Friday 21 November, 2008

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fly tipping
Countryside Alliance highlights problem of fly-tipping
19/03/2007 10:17:00
FWi

A poll carried out on behalf of the Countryside Alliance has found that fly-tipping is much more of a concern to the public than other issues which receive far more political and media attention.

The survey of 1000 people found 74% of people thought that fly tipping was a greater abuse of the countryside than wind farms, light pollution, roadside advertising or poly tunnels.

An investigation by the organisation has also uncovered the massive scale of illegal fly-tipping in Britain.

Nearly 2.5m incidents of unlawful rubbish dumping were recorded in the year to April 2006.

The cost to local authorities alone was just under £100 million, yet less than one in 100 cases led to a prosecution.

Read David Richardson's
views on fly-tipping


 Details obtained under the Freedom of Information Act also revealed that:
 
• There is a new incident of fly-tipping every 12 seconds and the cost to the public purse stands at around £72 a minute.

 
• Local authorities and the Environment Agency carried out 496,798 responses to fly-tipping incidents at a total cost of nearly £17m.
 
• Local authorities carried out 76,428 hours of surveillance at a cost of £243,836.
 
• Last year there were just 24,460 prosecutions for fly-tipping offences which resulted in 8 custodial sentences, 44 Community Services and 120 Absolute or Conditional Discharges.
 
• Fly-tipping affects 67% of farmers and is estimated to cost them £47 million every year.
 
Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart said: "Many people believe that fly-tipping is something they can get away with and that the victim is faceless. This is nonsense.
 
"If you fly-tip on private land the owner gets the stress of clearing it up and the bill; if you fly-tip on public land the taxpayer gets the bill; and in both instances, as well as breaking the law, you are ruining the beauty of the countryside for everyone.”

by Isabel Davies (About this Author)

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