Fly-tippers could be forced to pick up other people's rubbish

Fly-tippers may be forced to pick up litter under new proposals to combat neighbourhoods being blighted by waste.
People convicted of fly-tipping could be forced to pick up other people's rubbish.People convicted of fly-tipping could be forced to pick up other people's rubbish.
People convicted of fly-tipping could be forced to pick up other people's rubbish.

People sentenced to community service for dumping waste will be told to help councils clean up, under government plans reported by the Mail on Sunday.

Clearing 936,090 reported cases of fly-tipping in England in 2015-16 cost councils £49.8million, according to data from the Environment Department (Defra).

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Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said: "The Government now wants to see more of those committing crimes like this taking responsibility for cleaning up the community by picking up litter and illegally dumped waste themselves."

Fresh guidance would also be issued to councils reminding them it is illegal to charge DIY enthusiasts to dispose of household waste at the tip.

Current guidance outlaws the fees but there are concerns some councils are charging £4 a bag for soil or waste from home renovations, the Sunday Telegraph said.

Ms Leadsom said: "Charging local residents for doing the responsible thing and taking their household waste to the tip is not only unfair and unacceptable, but could also be a lead factor in the reported increases in fly-tipping."

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Samantha Harding, litter programme director at the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), said: "We hope these proposals are the roots of a strategy that will all but eradicate fly-tipping for good.

"They reward good intentions to dispose of waste and rubbish responsibly, and should deter people from thinking they can get away with trashing the countryside.

"As the wider litter strategy develops, we must remember that fly-tipping often happens on private land.

"We need to do more to protect those in the countryside who have to pay the clean-up costs of someone else's selfishness."