For further information on flytipping or to report an
incident, please contact Environmental Services on:
Telephone: 01638 719284
Email:
es@forest-heath.gov.uk
What is flytipping?
Flytipping will affect
us all
Flytipping is a serious
offence
Flytipping and
accumulations on private
land
Reporting
flytipping
Householders
responsibilities
Important
notice for commercial waste
producers
Further
information
What is flytipping?
Most of our rubbish is disposed
of in a responsible way. However, there are increasingly cases
where people choose to tip their rubbish in the countryside or on
other people's land.
Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990)
makes it an offence to:
- Deposit or knowingly cause or permit controlled waste to
be deposited without a waste management licence;
- Treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste, or knowingly cause
or permit controlled waste to be treated, kept or disposed of
except under or in accordance with a waste management licence;
- Treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste in a manner likely
to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human
health.
Flytipping will affect us
all
Flytipping poses a significant environmental
problem and can impact upon the quality of life of local residents.
More specifically it will promote the following problems:
- It can lead to serious pollution of the environment and harm to
human health;
- It can cost innocent victims of fly tipping and public bodies
such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, large amounts
of money to remove the waste, particularly if the waste is
hazardous;
- It can also undermine activities of legitimate waste management
businesses;
- It is anti social behaviour that adversely affects the amenity
of the local environment.
Flytipping is a serious offence
For the reasons above, fly-tipping and the illegal dumping of waste
is a criminal offence.
Offenders can be:
- Fined up to £50,000 and / or twelve months
imprisonment.
- Fined an unlimited amount if the case goes to the county
court
- Imprisoned for up to two years, and up to five years if
hazardous waste is dumped.
Flytipping and accumulations on private
land
If the person responsible for the fly tipping or
the owner of the refuse cannot be identified the rubbish becomes
the responsibility of the owner(s) of the land.
Private land includes unadopted alleyways which are the joint
responsibility of the owners of all the properties with direct
access onto the alleyway.
If there is an environmental health nuisance, Environmental Health
may be in a position to serve statutory notices on the
owner(s) of the land or the refuse, if it can be identified.
Reporting flytipping
If you see someone flytipping or would like to report an area where
flytipping has taken place, take note of the following:
- Date and time of incident that occurred
- Model, make, registration number and colour of vehicle(s) used
by the offender(s)
- Description of the offender(s)
- Description of fly-tipping materials, etc and quantity if
possible.
- Do not approach or talk to the offender(s) and do not
touch or move fly-tipped materials, etc.
The Council may wish to prosecute the person fly-tipping and will
be keen to use your evidence in court. You are likely to be
asked if you would be willing to stand and give evidence in
court.
Householders responsibilities
As from Monday 21 November 2005 all householders in England will
have a responsibility, under the new ‘Duty of Care’ waste
regulations, to ensure that their rubbish is taken away by
authorised carriers only.
Householders not taking reasonable measures to do this could face
fines of up to £5,000.
For further information click the link to the page
Householders Responsibilities for Waste
Produced.
Important notice for commercial waste
producers
Commercial waste producers have a duty
of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Section 34) to
store, transport and safely dispose of the waste that they
generate. Look at the "Waste Management and Regulation" under the
"Related Topic" on the right hand side of this page for further
information.
Further information on the Duty of Care responsibilities is
available from the
DEFRA website.
Further information
Additional information
concerning flytipping is available on the following websites:
DEFRA
ENCAMS
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
There is also a voluntary fly-tipping matrix agreement, which
specifies when it is the responsibility of the local authority and
when it is the responsibility of the Environment Agency to clear
fly-tipping – see
http://www.naturenet.net/law/flytip.pdf