>Fly-tipping incidents across East Lancashire are on the rise, with Blackburn’s cases increasing by almost double.
>
>And now, a rural insurance expert is urging farmers and landowners to take extra steps to protect themselves against fly-tipping as latest figures revealing an increase in cases.
>
>According to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), a total of 140,220 fly-tipping incidents were recorded across the North West in 2020/21, up from 115,192 during the previous 12 months.
>
>Incidents on agricultural land increased, year-on-year, from 283 to 671.
>
>And aside from Manchester and Liverpool, the biggest increase in fly-tipping cases could be seen in Blackburn with Darwen where cases rose from 3,763 in 2019/20 to 6,509 in 2020/21.
>
>Pendle also recorded a notable rise with 5,716 cases of fly-tipping recorded in 2020/21 compared to 3,163 in 2019/20.
>
>Rupert Wailes-Fairbairn, of rural insurance broker Lycetts, said: “Fly-tipping is an unwelcome blight on our countryside and can represent far more than an inconvenience to victims of the crime.
>
>“Incidents not only pose significant environmental and human health risks, but also a legal and financial burden for farmers and landowners.
>
>“Although local authorities will usually pay the clean-up costs of clearing waste from public land, the responsibility for removing waste from private land falls squarely at the feet of the landowners.
>
>”If they fail to do so, they can face prosecution.”
>
>Clean-up bills per incident average around £1,000, according to the National Rural Crime Network, but large-scale incidents can cost upwards of £10,000.
>
>Environmental criminals can be more inclined to act under cover of darkness and councils will often see a surge of incidents in January as people look to dispose of post festive waste, including Christmas trees.
>
>Executive member for environment at Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Jim Smith, said: “During the pandemic we unfortunately experienced a rise in fly-tipping nationwide.
>
>”A number of different factors may have contributed to this, such as a period of closure for HWRC’s, and lack of court availability during lockdowns made it difficult to proceed with prosecutions.
>
>”However, Blackburn with Darwen was one of the only councils locally that was able to keep our collection services going throughout the entire pandemic.
>
>”As we all know, there really is no excuse for anyone to be dumping rubbish.
>
>“Whilst the figures provided may initially sound shocking, we have in fact seen a 78 per cent increase in enforcement action since April 2019/2020.
>
>”This includes a 58 per cent increase in FPN’s and 46 per cent increase in prosecutions – figures I congratulate our team for.
>
>“Our fly-tipping and enforcement staff continued to work throughout the pandemic, and as a council we introduced regular adopted back-street clearing across the entire borough in April 2021 to combat fly-tipping.
>
>”In addition, we have recently launched a new initiative, the Wall of Shame, utilising CCTV footage to catch, fine and prosecute those blighting our borough.
>
>“Alongside this, our environmental education officer continues to work closely with schools to inform our local young people on the damaging effects of littering, and [www.recyclebwd.org](http://www.recyclebwd.org) remains a vital resource in providing accurate recycling and waste management information and our incredible Keep it Tidy volunteers put in countless hours to help keep the streets clean.
>
>“We will continue to do all we can to protect our borough from shameless fly-tippers and ask residents to continue supporting us in this task.
>
>”If residents see someone fly-tipping, please make contact with the council, as we operate on a zero tolerance basis for those who fly-tip and will seek to prosecute them.”
>
>The table below shows each local authority area across the North West and the total number of fly-tipping incidents recorded since 2019.
