Fly tipping in England is a concern to many of us, because it is so unsightly. However, the deeper issue is the potential damage it causes to our environment, especially to our water resources. Perhaps you are not overly concerned about the threat to humans, wildlife and farm animals yet. In that case, it’s worth noting this offence costs the English taxpayer around £100 million each year to clear it up.
What is Fly Tipping Exactly in England?
Fly tipping is a generic term for illegally abandoning materials on roads, or on land a local authority has not specifically set aside for that purpose. However, this is generally on a fairly large scale, as opposed to hiding the remains of a takeaway meal under a park bench which would be dumping. Therefore, fly tipping typically includes:
- Large amounts of dumped household waste
- Domestic appliances such as washing machines
- Building rubble and soil from construction
- Industrial waste without specific disposal permits
What Happens If You Are Caught Dumping?
Fly tipping in England is a criminal offence. And you could be prosecuted quite severely for it. The Chichester District Council, for example confirms the following punishments (including fly tipping waste from a house clearance project):
- A Magistrate’s Court fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months in prison
- An unlimited Crown Court fine PLUS up to five years in prison
- A court can also order confiscation of vehicles involved in the crime
It therefore makes no sense at all to commit fly tipping crimes. Unless of course, you are downright lazy and have no appreciation for the environment that sustains you. We can assure you from our own experience that this is no laughing matter.
How to Reduce the Scale of Fly Tipping in England
A large majority of fly tipping and dumping in England is either waste from household clearances, or scrap from industrial / commercial operations. These seldom have in-house resources to cart items to council disposal sites, and so typically hire in a service.
Their need is often urgent too, and so they seldom understand, or even know about environmental regulations. Therefore they may often accept low bids from cowboy operators who dump their loads anywhere convenient. We had a brush with law enforcement in Beckenman, when our subcontractor fell for one of those scams.
The best, perhaps only way to stop illegal fly tipping, as we now know is ensuring we always use a registered waste disposer. We also report fly tipping to local councils, so they can remove it before it becomes a magnet to further crime. We live in a lovely country. Let’s all do our bit to stamp out this scourge.
Our Duty to Help Prevent These Incidents Recurring
Fly tipped household waste in England comes from local households and there is no denying that. You, we and the rest of us can do our bit by stopping this cycle of crime in its tracks.
All we need do is avoid using illegal waste carriers, who promise to take our waste away for a bargain fee but then dump it. This surely is our moral duty. We should identify our local legal options instead, and stick to them.
Ways to Dispose Household Waste Ourselves
We can also help stamp out fly tipping in England, by walking the extra mile ourselves. For example we could rent a trailer, or a small van perhaps, invite strong young people to help us, and cart large items of household waste to the council recycling depot as a team.
Or if is this is impractical for us, we could pick up a phone and give our local council waste service provider a call. They will be delighted to help, and add their reasonable service to our household bill when the job is complete. This is the way things used to work, in the good old days when there was no fly tipping in England.
The Avery Associates House Clearance Service
Avery Associates are bespoke valuers of household treasures in the South of England. We regularly value these items for deceased estate probate, or after a householder has moved into a care environment or elsewhere.
We also project-manage complete house clearances. Our services are discreet and professional, and we always use registered waste disposal companies. Call us on Freephone 0800 567 7769 during business hours for more information, or send us an email to info@averyassociates.co.uk, whichever suits best. Chances are you will be glad you did. Our customers certainly agree.
Preview Image: No Fly Tipping in England Please
