An alliance of rural campaigning organisations have written to the government, strongly urging it to seize an opportunity to end the rural fly-tipping injustice. The full letter can be read here.

Fly-tipping is one of the only crimes where the victims have to pay the cost of the damage done to them. Farmers who are victims of fly-tipping are currently legally responsible for clearing the waste that is dumped on their land - and if they fail to remove the waste, they can even be prosecuted by local authorities for having controlled waste on their land.

This is despite the fact that most local authorities refuse to prosecute the original offence of fly-tipping. The result is a "ridiculous" system where the victims of the crime are further penalised by the law - and it is farmers and rural communities who bear the brunt of this and are neglected by the current system.

The letter comes after members of the House of Lords last month (25 February) inflicted a series of defeats on the government, in a win for rural communities that have been blighted by fly-tipping.

Amendments tabled by peers have the potential to fix the broken system - but it remains to be seen whether the government will accept them or not.

The government's Waste Crime Action Plan, published last week (19 March), acknowledged the injustice - rural campaigners are urging the Minister to take this acknowledgement a step further, by accepting the amendments and fixing the broken system.

Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, stated:

"The government has a real opportunity here to end the ridiculous current system in which farmers and rural people are penalised for being victims of waste crime.

"Accepting these amendments would do much to repair the government's broken relationship with the countryside, showing rural communities that the government does care about justice for the people who live and work there. We have heard warm statements from the government on this issue before - but they are not enough. Actions speak louder than words."

The amendments mentioned (specifically amendments 13 & 21) would make convicted offenders of fly-tipping automatically liable for the cost of removal and any damage caused, and force authorities to ensure that victims of fly-tipping are not left footing the bill.

Most crucially of all, they would place the duty on local authorities to collect the fly-tipped waste and seek to recover costs from offenders – a massive change that would do a great deal to incentivise councils to properly deal with problems by investigating and prosecuting effectively, all while relieving private victims of any clean-up costs.

NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt said:

“With over 1.26 million reported fly-tips in England last year, fly-tipping is a serious criminal offence that imposes a relentless and costly blight on our countryside. Currently, private landowners are forced to shoulder the financial burden of waste crime, a crime that forces farmland out of use, poses a threat to wildlife and places an unfair financial and emotional strain on British farmers and growers.

“We are calling on the government to urgently consider these amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, as until the system tackles waste crime at its source, the unjust burden fly-tipping places on British farmers and growers will continue.”

CLA President Gavin Lane said:

“Farmers and land managers have had enough. The countryside is increasingly being targeted by organised crime gangs – often violent – who know that rural areas are under-policed and resourced.

“It’s not just litter blotting the landscape, but tonnes of household and commercial waste which can often be hazardous – even including asbestos and chemicals – endangering wildlife, livestock, crops and the environment. Farmers are victims yet have to pay clean up costs themselves.

“We need to see penalties being enforced that better reflect the severity of the crime, and the seizure of vehicles must be the default penalty to send a clear signal that criminals will face real consequences if they are caught fly-tipping.”

John Read of Clean Up Britain said:

"With fly-tipping incidents at a record high of 1.26 million last year, up nine per cent, it is clear that the current system is failing. It is a basic injustice that a farmer or landowner who wakes up to find waste dumped on their property is then expected to pay for its removal. This letter represents a united front from rural, environmental and anti-litter organisations who rarely speak with one voice. When groups as diverse as ours agree that the system is broken, the government should listen. Amendments 13 and 21 would finally place responsibility where it belongs: on offenders, not victims. The government should seize this opportunity rather than let it pass".

Tim Passmore, Chair of the National Rural Crime Network said:  

“Rural landowners are victims of fly tipping, not perpetrators. The National Rural Crime Network insists the focus must be on catching criminals, not penalising those they target.”

You can read the full letter here.