I have no idea how many responses they received, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were quite a few, judging not only by the amount of garbage you see in this beautiful country, but also by the number of press releases on an issue that has crossed my desk for the last few years.
Hardly a month goes by without one organization or another expressing righteous indignation at this callous act, which, as all press releases say, is a real disaster for the village.
And, unfortunately, because of this, any poor farmer or landowner can get a huge bill to pay for any necessary cleaning operation, because not all councils are understanding enough to help, even if it was a truck with asbestos wrap or a van. are filled with meat processing waste, which is not only potentially hazardous, but also requires specialized waste disposal companies to deal with it, which comes at a significant cost.
I also have no idea what was included in some of these answers, but I can assume that some of them are not suitable for publication in this or any other decent paper.
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Much of the consultation seems to have revolved around behavior change - which sounds good, but I have a hunch that many of the worst cases of fly-tipping are perpetrated by heartless commercial operators who will likely be paid to pick things up. away from people’s homes or small businesses, and then avoid any cost at the other end by simply dropping it into a field gate or curbside.
Waste criminals profit off legitimate businesses by undermining them, not paying for waste disposal at approved sites, and competing unfairly. This can often lead to large scale fly tipping, especially in rural areas.
One thought did cross my mind, which was to change the terminology, because I can’t help but feel that “fly tossing” falls far short of an accurate description of the offence, carrying with it something along the lines of “nudge-nudge, wink-wink, don’t tell the owner again” image of a quirky dealer like Dell-Boy intent on committing a minor rule violation without a victim.
There are always calls for increased fines to deter such acts, but at the moment if a person is found guilty of an offense they can be given a flat fine notice of several hundred pounds or potentially face jail time and risk a fine of up to up to £40,000.
So, if you use it to the fullest, there is already a pretty hefty deterrent. But what’s interesting is the fact that while crime seemed to increase significantly during the Covid lockdown, when household waste collection centers were closed (and many people spent their forced time at home catching up at home they promised to do ). to do since they moved, producing most of the waste they dumped) the number of prosecutions collapsed.
Official data show that while in 2014/15 there were 18 criminal cases, 13 of which were successful, there were only two in the 2019/20 pandemic.
To be fair, the under pressure police are busy with other cases, many of which may seem more important to them, especially when it is difficult to achieve the necessary level of evidence to enforce a conviction, when the crime is often committed in remote areas. and under cover of darkness.
But perhaps lawmakers should look south of the border.
In England, too, there is a fierce race for tip flies, and new crackdown proposals are being published today.
And one major initiative that could actually make a significant difference could lead to behavior change in the most elementary way possible – by reaching out to the pockets of the general public.
Under the new plans, removing the right of local authorities to charge for the collection of waste such as drywall, bricks and old tubs, which account for about two-thirds of all landfill incidents, means that households will no longer need to pay for garbage collection. get rid of the waste that their home improvement projects create.
True, this may involve some additional costs, but if it reduces the £46 million that the councils spend on garbage collection, not to mention the costs of landowners, this money can be put to good use.
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