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Huge bill for councilas fly-tipping doubles
NEW figures released show that the number of fly-tipping incidents in Peterborough have almost doubled in a year – costing the city council more than £600,000.
NEW figures released show that the number of fly-tipping incidents in Peterborough have almost doubled in a year – costing the city council more than 600,000.A total of 12,040 incidents of fly-tipping were reported in 2006/07, costing the council 633,389 to clear up – according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
This is more than 4,915 reported in 2005/06 an increase of 69 per cent.
And the figures also show that Peterborough's fly-tipping problem is worse than nearby counties, Cambridge and Lincoln with the number of reported incidents.
But in a bid to combat fly-tipping, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership has set up a group consisting of enforcement officers, the Environment Agency and the police, to help co-ordinate action against fly-tipping and littering.
In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough alone nearly 17,000 incidents were reported last year, costing the councils more than 888,000.
And in the 12 months to August 2007 there were a total of 2,782 investigations at a cost of 91,806.
Nearly 1,000 warning letters were sent, more than 2,000 statutory notices, and 128 fixed penalty notices were issued throughout the county, costing 111,507.
However cabinet member for environment and community safety, councillor Graham Murphy said: "The figures are very distorted. We followed the Government's guidelines in reporting the incidents but that means even leaving a black bag next to a dustbin to be collected is classed as fly-tipping.
"We are regularly keeping an eye on the hot spots in the city and we are also using CCTV to monitor those spots.
"We consider fly-tipping to be much less of a problem than it was years ago but it is still an issue and something that we are actively trying to reduce."
Anyone found guilty of fly-tipping can be fined up to 50,000 and/or sentenced to five years in prison.
Environment action co-ordinator, Edward Cowley said: "There is no need for fly-tipping, as the city and district councils provide a service for the collection of bulky items to all households. In some case this is free, in others there will be a minimal charge for collection. Items can also be taken to any of the Household Waste Recycling Centres in the county and Peterborough, where they will be accepted free of charge.
"Fly-tipping looks unsightly and can damage inward investment into an area. Uncontrolled waste disposal can present a hazard to the public such as drums of toxic waste, asbestos sheeting or drug user's syringes.
"Rubbish is dumped illegally somewhere in Britain every 35 seconds. There is absolutely no need to dump items – this is illegal and also an environmental risk and a real danger to children's safety."
To report a fly-tipping incident call 01733 747474.
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