ON RUBBISH BLIGHTING
Idyllic remote countryside areas hit by criminal fly-tipping
SHOCKING Waste dumped near to Merthyr
THOUSANDS of tons of rubbish is being dumped in some of the UK’s most important green spaces in a growing catastrophe for our natural environment.
The waste, which sometimes includes deadly asbestos, threatens endangered wildlife and blights some of our most treasured beauty spots.
Forests, woodlands, heaths and commons are being repeatedly hit, with organised criminals said to be fuelling the problem.
A review ordered by the Government last year found crooks were cashing in by charging to collect waste – often from building sites – then illegally dumping it to dodge tip charges.
But the Tories have been accused of making things worse, with local authority cutbacks leaving councils struggling to pay for clean-ups.
This week pictures showed how a mile-long stretch of road near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, had been swamped with discarded rubbish.
And volunteers who clear local green spaces in other parts of the country have shared stories of trashed landscapes. Epping Forest, on the border of Essex and North East London, is being hit with a shocking 300 tons of waste a year.
The Friends of Ashworth Valley, a group of litter-pickers in Rochdale, Gtr Manchester, say they once cleared 800 car tyres at a beauty spot.
And another group of volunteers, Clean Our Patch, claim they have cleared away 65 tons of rubbish since March 2018 in Plymouth.
Founder El Clarke said: “We pick litter every week, from pavements, hedges, embankments, parks, woodlands and along our beautiful coast.”
The City of London Corporation, which manages Epping Forest, is fighting hard to protect the 1,728-hectare woodland, much of which is a site of special scientific interest.
The forest is home to 1,000-year-old trees, endangered great crested newts, protected bats and 500 rare insect species. While household litter is a problem, building site rubbish, cars and asbestos are increasingly being dumped.
This year the authority crushed a van after its owners dumped three tons of waste.
And it has prosecuted dozens of fly-tippers, issuing fines totalling £35,000 in five years.
But that pales against the £320,000 spent annually cleaning up the mess, according to Graeme Doshi-Smith from the authority. “That’s