News Date: Wednesday 6th September 2006
Tim raises concern with problem of fly-tipping
Figures released by "Flycapture," the national database of fly-tipping incidents run by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency and the Local Government Association have shown that despite some 293 incidents of illegal waste dumping throughout Adur between April 2005 and March 2006 no prosecutions were secured.
Tim commented:
"I am very worried by the scale of the fly-tipping problem and I know that this is an issue with which my constituents are concerned as I often receive representations from people thoroughly fed-up with the state of the local roadsides and council land.
"Those who commit such acts pose a threat to both other humans and wildlife, damage our environment and selfishly spoil our enjoyment of our towns and countryside. They should be dealt with in the strictest terms and I was therefore disappointed to note that not a single prosecution was secured in the last year, although I of course understand the difficulties facing local authorities in this matter.
"We should also recognise that fly-tipping undermines legitimate waste businesses where illegal operators undercut those trading within the law. At the same time, the reputation of legal operators us undermined by rogue traders.
"I would strongly urge anyone who witnesses acts of fly-tipping to report their concerns to the local authority or to the Environment Agency's 24 hour hotline number.
Overall, local authorities in the South East reported that they had dealt with over 116,000 incidents of fly-tipping between April 2005 and March 2006, an average of 11,000 per month. This equates to an average of 1.3 incidents per thousand population in the South East every month, with more than half of all fly-tips occurring on highways. The estimated cost of clearance of illegally dumped waste reported by local authorities in the South East in the reporting year was nearly ?6.5 million.
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
The Environment Agency's 24 hour hotline can be reached on 0800 807060.
For more information, please contact Tim Loughton's Westminster office on 020 7219 4471
?, Tim Loughton MP , 2006
