Committee Report: Fly-tipping Enforcement Service
Report to: |
Environment Panel |
|---|---|
Date: |
25 January 2006 |
Subject: |
Fly-tipping Enforcement Service |
Report of: |
Director of Community Protection |
Contact officer: |
David Bithell - (01942) 733336 |
Purpose/summary: |
To inform members of the work carried out by the new fly-tipping enforcement service. |
Alternative options considered and reason for selecting the one recommended: |
|
Recommendation/decision: |
That the report be noted. |
Key Decision: |
This report does not involve a key decision. |
Implications: |
|
Financial: |
None |
Staffing: |
None |
Policy: |
Street Scene Strategy Waste Management Strategy |
Equal Opportunities - Has a Diversity Impact Assessment been conducted? |
No |
Wards affected: |
All |
Special Interest Members – Which have been consulted |
Tracking/Process:
| Consultation | Ward Members | Partners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | |
| Panel | Overview & Scrutiny | Cabinet | Council |
| - | - | - | - |
List of Background Papers in accordance with Section 100D of the Local Government Act 1972:
| Document | Date | File Reference | Place of Inspection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report to Panel:Creation of a fly-tipping enforcement service | 23 March 2005 | …/report15.htm | - |
| Proper Officer | B. Saunders |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 January 2006 |
Background
Members will recall the report presented to, and approved by, Cabinet (February 2005) and the Environment Panel (March 2005), which set out plans for the introduction of a fly-tipping enforcement service.
European legislation has required member states to reduce disposal to landfill and move towards a more sustainable approach on waste management. In January 2005 a new Waste Management Strategy for the Borough included the cessation of trade waste and skip services. Recognising that this was likely to lead to increased fly-tipping, the strategy aimed to minimise the problem by introducing an enforcement service to deal with fly-tipping.
Information
In April 2004 the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), in conjunction with the Environment Agency, launched FlyCapture. This is a national database which records incidents, investigations and action taken in relation to all aspects of illegal waste disposal. Comparison of FlyCapture returns for the Borough for the period from April to December 2005 showed a 32.6% rise in illegal waste disposal incidents compared with the same period in 2004. Flycapture also estimates the costs of removal and disposal of waste from such incidents. Those costs for the period from April to December 2005 exceeded £100,000 in this Borough.
Four new fly-tipping enforcement officers were in post by July 2005, operating within two existing regulatory teams in the Public Health Section of the Community Protection Department. They are part of a three-way approach which involves publicity and promotional work, removal of fly-tipped waste and enforcement against offenders. Much of this work is done in partnership, primarily with Engineering Services and also with the Environment Agency and Greater Manchester Police.
The Streetcare Helpline fields calls from members of the public who wish to report fly-tipping on open land. The information is used to identify hot-spots which are then targeted for investigation and surveillance. Other cases, where good evidence on the identity of fly-tippers is available, have been referred on for a more rapid response.
The new staff also field direct calls from the public relating to rubbish within premises (domestic, commercial and industrial) and investigate as necessary.
In the period from April to December 2005 the department investigated 248 fly-tipping reports and 590 reports about rubbish within premises.
Illegal waste disposal is investigated using a range of measures which aim to identify fly-tippers. These include recovery of evidence from tipped waste, officer surveillance of sites and suspects, use of closed circuit television using both overt and covert cameras, tracing of suspects using information from the DVLA database, etc.
Specific operations have targeted particular problems. One example is a joint operation with Engineering Services, the Environment Agency and the Police aimed at traders who attempt to illegally dispose of trade waste at Civic Amenity sites.
Legislation provides a range of sanctions to deal with offenders. These include abatement notices (where statutory nuisance is caused), removing waste and recharging the costs to those responsible, fixed penalty notices, seizure of vehicles, formal cautions, prosecution and, in certain cases, anti-social behaviour orders. The maximum penalties for fly-tipping are a fine of £50,000 and five years in prison. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 has expanded the powers available.
The new service’s first prosecution case resulted in a conviction in December 2005. All enforcement outputs for the period April to December 2006 are summarised below:
Warning letters |
111 |
|---|---|
Abatement notices |
16 |
Fixed penalty notices (litter) |
296 |
Formal cautions |
2 |
Prosecutions |
2 |
Conclusion
The fly-tipping enforcement service has commenced work during the second half of 2005 and has begun to tackle problems from the deposits of rubbish. Enforcement outputs are beginning to flow and reports will continue to be made to Environment Panel.