Fly-tipping costs spike as tip fees introduced
Near 60% rise since charges introduced at Barwell tip in 2016
THE cost of fly-tipping in Hinckley and Bosworth has soared by nearly 60 per cent since controversial charges were introduced at Barwell tip last year.
Taxpayers have forked out a staggering £35,532 to clean up waste dumped by louts across the borough between April 2016 and March 2017.
That figure was up by £13,181 from the previous year when the council had to stump up £22,351 in clean-up costs.
Over the previous three years, between 2013 and 2016, the average cost to the authority was £20,666, 71.9 per cent lower than last year’s total.
Recent months have seen rural lanes and beauty spots blighted with piles of rubbish from household waste to building rubble.
At the end of February a 20-tonne mountain of rubbish was dumped on Barwell Lane which took council workers two days to clean up at a cost of over £4,000.
Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council said tip charges were a county council policy and urged residents not to use bogus waste collectors.
The authority reported a rise in incidents of tipping of 46 per cent.
In a statement the authority announced a new crackdown on those illegally dumping rubbish which they said was a national issue.
The council said: “Most of the fly-tips consist of mixed household waste, which includes black bags, white goods, green waste and construction materials.
“The increase, which follows a national trend, has persuaded the borough council to launch a new campaign to crack down on bogus waste collectors who offer to remove waste for free, or for a low price, and then fly-tip it.
“By law, everyone has a duty of care to take reasonable measures to ensure that waste pro- duced on their property is passed on to an authorised person who will dispose of the waste responsibly.
“According to the duty of care, if the waste can be traced back to its source and the individual hasn’t taken reasonable measures then they may be liable for a fine of up to £5,000.”
Residents were urged to check those disposing of waste are registered with the Environment Agency and are licensed waste carriers.
Contractors should be asked to provide a waste transfer note showing where the waste is from and where they plan to take it.
Fees were introduced by Leicestershire County Council at the Barwell tip site, off Stapleton Lane, on May 4 last year.
Residents wanting to dispose of waste were met with fees of £3 per 20L of hardcore or £3 per concrete slab.
Roof tiles, ceramic wall and floor tiles, sheets of glass and plasterboard also became subject to fees.
Responding to the spike in costs coinciding with the introduction of fees a spokesman for Leicestershire County Council said: “We’re having to make difficult choices across the council in order to make savings of £66 million over the next four years.
“We recognise that charging for non-household waste is a change and we’ve tried to make charges as simple as possible.
“We’re very aware that fly-tipping is on the increase, but the rise in the county has been low compared to the national picture.
“However, many of the items being fly-tipped are household items, which can be disposed of free of charge, and industrial and commercial waste which we don’t accept at our sites.
“Fly-tipping is a selfish and irresponsible crime that leads to an unnecessary cost to the taxpayer, and can cause environmental damage. We would also encourage people to report fly-tipping and any suspicious activity to local district councils.”
Fly-tipping carries a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £400 and an unlimited fine if prosecuted.
In some cases it can even carry a prison sentence.
The Hinckley and Bosworth Clean Neighbourhoods Team issued 12 FPNs for fly-tipping offences during 2016/17.
COUNTY Lib Dems are calling for the scrapping of charges at civic recycling centres in a bid to cut fly-tipping.
The opposition at County Hall, led by group deputy leader, Hinckley’s Stuart Bray, have asked for a review of the fees imposed last year.
It follows the new deputy leader of a neighbouring Torycontrolled county council saying: “Reversing charges at recycling centres is straight-forward common sense? It’s the service that taxpayers expect and it’s the right thing to do to protect our countryside and local communities.”
It also comes after an apparent increase in fly-tipping across Hinckley and Bosworth where country lanes and isolated roads have been targeted regularly.
In December last year three flytips amounting to more than 20 tonnes of construction-related waste were found on the same day, one being at Tinsel Lane.
It took three workmen from Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council all day to remove the rubble from Green Lane, Barton in the Beans, the gated road between Sutton Cheney and Market Bosworth and Tinsel Lane, Wellsborough.
In February council workers spent two days clearing a mountain of waste dumped off Barwell Lane in Hinckley at a cost of more than £4,000.
While in March it was again in Market Bosworth and Bagworth which saw clean-ups required.
At the last Leicestershire County Council meeting Cllr Bray asked authority leader, Nick Rushton, if he agreed with the idea with dropping the charges.
In a follow up question, Cllr Bray urged the Conservatives to axe the charge in Leicestershire. Blake Pain, the Tory councillor responsible, said that he was going to look again at whether the council continues to charge.
Cllr Bray said: “The Conservatives do need to think again on this unpopular policy.
“At long last they are beginning to realise what local residents and Lib Dem councillors have been saying all along, that this is wrong.
“In recent months many parts of the county have seen a rise in the amount of fly-tipping which is a blight on our area and taxpayers have to pick up the bill for the clean-up costs.”
■ Charges were introduced at all 14 recycling and household waste sites in the county, including Barwell tip, last May. Example charges include: Hardcore, rubble and soil - £3 per tub (or part tub)* Concrete slab/post - £3 each Bathroom furniture (Bath, basin, toilet, shower tray, etc) - £3 per item or per tub (or part tub)*
Roof tiles, slates, ceramic wall and floor tiles - £3 per tub (or part tub)*
Whole sheets or broken window glass - £3 per unit or per tub (or part tub)*
Plasterboard - £3 per sheet up to 1.8 x 0.9m, or per tub (or part tub)*
Asbestos - £10 per sheet up to 2.4 x 1.2m, or per tub (or part tub)*
*A tub is roughly the size of a large bucket.