Council awarded over £38,000 to combat fly-tipping!

Fly-tipping is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorised method and it continues to be a problem in our rural district, causing harm to our environment. 

Authorised methods of waste removal include kerbside collection or using an authorised waste carrier. You can find a registered waste carrier in your area on the Environment Agency's website and always ask for waste transfer notes as that is your receipt for the waste removal. 

The purpose of the Fly-tipping Intervention Grant Scheme is to provide support to local authorities in England towards expenditure lawfully incurred or to be incurred by them to implement interventions aimed at tackling fly-tipping by raising awareness of the household waste duty of care. 

Duty of care is one of the main offences when it comes to fly-tipping. Householders have a duty of care to ensure their waste is being disposed of correctly. To exercise your duty of care, you must ask to see a waste carriers' licence and waste transfer notes when paying someone to remove your waste. 

To raise awareness of householder’s duty of care, the grant funding has been used to promote the S.C.R.A.P fly-tipping campaign.  

• S - Suspect ALL waste carriers 

• C - Check with the Environment Agency that the provider taking your waste away is licensed 

• R - Refuse unexpected offers to have waste taken away 

• A - Ask what will happen to your waste 

• P - Paperwork should be obtained – get a full receipt 

Using the grant funding, we have promoted S.C.R.A.P fly-tipping messaging across the district and working with town and parish councils to get the message out in their local areas. 

The Council has already installed cameras in fly-tipping hotspots across the district and the grant funding has allowed us to purchase more up to date technology to increase our chances of catching offenders. 

In the coming months, we will contact all householders to remind them of their duty of care, and how they can responsibly remove their waste. 

Cllr Juliet Layton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regulatory Services, said “I’m pleased the Council has been awarded this funding from the Government, thanks to the brilliant bid that was put in by our officers. 

“We are hopeful that this campaign will spread awareness around duty of care and in turn reduce the number of fly-tips in our district due to rogue waste carriers. 

“You could be issued a fixed penalty notice of up to £600 for a duty of care offence so please, if you are paying someone to remove your waste, ask those questions about where your waste is going and get evidence in the form of a waste transfer note, that way you are covered as you have acted on your duty of care. 

“Remember, your waste is your responsibility!” 

As part of the Council’s ongoing work to prevent fly-tipping in the district, we have continued carrying out regular stop and search operations in partnership with the Police and Trading Standards to advise traders of their trading responsibilities and to stop waste being fly-tipped or entering the domestic waste stream incorrectly. 

Recently we have successfully recruited 20 volunteer ‘Fly-tipping Guardians’ to help us protect our district from the illegal dumping of waste.