Surge in lockdown fly- tipping when waste depots shut

COUNCILS in West Yorkshire have revealed the growing problems they are facing with fly- tipping.

Wakefield Council said there were 1,284 cases between April and July, up from 959 in the same period last year.

Local waste tips closed after lockdown restrictions were imposed in late March, while people spending more time in the countryside has also been cited as a possible factor behind the rise.

Bradford Council, meanwhile, has been advised to prosecute only “the most serious” of flytipping and littering cases due to the court backlog created by Covid19.

Wakefield Council said it spends about £ 400,000 each year clearing up fly- tipping and is in the process of prosecuting four people who allegedly dumped rubbish this year.

The cabinet member for the environment, Maureen Cummings, said: “Fly- tipping and those who blight our countryside with discarded items deserve to be caught and prosecuted.

“During the pandemic lots more people have been out and about in our countryside and as a consequence we have seen more fly- tipping incidents reported, some on more than one occasion, and we encourage the public to continue to do so.”

The pandemic led to courts closing for weeks during the lockdown, and in Bradford the legal system has yet to reach its preCovid operation levels.

The council’ s waste enforcementteam has been urged to start court proceedings only against the most serious fly- tippers.

But a council report said work is “slowly returning to normal”, and last month a van that was involved in multiple fly- tips in Bradford was seized and legal proceedings started.