Perhaps it would make more sense to put the black bin collections back to weekly or fortnightly, and people could dispose of their litter or rubbish legally?
Published date: 10 March 2016 |
Published by: Owen Evans Read more articles by Owen Evans Email reporter
TAXPAYERS have had to fork out a six-figure sum to deal with the shocking extent of fly-tipping in the county.
Cash-strapped Flintshire Council had to pay out more than £100,000 to deal with 938 recorded incidents of fly-tipping during 2014-15 – a rise compared with the previous year.
And the figures, released by the Welsh Government, revealed the council has paid £652,128 clearing up after fly-tippers since 2006-2007.
But since 2006-7, just four people have been brought to book by being prosecuted, with all receiving fines.
Delyn MP David Hanson expressed his anger at those carrying out such offences.
He said: “Fly-tipping is anti-social behaviour, it ruins our community and brings with it health risks.
“The law is clear – anyone who commits this offence is punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months imprisonment.
“Moreover, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, offenders can have assets frozen and confiscated.”
The amount spent in Flintshire on fly-tipping increased slightly from 899 incidents at a cost of £97,990 during the 2013-14 financial year.
Mr Hanson added: “Flintshire Country Council will want to act on these criminals offences but it needs a joint effort by private landowners, Natural Resources Wales and Local Authorities to clamp down on this.
“I encourage anyone who knows of fly-tipping activity to contact Flintshire County Council to bring these offences to court.”
Stephen Jones, Flintshire Council’s chief officer Streetscene and Transportation said: "The number of fly-tipping incidents recorded within Flintshire has remained at a consistent level over the last three years and the council encourages people to report fly-tipping instances with all reports then being recorded on the national fly-tippingdatabase
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“The standard for clearing the material is 24-hours and each case is investigated to identify any evidence within the fly-tip that would identify the owner of the waste or the person responsible for the fly tip.
“In the last 12 months the council has successfully prosecuted two fly-tipping offenders and is currently working on four further prosecution cases.
“The cost of dealing with fly-tipping is not recorded separately from other cleansing operations by the council and the costs released by Welsh Government are indicative and based on the size of the fly-tips reported.”
Wrexham recorded a sharp decline in the number of fly-tipping incidents in the last financial year, recording both the lowest number and cost of incidents in Wales.
The authority paid out just £7,945 in 2014-15 to clear up fly-tipping, with 235 incidents recorded in total.
It marks a sharp decline compared with 2013-14, where the authority paid out £19,248 to deal with 476 incidents of fly-tipping.
Since 2006-7, they have paid £435,066 to clear up after fly-tippers.
Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said: “It’s excellent news to see that Wrexham Council is among the best authorities in Wales for cracking down on fly-tipping.
“We have always been keen to take a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping, and a number of successful prosecutions has helped to penalise offenders and discourage others from similar offences.
“Fly-tipping is a blight on our environment and I’m incredibly pleased we are among the best authorities in Wales tackling it.”
Both Gwynedd and Denbighshire recorded a higher number of incidents of fly-tipping in their counties during the last financial year, but it was Flintshire Council that paid the most money in that time-frame.
see-http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/159610/taxpayers-in-flintshire-left-counting-the-cost-of-fly-tipping-clean-up.aspx
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