY work and gardening that takes place over half-term breaks and the summer holidays leads directly to an increase in fly-tipping.
Donna Tavernor is the CLA's regional officer for the Midlands : "We found that the majority of people get fly-tipped with garden waste and household rubbish, so they have had prams and beds on their property. It is really important that people send that to recycling centres."
Across the Midlands , it costs £6m per year of taxpayers' money to clean up fly-tipped waste, and surges in the number of cases were reported after holiday periods. In fact, this time last year across the region, there was one recorded case of rubbish being illegally dumped every 11 minutes.
Harsh penalties for fly-tipping have been introduced, and anyone caught doing it can be hit with a fine of up to £50,000 (unlimited if the case goes to the Crown Court) or a prison sentence of up to five years.
However, if waste is dumped on your property, it is your responsibility to clear it up.
The CLA's Donna Tavernor explains: "If it is not on a public highway and it is on private property, then it is your responsibility to clear. If it is in our countryside then it is spoiling our local areas and the views we all enjoy, so it is a really important thing to stamp out."
The CLA has urged victims of fly-tipping to report incidents on a national database which highlights the environmental crime.
The Association is working with the Landowner Partnership to record incidents of fly-tipping on the Government database, Flycapture. The project has been set up to encourage every farmer, land owner and land manager to report fly-tipping.
“We’re pleased to see the Government take fly-tipping so seriously. Recent pilot schemes in the West Midlands and North West have highlighted the problems faced when reporting fly-tipping, so to get a true picture of the scale of the problem on private land, the Flycapture project has rolled out across the country until September,” says Donna.
“We hope the data recorded nationally will expose the scale of the problem, and encourage the Government to allow the disposal of fly-tipped waste from private land at local tips without charge.”
She added: “Even if you are not a member of the CLA but you own or manage land, you can report a fly-tipping incident to us.”
To report incidences of fly-tipping in your area, please visit http://www.cla.org.uk/In_Your_Area/
MEDIA CONTACT:
Tim Barnes-Clay | Media Relations Manager ( Midlands ) | CLA Ltd
07702 926696 | tim.barnesclay@cla.org.uk
Out of hours Press Office: 020 7201 9511 | www.cla.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The CLA – the rural economy experts - has a 36,000-strong membership
CLA members own approximately half the rural land in England and Wales, and the resulting expertise puts us in a unique position to formulate policies and lobby effectively.
For more information, visit www.cla.org.uk/In_Your_Area/West_Midlands/
Rob
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You can catch these people red handed even have photographic evidence of them actually dumping. nothing will be done about it. a smack on the wrist from the local court and that's it.
ReplyDeletebut saying all this. My wife wanted to rent a skip to take the winters garden rubbish away, cuttings etc. nothing heavy only garden waste they wanted and she had to pay 250+vat for a skip. its 7 years since I have moved to egypt. the last time I was home I hired a tipper truck and cleaned the garden rubbish I took it to what is a private dump owned by the evans waste disposal this tip is situated in an old quarry above Llanidloes. they charge the council 20 ton garbage lorries 50 pound to tip each lorry. me I got charged 40 pounds to tip maybe half a ton that will be burned on the land, and you are wondering why there is fly tipping going on. by the way our council tax (rates) last year was 1200 pounds.
and we have to take our house rubbish, to the road. if say we are going out its put out at 8.00, the lorry comes at 14.00. and I can guarantee some twat will have dumped his rubbish that has to be paid for. and this is on the main road into newtown with a fire station across the road. hear no evil speak no evel and see no evil is the police policy,
do not want too much paperwork, it costs too much to take to court, but they will stop whoever with a defected rear light or some poor sod who has had his car vandalized in the night, got no light mate,120 pound fine and points off his licence,
I actually agree with nearly all of what you have said. I too rented a skip last year and it cost me around the same!
ReplyDeleteI also have the same feelings regarding the police and council's response to fly-tipping, but rather that settle for what they say and do, I am doing something about it myself. One thing I am very good at is being persistant.
The two fridge freezers, which were dumped in the forest recently would have been taken there either in a trailer or in a large van.
There is no charge for dropping this sort of waste off at the local tip, so why didn't they take it there instead of just dumping it in the forest?
I'll tell you why....
At the tip they have to queue and probably have to drive an extra mile or two to get there.
In the forest they just pull up and sling it out!
Lazy, thoughtless morons!
Thanks for the comment. Appreciated.
Rob
All I can say is Rob just be glad you do not live in Egypt only one good thing is its so hot the rubbish gets dried and the smell has gone by midday. the carcass will be eat by the packs of dogs, like 1st june blog the dog was actually standing behind the guy selling the breakfast. waited while he had a crap wiped his arse on a piece of cloth and the dog wolfed the shit down and ran off with the tasty bit if cloth, something I left out on the blog, must not upset the tourist board, Egypt is one big fly tip. but the tippers are the council who get paid to get rid of the garbage,
ReplyDeleteThat is rough Tony! Disease must be rife?
ReplyDelete