How do we dump Britain’s fly-tipping epidemic?

The government has announced a new crackdown on cowboy waste operators to tackle fly-tipping.

Councils are to work with the police to identify, seize and crush vehicles of waste criminals. Drones and mobile CCTV cameras will be deployed to identify cars and vans belonging to fly-tippers so they can be destroyed.

We spoke to Allison Ogden-Newton, CEO of Keep Britain Tidy, about the growing issue of fly-tipping in the UK.

She said: “Seeing fly-tipping going up by 6% is an absolute tragedy. We're now over 1.1 million instances and it doesn't take me to tell people that it's a real problem because we can all see it every day.

“We need a national take-back scheme. When larger items are delivered to our homes, the old one needs to be taken away.

“And we need to crack down on the criminals that are turning communities into toxic waste dumps.

“Those people that are coming to the door and offering for very small amounts of cash to take your rubbish away, they are not going to dispose of it legally. They are going to dump it. And this is such a widespread problem.

“We're seeing that incredible amount of fly tipping up and down the country everywhere.

“What we do need is to help local authorities help people make it easier for everyone to do the right thing. So councils coming to your door and taking your rubbish away, at least then you'll know it will obviously be disposed of legally. We need more of that and less of the cowboy.

“We're really encouraged by the government's position and we think absolutely we need a crackdown on the criminals. We need an urgent and really draconian reform of the waste carriers license scheme, which at the moment pretty much anybody can get hold of. And even if they've been found guilty of fly tipping, they can continue to hold the license, which we find absolutely staggering.

“You need to check you're dealing with a licensed waste carrier, which means you need to go to the Environment Agency's website. If they're asking for cash, 99.9% of the time they will not be a legitimate operator. So don't fall for that. Even if it is more expensive, use the council system.”