Councils join forces to crack down on fly-tippers

The Leicestershire Waste Partnership, which involves every local authority in the county including Melton Borough Council, has warned people they could be fined if they pay someone to take their rubbish away without checking whether they have the required licence to do so.

The aim of the ‘It’s All Fly-tipping’ campaign is to remind people they have a legal responsibility to ensure their waste is disposed of safely and correctly.

Councils in the city and county reportedly deal with more than 12,000 cases each year and each one is investigated.

Offenders can be issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice if they are caught fly-tipping.

Depending on the severity of the offence a case can be taken to court where people can face an unlimited fine or a prison sentence.

Councillor Liz Blackshaw, Charnwood Borough Council’s lead member for communities and neighbourhoods said on behalf of the partnership: “Fly-tipping is not only illegal but creates an eyesore, can be hazardous and is completely unnecessary.

“The partnership is committed to working together to raise awareness and highlight the impacts fly-tipping has and how it can be prevented.

“If you are paying someone to dispose of your waste, stop and check if they are a registered waste carrier.

“People can sometimes be approached on social media so we would advise residents to be cautious.

“You can check if someone is a licensed waste collector by visiting the Environment Agency website.”

In one of the worst recent incidents of fly-tipping in the county was a huge 20-tonne pile of rubbish found at East Goscote, which resulted in a London-based waste disposal company being fined by Charnwood Council in March.

It was removed by the company at its own expense but the firm was also given a £400 fixed term penalty notice by the council.

The company said it had subcontracted another firm to dispose of the waste.

Elsewhere in the county, at Thurlaston, near Hinckley, a bed, toy cars, cardboard, textiles and cement bags were dumped earlier this year.

The council has not identified the culprit and staff from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council were forced to sort out the mess.

Material containing asbestos was fly-tipped by unidentified culprits last month on the outskirts of Houghton on the Hill and discovered by Harborough District Council’s ‘enviro-crime’ team.

As the material dumped was asbestos, the officers had to take the rubbish to a ‘specialist landfill cell’, holes in the ground at landfill sites which are opened up specifically for rubbish containing harmful materials and are then sealed to ensure it is disposed safely.

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council was notified in June of a chopped up monkey puzzle tree that had been dumped on Barwell Lane, Hinckley.

The tree was removed by the council’s green spaces team, who had the correct equipment to dispose of the tree’s sharp branches.

The council has yet to find the culprit of the fly-tip and its investigation is continuing.