Talking rubbish

Bill Bryson, President of CPRE, has launched a major nationwide campaign against litter and fly-tipping - "Stop the Drop"

 

 

Litter is the most widespread blight of our public spaces and countryside. It is costing councils in excess of half a billion pounds annually to clear it up. The amount of litter dropped yearly in the UK has increased by 500% since the 1960s. An estimated 25 million tonnes of litter is dropped every year – almost entirely food and drink packaging. This is as heavy as 62,500 jumbo jets. Four years ago it was only five million tonnes a year. Last year some 69,000 animals were killed or injured by litter. Some 1.3 million pieces of rubbish are dropped on Highways Agency roads alone every weekend (across a year that adds up to a whopping 67.2 million pieces of rubbish!!) with a third of drivers admitting to throwing litter while on the road.

 

Fly-tipping – illegally dumping waste (anything from a single bin bag upwards constitutes a fly-tip) – is also adversely affecting the amenity of our local environments and reducing civic pride. Fly-tipping can lead to serious pollution of the environment and potentially endanger human health. The estimated cost of clearance of illegally dumped waste reported by local authorities in 2006-7 was £73.7 million. Fly-tipping on private land is also a major problem. A report conducted on behalf of the Environment Agency estimated the cost of clearing fly-tipping from agricultural land alone to be in excess of £47 million. And it doesn’t stop there!

 

Increases in land fill tax (making the disposal of rubbish ever more expensive and fly-tipping increasingly appealing), the switch to fortnightly household rubbish collections, re-focusing of local authority priorities to meet Government recycling targets, the lack of bins and just plain laziness are among the many reasons that the problem of litter and fly-tipping could further escalate over the coming years if action is not taken now.

 

It is your tax money paying to clean up this mess – so what can you do about it?

 

Local authorities are responsible for all public land and roads within their boundaries (except for motorways and trunk roads which are a Highways Agency responsibility). Under section 87 & 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on the spot fines of £75 can be issued for littering – failure to pay results in fines of up to £2,500 and a court appearance. Fly-tipping attracts substantially higher financial penalties, clean up costs and imprisonment. If you see fly-tipping or littering occurring, take down all the information you can, most importantly the car registration, make and model details, and report the incident immediately to the police and/or your local authority. If you have a camera handy (or your phone’s camera), take a picture as successful prosecutions of fly-tipping require a solid evidence base.

 

The tidiness of motorways and major trunk roads is the responsibility of the Highways Agency. All complaints about the prevalence of litter or fly-tipping can be made to 08457 50 40 30. If you observe a fellow driver throwing litter out of a car window, record the number plate and call your local police. The fine for littering in this way is £75.

 

Responsibility for the cleanliness of railways is divided up between Network Rail and the train operating companies. All railway land in urban areas, land between the tracks and up to 100m from the end of the platform, and 17 key railway stations are managed by Network Rail – if you have concerns with the level of litter around any of these stations call 08457114111. The remaining 2,500 other stations are managed by the train operating companies so contact them directly – or speak to your guard or station staff at your destination.

 

The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for large scale incidents of fly-tipping of more than a lorry load, hazardous waste in drums, and waste dumped in a way that is injurious to human health or will cause serious harm to the environment on land or in water. Incidents can be reported 24 hours a day on 0800 807 060.

 

The EA also investigates unregistered waste carriers and brokers. As a citizen you are responsible to ensure waste from your property is passed for disposal by authorised persons. If the carrier is unauthorised and caught (or your dumped waste is found and traced), you are liable to a £5,000 fine and clean up costs. Check your tradesman or skip hire is a registered waste carrier by calling 0870 850 6506.

 

Litter attracts more litter increasing the impact of the problem so get active and organise a local litter pick – or get involved in an existing one. And keep your eye out for CPRE’s anti-litter and fly-tipping campaign launching in April for more campaigning actions to help us clean up the countryside.