The growing scourge of fly tipping in rural areas and how best to tackle it was the subject of a Parliamentary debate earlier this week.

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Anne Marie Morris MP for Newton Abbot said “A constituent of mine with a large estate regularly finds that people have been fly-tipping on it. Once, while sorting through the rubbish, he found a receipt from a fast food drive-through that included a date and time stamp. He and the local police managed to find the vehicle registration number, but when they went to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency they were told that it could not release the name because of data protection.

“There has to be a way of using the evidence that we can get, because we cannot rely solely on catching the villains in the act, which is extraordinarily difficult, particularly in rural areas. Installing cameras everywhere would be prohibitively expensive, impractical and completely unrealistic. There has to be a better way of dealing with the evidence trail”

She went on to say “I believe that 0.1% of fly-tippers are prosecuted, and the average penalty is a £400 fine. There is absolutely no disincentive, so why would they stop fly-tipping? That has to change…. the penalties, even if they are imposed, are woefully low”

Two thirds of farmers have reported fly-tipping, but under section 59 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, they can be required by the local authority or the Environment Agency to clear up 100% of the mess.

Ms Morris said “but they are not the polluters” and asked if the government would make sure “ that the polluter pays” and “ that waste can be tracked”.

Concluding the debate Dr Therese Coffey Defra Environment Minister said:” Fly-tipping is a serious, antisocial crime, whether it happens in rural or urban areas. It blights our countryside, poses serious risks to our natural environment and to the human health of local communities, and affects the livelihoods of rural businesses. Perhaps in contrast to the casual litter louts I deplore, fly-tipping is premeditated and unacceptable, so tackling fly-tipping and all elements of waste crime is a priority for this Government”.

She welcomed the CLA’s five-point action plan to tackle fly-tipping and said Defra were already taking forward most of the CLA’s points. Defra are reviewing sentencing, promoting partnership-working and considering a potential penalty notice for householders whose waste is fly-tipped. The NFU’s recent rural crime report, which covered the prevention of fly-tipping, was a welcome addition to the work in this policy area.

The number of fly-tipping incidents dealt with by local authorities has increased to more than 1 million a year, with an increasing amount on farmland and in woodland. This amounts to a 7% increase on last year, and it costs local authorities in England more than £57 million to clear.

The CLA's five point plan can be viewed here: https://farming.co.uk/news/time-to-get-tough-on-fly-tipping