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5,000 fly-tippers but not one prosecution
Sunday 12th September 2010, 12:33AM BST.
More than 5,000 fly-tipping incidents were reported across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin last year, new figures show.
But despite the issue being taken “very seriously” there were no prosecutions in the county. However, 550 warning letters were issued by Telford & Wrekin Council to people believed to have committed an offence, with 230 being sent out by Shropshire Council.
Officials admit that with Shropshire being such a large county, many incidents will go unreported.
At a national level, councils across England brought nearly 2,500 prosecutions for fly-tipping last year, an increase of more than 20 per cent on the previous 12 months.
Although the vast majority of prosecutions – 97 per cent – were successful, the estimated cost to councils of clearing fly-tipping was £45.8 million last year.
The statistics also show that the number of reported incidents of fly-tipping in 2009-10 decreased by 18.7 per cent compared to the previous year.
But much of this drop is due to changes in the way figures are reported by a small number of local authorities.
Dave Roberts, environmental enforcement manager with Shropshire Council, said: “As fly-tipping is illegal and costs the council money to clear up we take it extremely seriously.
“In the last six months we have received five reports of major fly-tipping in the council area and we are currently investigating two of these. However, as Shropshire is such a large county many cases of fly-tipping do unfortunately go unreported.”
However, he urged people to report fly-tipping so the council can investigate.
By Dave Morris
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shropshire is actualy one of the smallest countys in england,, how much of this fly tipping is caused by the permit scheme enforced at the rubbish dump,, its obvios realy that schemes like that will have this kind of result,, answer is open the tip to all and you wont get a bill for 45 million to clear it up
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“shropshire is actualy one of the smallest countys in england”
….who told you that – your mate Shergar?
Shropshire is actually the largest inland county in England.
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But what would the bill then be to throw away all that business waste?
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‘Taking issues very seriously’ is a hackneyed phrases and old platitude that councils and public and private enterprises trundle out, but which ironically is a phrase that few of us are stupid enought to ‘take seriously’.
With 5000 incidents of fly-tipping and not one prosecution, there needs to be real evidence that fly-tipping is being tackled seriously.
Blaming constituents for not reporting fly-tipping more frequently is a means of deflecting the issue, which is the council’s inability to find a strategy to deal with fly-tippers and hit them hard, in the pocket. These sorts of people are ignorant and selfish individuals who only relate to money and material things, so ‘slap on the wrist’ warning letters are very unlikely to have any effect at all. Save council administrative time and get straight to the core of it!
Sure Shropshire is a large county, but it’s not so heavily populated, is spacious and beautiful for the most part – hence fly-tipping stands out more in Shropshire, when it does occur. So the size of the county is no excuse for failing to deal with the issue.
Blaming residents for not reporting fly-tipping is, I suspect, the council’s way of deflecting the real issue – finding a straetgy to deal with fly-tipping cases severely! I also suspect that residents do not always report fly-tipping, as it reoccurs in the same areas in which they’ve first witnessed it and so feel that it doesn’t get deal with. Publised examples of individuals being prosecuted and fined very heavily would be more likely to engage residents and encourage them to report fly-tipping I feel sure, if they then feel that their reporting of incidents is dealt with and acted upon seriously and the culprits brought to book.
In a similar way, I suspect that nobody reports cyclists continuing to use pavements in Shrewsbury, as there is never published evidence that prosecutions or fines are handed out.
Making bold claims that coucils are dealing with issues can only be taken seriously, when there is evidence in the form of fines and prosecutions which we could expect would lead to a fall in perpetrators.
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I reported someone dumping rubbish to T+W only to be told that unless I was willing to go to court they could take no action as they could not access the DVLA number plate database unless they intended prosecuting.
Zero point in trying to help the council then
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I wonder how much it would cost to have the “Recycling Centres” open later in the day and if this increase in access would cut down on fly tipping and thereby actually save money in the long run. Where my in-laws live, the tips are open until 20:30 and there doesn’t seem to be a fly tipping problem.
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Disgusting lowlife scum – it’s way past time that idiot tippers were taken to task. Whilst it’s encouraging to see the authorities cracking down on littering and issuing on the spot fines for that offence, fly tipping still seems to be largely ignored.
Cycling around the lanes surrounding my hometown, I frequently come across rubbish in the hedgerows and ditches – both domestic and commercial. I’ve seen beds, cookers, tyres, car parts, building waste – in fact, you name it and it’s probably out there. Unfortunately, the only thing I haven’t found so far is something linking the rubbish to the identity of the tippers.
Of course you’ll get the apologists who will say this is a direct consequence of fortnightly waste collections and restrictions on trade waste, and maybe there is an element of truth in that. But do those people really think this kind of thing can be justified? If they do, then they’re almost at the same lower life form as those who fly tip.
Please, please councils, crack down hard on this. Throw the full weight of the law at the tippers, set an example and demonstrate to all that fly tipping is never acceptable.
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It should not cost anything for councils to clear fly-tips; anyone caught fly-tipping should not only be prosecuted and fined, but should also be required to pay FULL costs as part of the due process. The courts tend to be too soft and the penalties are not great enough.
If you’re a cowboy getting paid full whack for clearance, but then fly-tipping stuff, then an order should also be paid confiscating the proceeds of the present crime, the suspected and unexplained proceeds of previous crimes AND the confiscation of any and every vehicle used to transport the waste concerned.
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why?? surely 1 out of 5000 is not too much to ask.
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What the hell are we paying these idiots for?
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At almost £46 million to clear up and yet we have no prosecutions. Why issue warning letters in the face of this mounting problem. Someone in authority has to get real very soon. It’s the ratepayers that feel the pinch.
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The number of prosecutions referred to in the article, i.e. none, relates only to Shropshire Council & Telford & Wrekin Council, whilst the £46 million is a national figure, i.e. all local authorities in England.
Thought something else that needed clearing up was your apparent misunderstanding…
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OOOOOh – a warning letter!
Well, thats REALLY going to make the perps sit up and take notice now isnt it?
despite T&W being given evidence of address of tippers, on at least 3 occasions around the wrekinarea, obviously, the perps got aletter of warning – big, big deal.
Wake up, Councils, and do something, for at present you act like Eunuchs .
Magister.
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“550 warning letters were issued by Telford & Wrekin Council to people believed to have committed an offence”
…hasn’t it occurred to them by now that the sort of scum that dump this filth around our town are well aware that the warning letter is the worst thing that is likely to happen?
Just like Telford & Wrekin’s laughable planning enforcement.
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Simple Solution, Just obstruct the entrance with a vehicle and tell the Gypsies to clean up their rubbish or the council will do it for you and confiscate your caravan/car to pay for the removal of all the litter. Or have I missed something? We have all seen the mess they leave behind when they leave a site.Gypsy Liaison Officer what a none job this is.
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While not denying that the traveller community have got a habit of leaving places in a far from pristine condition, I wasn’t aware that it was being suggested anywhere on here that they were solely responsible.
A walk on open space behind the back gardens of many an upmarket housing estate will reveal scenes of appalling squalor where everything from garden waste to old furniture and unwanted domestic appliances has just been heaved over the fence.
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