Rise In Fly-Tipping Dubbed ‘The New Narcotics’
Organised criminal gangs are being blamed for the dramatic increase in fly-tipping, as reported by the BBC. Large scale fly-tipping, which involves the illegal dumping of a tipper lorry load or more, has doubled in the last six years, and the Environment Agency has called the illicit waste disposal ‘the new narcotics’.
The investigation by the BBC revealed that organised crime families are setting up fake companies in order to take over warehouses, before filling them with waste before abounding the site. They profit from advertising their services online for a fee, but it has cost local councils in the UK millions.
Statistics indicate that local councils in England have been saddled with £60million in clean-up costs since 2012, as London and Manchester are hit hardest. Last year alone, local councils faced a staggering £12.8million bill to clear more than 36,200 large trips as the country faces a fly-tipping epidemic.
The government has claimed that the rise in numbers is possibly due to better means of recording data, but many are calling for tougher measures to deal with the crisis. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said the new figures exposed a ‘nightmare’ situation that is continuing to ‘spiral out of control’, while campaign group Keep Britain Tidy called for a Government clampdown.
Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: ‘Everyone can help fight the fast-growing mountains of fly-tipping. This is a national disgrace that is costing tax-payers and the environment dearly.
‘At Keep Britain Tidy we think it’s #CrimeNotToCare. Our campaign highlights how ordinary householders can cut the supply chain to organised criminals by not handing over their waste to unregistered carriers.’
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: ‘Waste crime is an unacceptable blight on our environment, estimated to cost the UK economy at least £600million a year and put communities at risk.
‘We are determined to bring waste criminals to justice, which is why anyone found guilty could face jail time or a hefty fine. In the last year, we closed down over 900 illegal waste sites, brought forward 113 prosecutions and launched a Joint Unit for Waste Crime to bring down the most serious and organised criminal groups.’
In Greater Manchester, Manchester City Council recorded the largest incidents in five years between 2012 and 2019, averaging up to 1,672 clean-ups per year.
Croydon Council in south London had the highest average annual number of large incidents per capita, as well as the biggest increase in large fly-tipping in those eight years, according to Government data.
In Wales, large fly-tipping has generally decreased, which officials claim is due to the national campaign run by Fly-tipping Action Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland fly-tipping data was not publicly available.
Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the agency, warned how crime families complicit in the rampant exploitation would face ‘Al Capone-style’ prosecutions.
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