>
>From left to right it reads, local authority area; total incidents 2020/21; total incidents 2019/20
>
>Allerdale; 1333; 689
>
>Barrow-in-Furness; 2985; 1986
>
>Blackburn with Darwen; 6509; 3763
>
>Blackpool; 3907; 3319
>
>Bolton; 1250; 935
>
>Burnley; 3147; 2831
>
>Bury; 3308; 2677
>
>Carlisle; 1594; 1030
>
>Cheshire East; 4321; 2746
>
>Cheshire West and Chester; 5731; 3722
>
>Chorley; 1435; 894
>
>Copeland; 406; 266
>
>Eden; 376; 326
>
>Fylde; 551; 570
>
>Halton; 559; 458
>
>Hyndburn; 3308; 2829
>
>Knowsley; 2617; 1939
>
>Lancaster; 2827; 1942
>
>Liverpool; 24326; 20780
>
>Manchester; 14891; 18270
>
>Oldham; 1572; 2066
>
>Pendle; 5716; 3163
>
>Preston; 3469; 2748
>
>Ribble Valley; 948; 725
>
>Rochdale; 5342; 6111
>
>Rossendale; 1052; 806
>
>Salford; 5170; 4187
>
>Sefton; 4046; 3837
>
>South Lakeland; 260; 161
>
>South Ribble; 610; 458
>
>St. Helens; 2060; 1817
>
>Stockport; 3996; 2511
>
>Tameside; 5063; 3367
>
>Trafford; 3516; 3274
>
>Warrington; 1419; 838
>
>West Lancashire; 3246; 1870
>
>Wigan; 941; 887
>
>Wirral; 4835; 2989
>
>Wyre; 1578; 1405
I see Fly-tipping as a service problem.
Are there enough tips?
Is there long queues?
Are they open when needed?
Are they charging for individuals or companies to dump?
Are they charging for specific items?
Perhaps it’ll be cheaper and better for the enviroment if we encourged respoible disposal at offical sites, where things can be recycled properly, and just accept the fact that that’ll cost – especally if cleaning up a fly-top costs so much more.
The sheer faff in getting a permit to drop-off 2 bags at a time is a contributing factor…
This is another case of the price of goods not reflecting their true cost and how that effects the tax payer who always end up picking up the tab.
I don’t buy the argument that “it’s too difficult to get to the tip”, that’s just laziness and disorganisation. At worst you store the waste until you can dispose of it, tipping it into a field or onto the street is just shitty behaviour.
5 comments
– Amy Farnworth
>Fly-tipping incidents across East Lancashire are on the rise, with Blackburn’s cases increasing by almost double.
>
>And now, a rural insurance expert is urging farmers and landowners to take extra steps to protect themselves against fly-tipping as latest figures revealing an increase in cases.
>
>According to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), a total of 140,220 fly-tipping incidents were recorded across the North West in 2020/21, up from 115,192 during the previous 12 months.
>
>Incidents on agricultural land increased, year-on-year, from 283 to 671.
>
>And aside from Manchester and Liverpool, the biggest increase in fly-tipping cases could be seen in Blackburn with Darwen where cases rose from 3,763 in 2019/20 to 6,509 in 2020/21.
>
>Pendle also recorded a notable rise with 5,716 cases of fly-tipping recorded in 2020/21 compared to 3,163 in 2019/20.
>
>Rupert Wailes-Fairbairn, of rural insurance broker Lycetts, said: “Fly-tipping is an unwelcome blight on our countryside and can represent far more than an inconvenience to victims of the crime.
>
>“Incidents not only pose significant environmental and human health risks, but also a legal and financial burden for farmers and landowners.
>
>“Although local authorities will usually pay the clean-up costs of clearing waste from public land, the responsibility for removing waste from private land falls squarely at the feet of the landowners.
>
>”If they fail to do so, they can face prosecution.”
>
>Clean-up bills per incident average around £1,000, according to the National Rural Crime Network, but large-scale incidents can cost upwards of £10,000.
>
>Environmental criminals can be more inclined to act under cover of darkness and councils will often see a surge of incidents in January as people look to dispose of post festive waste, including Christmas trees.
>
>Executive member for environment at Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Jim Smith, said: “During the pandemic we unfortunately experienced a rise in fly-tipping nationwide.
>
>”A number of different factors may have contributed to this, such as a period of closure for HWRC’s, and lack of court availability during lockdowns made it difficult to proceed with prosecutions.
