16/02/2005 - The Environment
Agency is asking for people starting to
spring clean to think about where their
waste goes and what they can do to help
reduce the amount of waste which is dumped
illegally, or fly-tipped.
Whatever work people are doing, whether
it’s redecorating, cleaning out the garage
or shed or working in the garden, waste
is produced and we are asking people to
do their bit to protect the local environment.
The main action to take when arranging
for waste to be taken away is to use a registered
waste carrier. Unregistered waste carriers
are often responsible for the fly-tipping
of waste and their activities threaten the
business of legitimate operations who have
undertaken work to protect the environment.
Gareth Parsons, an Environment Agency officer
covering Shrewsbury says: "We are asking
people to think about who they are going
to use to take their waste away. Some people
fly-tip to make money. They may offer to
take some rubbish of your hands for a bargain
price but it is very possible that it will
end up fly-tipped in a country lane the
next day.
‘Companies collecting, handling and storing
waste must be authorised by the Agency,
and only people or companies that are fit
and proper can be registered as waste carriers
or waste management licence holders. People
can check if the company they are using
is registered by calling our national customer
contact number on 08708 506 506.
‘Companies or businesses have an added
incentive to use a registered waste carrier.
They can be prosecuted if waste they have
given to someone is fly-tipped. Successful
prosecution can lead to a maximum fine of
£5,000 for each offence.’
Fly-tipping is an unfortunate aspect of
modern life which poses a threat to both
the environment and human health. In 2004,
the Shrewsbury area saw 227 incidents of
varying size and each one costs the taxpayer
hundreds of pounds in clear up costs. We
work continuously with the Local Authorities
to reduce it and bring those responsible
to justice.
The public can also help us in this work,
as Gareth explains: ‘We need evidence and
information in order to pursue fly-tippers
and members of the public are often very
helpful in this work. If any one sees fly
tipping taking place, we ask people to record
any detail such as vehicle registration
numbers and names and logos and report it
to us in confidence on our emergency hotline
number 0800 80 70 60.
