POLICE officers joined government agencies in a crackdown on fly-tipping last week. 

On Thursday, September 22 country watch and roads policing officers teamed up with the Environment Agency, HMRC and DVSA. 

They worked together and set up an operation to target commercial vehicles and waste carriers to ensure all held their correct licence and all vehicles were road worthy.  

The true scale of fly-tipping on private land is not clear but it is estimated that fly-tipping on private land costs £50million to £150million to clear up each year.

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Land managers, occupiers or owners of private property are responsible for clearing and disposing of any fly-tipping found on private land.

Whilst councils in the area will not clear waste dumped on private land free of charge, they may investigate incidents where appropriate.

If a successful prosecution is brought, the council can apply for the court to order that the landowner’s clean-up costs be reimbursed.

The Environment Agency will investigate major incidents with a greater potential to cause harm to human health and damage to the environment, such as the larger scale incidents of fly-tipping, that generally involve more than a lorry/tipper load of waste, incidents involving hazardous waste, and those involving organised gangs of fly-tippers. 

Some steps that landowners and managers can take to prevent fly-tipping on their land include:

·  Physical improvements such as the installation of gates and barriers and improved visibility

·  Better site management – keeping areas tidy and removing fly-tipped waste quickly

·  Deterrence – this can be in the form of successful prosecutions, signage, CCTV, security patrols etc

·  Working with others including your neighbours, local businesses and any existing partnerships.

Regardless of whether land is public or private, if you find fly-tipped waste the police advise that you should always report it.