I’m sad to have to say it, but the government’s attempts to curb UK fly tipping seem to be slipping like car wheels in a muddy lane. Innocent customers face fines up to £400 if their household waste gets dumped somewhere, while perpetrators continue as if there is no tomorrow.
The Serial UK Fly Tipper with Two Transit Vans
The Express newspaper ran an article the other day about a serial fly tipper. You can follow this link later if you would like know who the person is. Meanwhile suffice to say he and his accomplice have been dumping waste in open green spaces for two years and nearly got away with it.
How Many Centuries Before This Decays? (Phil Sangwell BY CC 2.0)
However, we should be careful about pointing fingers at law enforcement and blaming them. I can’t believe law-abiding citizens did not see this happening, yet they apparently ‘walked past on the far side of the road’. A couple of years prison should provide this felon with time to mull over his sins. Meanwhile, I’m taken aback his apparently willing accomplice got away with a fine.
The Tender Trap These Careless Criminals Use
I fell in the same trap a couple of years ago, when I trusted a charming con artist in Beckenham, Bromley to take household waste from a deceased house clearance to a council recycling point. To cut a long story short they dumped it on the way and the law said I committed an offence.
However, I am glad to say the government has finally introduced more rigorous controls, although this has not stamped out this rampant crime. Today I wanted to share how this new policy works, in the hope that together we can do something to stem what seems like an overwhelming tsunami of trash.
The UK Government Plan to Stop Fly Tipping
Environment Minister Jo Churchill announced a new plan to clamp down on waste crime, and support people and businesses to manage waste correctly in late January 2022. Perhaps as background I should mention some feedback she received in the press.
Manufacturing Offcuts in Culkerton (Roger Cornfoot BY CC 2.0)
The BBC had a real romp with anecdotes proving how inadequate England’s waste disposal system was at the time. This had particular reference to the same carrier, broker and dealer registration gaps that trapped me unfairly at the time. Here is just one example of how dysfunctional the system is.
An environmental consultant registered their deceased highland terrier as a waste carrier in just 15 minutes for £154. He commented ‘The reason the system is broken is that, over the last decade, the funding for the waste regulator has reduced.
‘And this is at exactly the time that these inadequate rules are being tested by criminals, whose proceeds from crime have increased. The system hasn’t changed since then. If you’ve got the money to spare, you can register yourself or your parrot to take away rubbish. A Guardian columnist even registered his goldfish.’
I’ve often wondered what would have happened if I had used a subcontractor registered in a pet’s name. Would Bromley Magistrates’ Court have decided I acted irrationally? I’ll leave it there although I still feel strongly I was an innocent victim. Dare I live in hope Environment Minister Jo Churchill will fix the system?
Fly tipping on Hudson Street, Hull (Ian S BY CC 2.0)
UK Government Plans to ‘Fix Fly Tipping’
I admit to being somewhat sceptical to ‘system solutions’ for human problems. That’s because the system may be weak, but the problem is more agile criminal minds. The Environment Agency can play with words. But those words are meaningless unless enforcement catches the kingpins, and prosecutes the offenders with an iron fist.
Perhaps as I expected, the government’s approach is a digital solution. This will track waste from the point where it arises, to where it is disposed of, recycled and reused. Theoretically the system will be able to detect who was at a particular dump site at a particular time.
However, I can’t see this preventing operators in unmarked vans dumping waste while the rest of England sleeps. Unless their government expects their customers to act as ‘police persons’ as Bromley Magistrates’ Court demanded of me. I am not convinced Jo Churchill’s ‘solution’ is going to stop the UK fly tipping epidemic.
Fly Tipping in High Laver Essex (John Winfield BY CC 2.0)
My take is the law is toothless without enforcement, of which I see little evidence in the case of fly tipping in England. Introducing digital monitoring, and tightening operator registration will not prevent what is happening on the ground. However, investing more in law enforcement agencies arguably could.
We Can Only Stop This Insanity by Acting Together
My name is Jeffrey Avery. I am by profession a sworn valuer of household antiques, in particular 19th and early 20th century furniture often related to deceased estates. I also offer a house clearance service for clients who appreciate the convenience of a property left clean, tidy, and empty for sale or transfer to a landlord.
Breaking News
Fly Tipping in Surrey Increases Astronomically
