The Environmental Impact of Fly Tipping
We often hear about the impact of organised crime fly-tipping and wonder who’s to blame. But it’s not just the gangs – it is also the impact on the environment. Commercial waste is a massive contributor to fly-tipping. So why is commercial waste disposal so important? Why is fly-tipping becoming a problem in our countryside? We’ll explore the environmental impact of this issue and the contribution of incorrect commercial waste collection or business waste disposal.
Hopefully, this article will shed some light on these issues and help rural police forces tackle this issue more effectively. With the recent introduction of fees for waste removal, organised crime has turned to fly-tipping as a lucrative business. The criminals have taken the process online, uploading their videos to social media and council websites. Please click here for more information and pricing on commercial waste.
Impact of Fly Tipping: Organised Fly-Tipping
Organised fly-tipping is a growing problem, costing local councils thousands of pounds to clean up.
It’s also an environmental issue, with the waste being discarded in the wrong places. The Environment Agency is responsible for clearing large-scale dumping and waste that weighs 20 tonnes or more on public land. However, the landowner’s responsibility is to clear waste in private landfills.
Despite pressure from organisations such as CLA Insurance, the Government’s waste strategy has failed to tackle this issue. The waste criminals luring people with social media and internet adverts have been responsible for repeated fly-tipping incidents in Lochgelly. These criminals then dump loads without paying fees.
This is a serious crime that involves a network of career criminals. As a result, the police are investigating two-thirds of such incidents. Whether a single person or a group commits the crimes, the waste criminals are taking advantage of our society’s lack of regulation and awareness. The documentary also documents the work of police officers and environmental officials to fight fly-tipping. A lot of commercial waste contributes to fly-tipping, and disposing of commercial waste must be taken seriously.
The Scottish justice secretary, Keith Brown, has warned that “waste disposal” is now a money-making enterprise. It is the latest example of fraud, with the UK now experiencing “epidemic levels.”
Impact of Fly Tipping: Business Waste Crime
To combat organised crime, the Council has increased its CCTV capability. Working in partnership with Parish Councils has gained the ability to install covert equipment on lamp posts and place cameras to catch fly-tippers.
It has exceeded its financial year target and will focus even more on fly-tipping, following a realignment of services in the coming financial year. It will also improve its policing and investigation processes, including better use of CCTV cameras. Police are constantly searching for information on the extent of fly-tipping and other environmental crimes contributed to by business waste.
Recycling codes |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
7 |
PETE |
HDPE |
V |
LDPE |
PP |
|
Polyethylene Terephthalate. |
High Density Polyethylene |
Polyvinyl Chloride |
Low-density Polyethylene |
Polypropylene |
All other plastics |
Impact of Fly Tipping: Lax Regulations
Organised crime gangs benefit from lax property and benefit rules and use them for banking large sums of taxpayers’ money.
However, some people may not want to give up their money to fight crime, so the police are working on a solution. Residents should report the dumping of business waste to prevent organised crime fly-tipping. The new partnership will involve both the UK and Albania combating organised crime. This new partnership will help reduce the risk of organised crime and improve the security of both countries. The money will go towards extra treatment places in treatment centres, particularly high drug abuse areas.
Impact of Fly Tipping: Criminal gangs involved
The criminal gangs behind the dumping of rubbish in the countryside have branched out into an entirely new industry – illegal waste disposal. Fly-tipping is an illegal activity that involves dumping dangerous and potentially harmful waste and has become a significant new development for these criminal gangs.
Fly-tipping is a lucrative business with little risk and excellent money. However, it is not without consequences. The financial penalties for fly-tipping are relatively low, so many perpetrators slip through the cracks. Authorities initially issue warnings and escalate to fixed penalties, resulting in court action and jail time. Repeat offenders, however, can slip through the cracks, mainly if they operate regionally or nationally.
Impact of Fly Tipping: Environmental Impact
The environmental crimes that result from fly-tipping are a blight on our environment.
The costs of clean-up are high – local authorities have spent £60 million since 2012 clearing up fly-tipping incidents. This is partly due to fake clean-up firms which hired buildings and dumped their clients’ waste. Since 2012, councils have dealt with more than a million fly-tipping incidents in England. Increasingly, local authorities have started to use CCTV cameras to target areas where fly-tipping is most prevalent.
The main aim of these fly-tipping operations is to evade taxes and avoid the associated costs. The criminals dump the illegal waste in rural areas as it’s much cheaper than paying land-fill fees. Often, the waste thrown away is toxic and should not be dumped. So, if you’re looking to dispose of waste responsibly, you’ll want to ensure the business is properly registered and licensed. Impact on the environment Organised crime is making fly-tipping a lucrative industry. It costs the UK millions of pounds each year to clean up the rubbish left behind by these rogue operators.
The Government will also impose new penalties against these criminals. The resulting convictions will force criminal organisations to take responsibility for their crimes, including fly-tipping of business waste. If caught, they will face serious charges, including money laundering.
The Environment Agency will also take legal action against organisations that fail to deal with illegally disposed of commercial waste. The media highlighted the issue of fly-tipping, which has revealed the growing problem of waste dumping in the UK. Organised crime gangs have stepped up their illegal waste dumping operations, causing local authorities £60 million in clean-up costs. Despite efforts to tackle this problem, fly-tipping remains a major environmental problem.
Moreover, the increasing number of fly-tipping business waste has made it even more difficult for local authorities to deal with the problem effectively. Defra’s efforts to tackle it The Government’s efforts to combat organised crime have resulted in new laws. A review of waste crime enforcement has been launched by Defra, which focuses on organised criminal behaviour, intelligence gathering and enforcement effectiveness.
Defra will also be reviewing waste crime incidents that are more local and smaller in scale, including fly-tipping. These new laws will be rolled out in December. The Government is considering new measures to combat organised waste crime, including stricter rules for waste firms. Waste crime costs the UK economy £924 million each year. Local authorities dealt with nearly 1 million fly-tipping cases in England from the year to March this year.
Defra is now strengthening local authorities’ waste criminal prosecution powers. And they’ve also published the latest figures for fly-tipping, revealing that local authorities were dealing with 1.1 million incidents in 2020/21 – up by 16% on last year’s figures. The latest figures include the lockdown of household waste recycling centres and dry waste collections in March 2020. While Defra’s announcement of additional resources for the fight against fly-tipping is welcome, many farmers are sceptical about the new measures.
Fly-tipping has become an increasing problem, affecting two-thirds of all farmers and is a significant health hazard. Mounds of dumped rubbish can cause fire and insect infestations, pollute land and waterways, and harm wildlife.
Impact of Fly Tipping – Learn more about UK business waste statistics here
Other useful links from our Commercial Waste Centre
Why Should Your Business Go Paperless?
Choosing a Garage Waste Management Service
Developing an EMS for Hazardous Waste
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