More than 1,000 fly-tipping incidents in Mansfield

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy said the high level of fly-tipping seen across England is a “tragedy” to the environment and to communities.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs figures reveal there were 1,259 fly-tipping incidents in Mansfield in the year to March 2022, down from 2,067 the year before.

A significant amount of fly-tipping in the area last year was discovered on council land, 40 per cent, and on highways, 33 per cent.

Of the discarded waste, the largest proportion was household waste, 50 per cent, followed by household black bin bags, 28 per cent.

The data also shows £3,306 was paid by councils on removing large incidents of fly-tipping in Mansfield.

A Mansfield Council spokeswoman said: “No-one likes to see fly-tipping, which is an expensive blot on our landscape. Every resident and business has a duty to ensure their waste is disposed of responsibly.

“This council takes fly-tipping very seriously and we will always take enforcement action wherever possible.

“To also further assist residents in disposing of their waste correctly, we have recently announced a one-per year free bulky waste collection service for certain areas of the district. You can check if you are eligible at mansfield.gov.uk/xfp/form/1313.

“Environmental crimes are very difficult to investigate and enforce due to a lack of evidence and witnesses. You can help us by reporting fly-tipping and litter online at mansfield.gov.uk/flytipping.

“If you are paying for your waste to be taken away, it is your responsibility to check the person disposing of your waste has a waste carrier's licence. This can be done on the Environment Agency’s website at environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers.

“If you don't check and your waste ends up being dumped, it could be you who ends up with a criminal record for fly-tipping.”

Across England, 1.09 million fly-tipping incidents were recorded in 2021-22– a decrease of 4 per cent from the 1.14m reported in 2020-21. The cost of clearance to local authorities was £10.7m last year.

Allison Ogden-Newton, Keep Britain Tidy chief executive, said: “A million-plus fly-tipping incidents is a tragedy for the environment and communities and illustrates just how little people understand about the impact their unwanted ‘stuff’ can have.

“We need immediate and tough enforcement that targets the rogue traders who are making a fortune by breaking the law, raking in the cash and wrecking our environment,” she said.

The Defra figures show about 91,000 fixed penalty notices were issued across England in 2021-22, an increase of 58 per cent from 2020-21, while the number of court fines nearly tripled from just 621 in 2021-21 to 1,798 last year.

The value of all fines was £840,000 in 2021-22, more than doubling the £330,000 from the year before.

In Mansfield, just 30 fixed penalty notices were issued last year, down from 42 in 2020-21.

David Renard, Local Government Association environment spokesman, said fly-tipping is not just an eyesore for residents, but a serious environmental and public health risk.

Mr Renard said: “However, penalties handed down from prosecution fail to match the severity of the offence committed. We continue to urge the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping so offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent.”