BBC Trust's whitewash is no surprise
Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Tim Bonner writes: Over a year ago I wrote about an article...
about this blogRead moreThe Countryside Alliance has contributed to the BBC's investigation of fly-tipping in Essex.
The study found that there were 19,827 reported fly-tipping incidents between April 2022 and March 2023, up from 18,834 the previous year.
The data covered 13 of Essex's 14 local council authorities. The BBC contacted the other authority, Castle Point Borough Council, but it did not respond to the request.
Just 18 court prosecutions for fly-tipping were brought across Essex between 2022 and 2023, as well as 917 Fixed Penalty Notices - making up 4.72% of the total reported incidents.
The same percentage was seen in 2021-2022, when there were 17 court prosecutions and 872 FPNs issued.
Councillor Darren Rodwell, environment spokesperson for the LGA, said that prosecuting fly-tippers "often requires time-consuming and laborious investigations with a high threshold of proof".
"In addition to the low fines, councils are often left out of pocket from court action as their costs are not fully repaid."
Sarah Lee, director of policy at the Countryside Alliance, said fly-tipping incidents "continue to blight both the beautiful Essex countryside and urban areas in huge numbers".
"Fly tipping is not just an eyesore, it poses both health and environmental threats to the public and wildlife," she said.
The Countryside Alliance has urged the public to check that anyone collecting waste on their behalf was registered to do so, or they could risk being prosecuted or fined themselves.
Essex County Council said a booking system for visiting recycling centres - which was introduced in March 2023 - will be retained until the results of a consultation are known.
In 2021-22, local authorities in England dealt with more than one million fly-tipping incidents which cost councils up to £186m a year to investigate and clean up.
The government said it had "doubled the maximum on-the-spot fine for littering" as well as other measures.
Read the full BBC article here.
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