Fly-tipping

Fly-tipping is a term used to describe the act of the illegal dumping of rubbish, or the deposit of waste on any land with no license to accept waste.

The illegal dumping of waste is a serious environmental crime which costs local authorities throughout the UK over £100m a year. In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough alone there were nearly twelve thousand incidents of fly-tipping in 2008, costing £640,000 of taxpayers' money.

Fly-tipping poses a real threat to humans and wildlife, damages our environment, and spoils our enjoyment of our towns and countryside.

The consequences of fly-tipping are substantial, including fines of up to £50,000 and prison sentences of up to 5 years.

Local authorities in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough waste partnership are working with Environment Agency, Police and Fire and Rescue Service to enforce the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In 2008 alone we made over 2,800 investigations around fly-tipping in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

To prevent these crimes in the first place the Partnership is working to make all residents aware of their duty of care and other legislation to make sure they are helping to prevent fly-tipping. Also we work with land owners to provide prevention techniques to help prevent fly-tipping from occurring on their land.

If you see anyone fly-tipping in your area, note any details about the incident including date, time, location and information about the people and vehicles involved and contact your local council.