Fly-Tipping In Wales Continues To Fall

27 July 2011

Flycapture figures published yesterday (26 July) show that the number of recorded fly-tipping incidents in Wales has continued to fall. Since 2006/7, occurrences have reduced by 24 percent, from 54,841 cases to 41,750 in 2010/11

The reduction is down in part to the work of Fly-tipping Action Wales, the Welsh Government funded initiative, which brings together over 40 partners to work together to stop fly-tipping across Wales.

Fly-tipping Action Wales educates all sectors of society on the scale of fly-tipping problems, and inform businesses and householders of their legal duty to dispose of waste responsibly.

This reduction in cases has resulted in the cost of clearing fly-tipping falling by 21 percent since 2006.

Speaking about the figures the Environment Minster John Griffiths, said:"I am delighted that, for the third consecutive year, the number of fly-tipping incidents has fallen. Our approach to tackling this problem is working and thanks to the concerted actions by Fly-tipping Action Wales, and its wide range of partners, the message is getting through of the need to dispose of waste responsibly.

"There is still work to be done to secure a long term reduction in fly-tipping. The illegal action of the minority is damaging to the environment, supporting organised crime and affects the quality of life in our communities. Fly-tipping often leads to more serious social problems and is a burden on the tax payer in terms of clean-up costs.

"I urge everyone to dispose of their waste safely and legally."

Pippa Sabine, All-Wales Coordinator for Fly-tipping Action Wales, said: "We're pleased to see that the data continues to show a decline in the number of cases of fly-tipping in Wales for the third year running.

"All of our partner agencies have worked together to tackle fly-tippers which has made a massive contribution towards achieving this result, but prevention is always better than cure.

"We're all responsible for our waste, so the advice we'd give to everyone is to always ask where your waste is going. If you're using a tradesperson to get rid of your waste, we encourage people to make sure they're registered as a waste carrier with Environment Agency Wales."

The Fly-tipping Action Wales Annual Report 2010/11, also published today, highlights their key achievements:

significant successes in educating both the public and businesses about responsible waste disposal through multi agency "Total Focus" events.

innovative techniques being used in enforcement operations. These include increased use of technological equipment such as aerial and on the ground surveillance, forensic dye marking and the use of global positioning systems.

influencing the Sentencing Council to investigate the development of new guidelines for environmental crimes to ensure more consistent sentencing and awarding of clean up costs.

Welsh Government funding has been provided to Fly-tipping Action Wales since 2006.

Darrel Moore

Visit www.flytippingactionwales.org