Northampton Borough Council pays out nearly £100,000 in flytipping clean-up fees

Organised criminal gangs are dumping lorry-loads of rubbish across the UK as part of an illegal waste clearing service, an investigation has found.

Police and environmental groups say the nature of fly-tipping is changing - a shift driven by a surge in criminal gangs offering illegal waste clearing services.

The latest statistics for Northampton show there were 352 major incidents of flytipping in Northampton since 2011 and the number of incidents are on the up.

Between 2011 and 2019 figures have almost tripled. In 2011, flytipping numbers were recorded at 31 and last year saw an all time high at 94.

Emma Heath, the voice behind Northampton's Rubbish campaign on Twitter, said irresponsible landlords and a lack of community are playing their part in rubbish being dumped.

"The council ought to be talking to residents about how they could improve waste management so flytipping is reduced but they won't," she said.

She added: "I don't think there are enough wardens to keep up with the sheer volume of flytipping around the borough. If there were more than perhaps there would be more successful prosecutions.

"It also seems that when we report flytips they're not dealt with quickly enough, which often means more is added. I haven't seen a street sweeper in weeks either."

Each year, councils across England and Wales collate the number, size and cost of illegal rubbish dumping in their areas.

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Of course, the substantial increase over time of larger fly-tipping incidents involving tipper trucks and multiple loads - particularly in London - is of real concern.

“It’s quite possible that these numbers represent the involvement of organised gangs in waste crime.

“If this is the case, then it’s time for the new government to get serious on mass fly-tipping, make it harder for criminals to trade, and give local authorities the resources they need to crack down on this blight on our communities and environment.”

Anything above the size of a lorry-load can be investigated by the Environment Agency, though the cost of clearance lies with the local council.

While the total number of fly-tipping incidents in England has hovered around the one million mark in recent years, the largest type of tips - sometimes covering whole parks - has risen 117% since 2012.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment if convicted in a magistrates' court.

The incidents have been costly for Northampton Borough Council to clear but local authorities in England have spent more than £59 million on their removal since 2012.

Wales, on the other hand, has seen large fly-tipping decrease since 2012 - a trend which officials believe is down to the success of a national campaign.

Councillor Mike Hallam, Cabinet member for environment, said: “Fly tipping is usually associated with old electronics or furniture items dumped on public or private land, both nationally and locally we have seen a substantial increase of larger fly-tipping incidents driven by criminal gangs running illegal dumping operations and we are making every effort to combat it.

“There are a number of tools that have been used in dealing with this issue including local networking undertaken by our Neighbourhood Wardens team leading to improved communication and confidence from local residents which increased incident reporting. We have recently undertaken a successful trial of CCTV camera's specifically designed to help in fly-tipping hot spots and will be looking to deploy camera's in additional areas later in the year.

“We are determined to bring waste criminals to justice, therefore anyone found guilty could face jail time or a substantial fine. In 2018 -2019 we issued a total of 200 fixed penalty notices for littering and failure to comply with duty of care notices and for fly tipping of which one case was taken to full prosecution. We encourage people to continue reporting so we can keep the town clean and inform our enforcement activities.

To report a fly tip, please visit here or call 0300 330 7000.