Let’s hope that this year is not as bad for piles of rubbish left by fly-tippers

PROBLEM GREW BY 16% OVER 2021

THE number of fly-tipping incidents in England surged by 16 per cent last year, but the number of fines dished out by courts to offenders fell by over half, according to Government figures.

Local authorities were forced to deal with 1.13 million cases of rubbish dumped on highways and in beauty spots in 2020/2021, up from 980,000 the previous year.

Household waste accounted for 65 per cent of the incidents – around the same proportion as 2020/2021. Debris was most commonly dumped on pavements and roads, making up 485 of every 1,000 cases, followed by footpaths and bridleways at 198 in every 1,000, the Government said.

Clearing up all the large fly-tipping incidents cost local authorities in England £11.6 million, up from £10.9 million the previous year.

Despite the rise in cases, the number of enforcement actions carried out by councils fell by 4 per cent to 456,000, compared to 474,000 in 2019/2020.

The number of fixed penalty notices dropped by 24 per cent to 57,600 in 2020/2021 from 75,400 the year before.

Meanwhile the number of court fines issues dropped by 51 per cent to just 1,313 from 2,672 in 2019/2020 – with the total value of the fines decreasing by 62 per cent to £440,000 from £1.2 million last year.

For people in East Staffordshire, 2021 was another depressing year as far as fly-tipping was concerned. In January, black plastic guttering, cement and what appeared to be the contents of a rabbit’s cage were dumped in a country lane in Burton.

The disgusting rubbish was found in Field Lane, Outwoods, on Monday, January

18, and it is not the first time that such “trade” waste has been simply left in this road.

It is believed it was left by a trades person, given the large amount that was found. They were described as being too tight to pay for skip or licence to dispose the rubbish legally.

In February, an alert was put out by Staffordshire Police about fly-tipping in Barton under Needwood, with police saying they received multiple reports of problems of dumped rubbish in and around the village. Cases were mainly reported by the parish council or through emails from the public to the police.

In August, massive piles of rubbish were dumped “dangerously” close to the A38. At least 20 bin liners were thrown over the railings onto Belvoir Road, Horninglow, with nothing to stop them blowing out onto the busy dual

Main image and above: Councillor John Anderson found guttering and cement and bags of rubbish dumped in Field Lane, Outwoods, last year