Powers to seize fly-tipping vehicles announced

Enforcement officers will soon be able to stop, search and seize vehicles suspected of being involved in fly-tipping.

The new legislation, to be announced in parliament on Thursday (5 March), is part of a government crackdown on waste crime.

In 2013-14, local authorities dealt with 852,000 incidents of fly-tipping, costing an estimated £45.2m in clearance costs.

See also: Fly-tipping occurs every 44 seconds, NFU says

Fly-tipping continues to be a major problem for farmers across the country. According to the NFU, about two-thirds of farmers are affected.

“Fly-tipping blights communities and poses a risk to human health.”
Dan Rogerson, environment minister

Items that are routinely dumped include old fridges, chairs, mattresses, tyres and contaminated waste, with farmers and landowners then left to pay the clean-up bill.

NFU environment adviser Anna Simpson said: “When waste is illegally dumped on private land it is the responsibility of the landowner to safely dispose of the waste.

“This places an unfair burden on the farmer and we ask local authorities and the police to work in partnership with landowner to help clear away the waste.”

The new seizure powers, expected to be in force from Friday, 6 April in England and Wales, include:

• Allowing enforcement authorities to stop, search and instantly seize vehicles suspected of being involved with waste crime
• Broadening the range of waste offences for which a vehicle can be seized by enforcement authorities to include:
        * Carrying controlled waste while unauthorised to do so
        * Breaches of the waste duty of care
        * Operation of an illegal waste site

Environment minister Dan Rogerson said: “Fly-tipping blights communities and poses a risk to human health, which is why we are supporting the seizure of vehicles suspected of involvement in this pernicious crime.

“The removal of their means to dispose of waste illegally will act as a greater deterrent to persistent offenders. We are committed to tackling waste crime, and this new regulation follows tougher sentencing guidelines on fly-tipping introduced last year.”

CLA south-east director Robin Edwards said the new powers to seize vehicles were a “positive step forward” in the fight against fly-tipping. But the legislation must be backed up by police and councils to catch offenders, he added.