Peterborough hit by more than 15 fly-tipping incidents every day, figures show

Data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has revealed the scale of the “epidemic” facing councils across the country, with almost 1 million incidents recorded in England in 2017-18.

In Peterborough, there were 7,198 fly-tipping incidents in the 12 months to March , one of the highest numbers of any local authority in England.

This was an increase of 70% from five years ago, when there were 4,236.

Across England, fly-tipping increased by 40% over the same period.

Tipping incidents in Peterborough most commonly involved volumes of waste that were the equivalent of a small van load.

However, the area is also seeing increasing numbers of large-scale tips, involving a lorry load of rubbish or more.

The Local Government Association, which represents local authorities, said councils were determined to “end the scourge” of fly-tipping.

Councillor Martin Tett, environment spokesman for the LGA, said: “This new analysis shows the scale of the fly-tipping epidemic we face in this country.

“Fly-tipping is unsightly and unacceptable environmental vandalism.

“It’s an absolute disgrace for anyone to think that they can use the environments in which our residents live as a repository for litter.”

The most common type of waste dumped in Peterborough was household waste, which accounted for 5,591 incidents, followed by black bags of household rubbish and white goods such as fridges or washing machines.

The majority of fly-tipping sites - 96% of them - were on council land.

Clearing up the rubbish and taking action against perpetrators is estimated to have cost the council around £491,300 last year.

Councils can take a range of actions against fly-tipping, from sending warning letters to launching prosecutions.

Last year the council took action on 3,122 occasions, up from 1,952 in 2012-13.

These included launching 2,718 investigations, sending out 105 warning letters and undertaking 147 inspections.

“Councils are determined to protect local environments,” Cllr Tett continued.

“New fixed penalty notice powers from the Government will help but every single conviction for more serious fly-tipping offences still results in council taxpayers having to pick up the bill.

“We need to make sure that when councils take offenders to court, a faster, more effective legal system ensures that serious fly-tipping offences result in hard-hitting fines.”

Last year, overall fly-tipping incidents in England fell slightly by around 1% - the first fall for five years.

However, large-scale tips increased by 9% over the same period.

Since 2012-13, the number of actions taken by councils has risen by 16%.

A spokesman for Defra said: “The figures show our tough actions to crack down on fly-tippers are delivering results.

“Councils are using powers to hand out on-the-spot fines to fly-tippers to good effect, and we have made it easier for vehicles suspected of being used for fly-tipping to be stopped, searched and seized.

“New fixed penalty notices for householders who pass their waste to a fly-tipper also come into force shortly, as we continue our efforts to crack down on those who blight our landscapes.”