>
>”However, Blackburn with Darwen was one of the only councils locally that was able to keep our collection services going throughout the entire pandemic.
>
>”As we all know, there really is no excuse for anyone to be dumping rubbish.
>
>“Whilst the figures provided may initially sound shocking, we have in fact seen a 78 per cent increase in enforcement action since April 2019/2020.
>
>”This includes a 58 per cent increase in FPN’s and 46 per cent increase in prosecutions – figures I congratulate our team for.
>
>“Our fly-tipping and enforcement staff continued to work throughout the pandemic, and as a council we introduced regular adopted back-street clearing across the entire borough in April 2021 to combat fly-tipping.
>
>”In addition, we have recently launched a new initiative, the Wall of Shame, utilising CCTV footage to catch, fine and prosecute those blighting our borough.
>
>“Alongside this, our environmental education officer continues to work closely with schools to inform our local young people on the damaging effects of littering, and [www.recyclebwd.org](http://www.recyclebwd.org) remains a vital resource in providing accurate recycling and waste management information and our incredible Keep it Tidy volunteers put in countless hours to help keep the streets clean.
>
>“We will continue to do all we can to protect our borough from shameless fly-tippers and ask residents to continue supporting us in this task.
>
>”If residents see someone fly-tipping, please make contact with the council, as we operate on a zero tolerance basis for those who fly-tip and will seek to prosecute them.”
>
>The table below shows each local authority area across the North West and the total number of fly-tipping incidents recorded since 2019.
>
>From left to right it reads, local authority area; total incidents 2020/21; total incidents 2019/20
>
>Allerdale; 1333; 689
>
>Barrow-in-Furness; 2985; 1986
>
>Blackburn with Darwen; 6509; 3763
>
>Blackpool; 3907; 3319
>
>Bolton; 1250; 935
>
>Burnley; 3147; 2831
>
>Bury; 3308; 2677
>
>Carlisle; 1594; 1030
>
>Cheshire East; 4321; 2746
>
>Cheshire West and Chester; 5731; 3722
>
>Chorley; 1435; 894
>
>Copeland; 406; 266
>
>Eden; 376; 326
>
>Fylde; 551; 570
>
>Halton; 559; 458
>
>Hyndburn; 3308; 2829
>
>Knowsley; 2617; 1939
>
>Lancaster; 2827; 1942
>
>Liverpool; 24326; 20780
>
>Manchester; 14891; 18270
>
>Oldham; 1572; 2066
>
>Pendle; 5716; 3163
>
>Preston; 3469; 2748
>
>Ribble Valley; 948; 725
>
>Rochdale; 5342; 6111
>
>Rossendale; 1052; 806
>
>Salford; 5170; 4187
>
>Sefton; 4046; 3837
>
>South Lakeland; 260; 161
>
>South Ribble; 610; 458
>
>St. Helens; 2060; 1817
>
>Stockport; 3996; 2511
>
>Tameside; 5063; 3367
>
>Trafford; 3516; 3274
>
>Warrington; 1419; 838
>
>West Lancashire; 3246; 1870
>
>Wigan; 941; 887
>
>Wirral; 4835; 2989
>
>Wyre; 1578; 1405
I see Fly-tipping as a service problem.
Are there enough tips?
Is there long queues?
Are they open when needed?
Are they charging for individuals or companies to dump?
Are they charging for specific items?
Perhaps it’ll be cheaper and better for the enviroment if we encourged respoible disposal at offical sites, where things can be recycled properly, and just accept the fact that that’ll cost – especally if cleaning up a fly-top costs so much more.
The sheer faff in getting a permit to drop-off 2 bags at a time is a contributing factor…
This is another case of the price of goods not reflecting their true cost and how that effects the tax payer who always end up picking up the tab.
I don’t buy the argument that “it’s too difficult to get to the tip”, that’s just laziness and disorganisation. At worst you store the waste until you can dispose of it, tipping it into a field or onto the street is just shitty behaviour.