CLA welcomes waste reforms - 'action is badly needed'
Government pledges crackdown on cowboy waste operators by encouraging vehicle seizures
The CLA has welcomed Government plans to crackdown on cowboy waste operators in a bid to tackle increasing levels of fly-tipping.
Defra has pledged to slash red tape blocking councils from seizing and crushing vehicles. Councils currently have to bear the significant cost of seizing and storing vehicles but under new plans fly-tippers will cover this cost.
The department has announced drones and mobile CCTV cameras will be deployed to identify cars and vans belonging to fly-tippers so they can be destroyed.
It also said any criminals caught transporting and dealing with waste illegally will now face up to five years in prison under new legislation.
'This cannot go on'
Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said:
“We’re pleased to see, following years of campaigning by the CLA, that progress is being made in the fight against fly-tipping, and this news is welcome."
Rural crime blights the countryside, and action is badly needed. The number of incidents is rising, but enforcement actions, fixed penalty notices and total number of court fines are all down year-on-year. This cannot go on
“Some local authorities are already seizing vehicles of fly-tippers, but last year two councils accounted for more than 60% of seizures so these powers need to be used much more widely to send a serious message to these environmental criminals.
“The CLA is supportive of closer co-operation and information sharing between the police, local authorities and the Environment Agency to help them identify and prosecute fly-tippers.”
The number of fly-tipping incidents recorded on public land has reached 1.1 million a year in England, and the CLA believes the true figure to be far higher.