Check who you pay to take your rubbish away

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is backing Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight, a national campaign led by Keep Britain Tidy to raise awareness of the environmental crime, how to report it and every household’s legal duty of care when disposing of their rubbish.

Fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste – ranging from a single bin bag and items such as old furniture and white goods appliances to large quantities of commercial and construction waste – on land that’s not licensed to accept it. Not only does it harm communities and damage the environment, affecting local wildlife and causing public health hazards, it’s expensive to clear up.

The borough council deals with around 800 reports on public land and highways each year, which costs approximately £240,000 in retrieval and disposal costs, with just under half of these incidents involving residents who have unwittingly paid, or allowed, a rogue operator to dispose of their unwanted possessions on their behalf.

Fly-tipping can result in a fixed penalty notice of £500 if evidence is recovered – £600 for those unable to prove they took the necessary steps to use a registered waste carrier – and court prosecution for businesses with unlimited fines at crown court level.

Cllr. David Hutchison, Cabinet member for Sustainable Environment, said:

The borough council has a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping. It's a significant burden on the borough council and local taxpayers: it blights our communities, affects the environment and costs thousands of pounds each year to clear up, money that could be better spent on council services.

 

It’s a serious criminal offence. Like littering, there is no excuse for choosing to mindlessly dump waste in our beautiful borough whether directly or indirectly. We all have a role to play in showing pride where we live as well as a personal, ethical and legal duty to ensure our rubbish is dealt with in the correct way. By being informed, checking the legitimacy of waste services and reporting fly-tipping, residents can protect themselves, help their neighbourhoods to stay cleaner, greener and safer as well as saving public money.”

Households and businesses can take some simple steps to protect themselves from unscrupulous waste removal services –

• Suspect all waste carriers and ask the questions you need to know before allowing them to remove anything.

• Check they’re registered on the Environment Agency's website and that they have a valid waste carrier’s licence.

• Refuse any unexpected, or cheap, offers to have your rubbish taken away.

• Ask what will happen to your rubbish – where will it go?

• Paperwork: receipts should show the name of the company and what they took.

The council recommends a number of local services – many which are free – to help residents minimise all types of waste through reducing, reusing and recycling or subsequently via authorised disposal. It has recently signed up with Anglo who provide free doorstep collections of unwanted clothing, footwear and household items. Proceeds are donated to local charity Connect 2 Combat Homelessness who provide high-quality community support to vulnerable people.

More information about fly-tipping, including how to report it, is available on the council’s website.