Single national system needed for reporting fly-tipping, rural groups urge

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The issue has evolved into a large-scale criminal industry that is harming rural communities, the environment and costing the economy millions of pounds each year, according to a report published on Tuesday by the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN) and Future Countryside, which bring together organisations such as the National Farmers’ Union, Crimestoppers and the Countryside Alliance.

Incidents have soared across the country in recent years, with organised waste crime groups growing increasingly sophisticated and massive illegal dumps in protected areas sparking public outrage.

Official figures also showed fly-tipping on public land increased by 9% last year to new highs.

However, the rural groups say the true scale of the problem is likely to be far greater because incidents on private land, large-scale illegal dumping handled by the Environment Agency and many unreported cases are excluded from the national data.

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While the Government has recently unveiled a string of reforms to tackle waste crime under a national action plan, the campaigners are calling on ministers, regulators, police forces, local authorities and the Environment Agency to work together to deliver a more co-ordinated and effective national response.

Ahead of the report launch at the Future Countryside conference on Tuesday, the groups said ministers should introduce a single reporting route for all fly-tipping incidents, which they say the Government has expressly declined to do.

They also want to see a comprehensive national dataset that covers all fly-tipping and waste crime incidents, including those on private land, allowing the scale of the problem and the response to be tracked accurately year-on-year.

A new waste crime (prevention) act should be tabled to bring together a range of reforms under a single legislative framework, the organisations added.

And ministers must take action to shift the responsibility for the costs of fly-tipping incidents on private land from landowners to local authorities, they said.

This measure that was recently put forward in the House of Lords resulted in a Government defeat, before it was overturned in the Commons.

NRCN chairman Tim Passmore said: “Waste crime and fly-tipping is not low-level nuisance offending – it is serious, organised criminality that is damaging our environment, hitting rural communities hard and leaving innocent victims to foot the bill.

“Criminals know the risks are low and the rewards are high. That has to change.

“We need tougher enforcement, sharper accountability and a system that finally treats waste crime and fly-tipping with the seriousness it deserves.”

Julian Glover, co-founder of Future Countryside, said: “Fly-tipping is no longer a simple environmental nuisance.

“It has become a serious criminal enterprise which blights communities, harms nature and places victims under unacceptable financial pressure.

“All too often, rural communities are expected to shoulder the costs while offenders operate with impunity.”

An Environment Department (Defra) spokesperson said: “Waste criminals who blight our countryside and undermine our rural way of life have gone unpunished for too long.

“This Government is ramping up efforts and tackling organised crime head on – we have increased the Environment Agency’s enforcement budget to £15.6 million, bolstered the joint unit for waste crime and our waste crime action plan sets out how we are cracking down on those responsible.

“We continue to work closely with landowners to promote good practice on fly-tipping prevention alongside supporting local authorities and police to investigate, seize and crush vehicles used to illegally dump waste.”