Fly-tipping racks up £70,000 taxpayer bill

Between April 2013 and March 2014, West Berkshire Council dealt with 1,108 incidents of fly-tipping, figures provided by council spokesman Keith Ulyatt, showed.
The Newbury Neighbourhood Wardens also attended 97 fly-tipping incidents, with items including a sofa, a toilet, and a number of porcelain dolls.
“The Bowdown wooded area has been of concern over the last few months,” said Roy Probert, spokesman for Sovereign Housing Association which employs the wardens. “Another area is Burys Bank Road, where there has been sporadic but consistent fly-tipping.”
Mr Probert added that the wardens had also collected litter equivalent to one refuse sack on 179 occasions in the past year, and amounting to more than one sack on 136 occasions.
Perpetrators of fly-tipping face a £50,000 fine or a 12 month prison sentence if caught, however members of Greenham Parish Council said people were still not being deterred and that it needed to be easier for people to legally dispose of waste.
Members questioned whether restrictions on vehicle height and length at Newbury and Padworth household waste recycling centres were contributing factors.
Vehicles taller than two-metres or longer than 8.2 metres, including cars towing trailers, are not permitted at the sites.
Councillor Chris Austin said residents were left with the choice of paying to rent a van or paying West Berkshire Council to collect the waste from their homes.
Patrick Planterose added: “We should make it as easy as possible for people to legally get rid of rubbish.”
However, My Ulyatt said such restrictions were necessary to prevent commercial waste being disposed of at the site.
“Commercial waste must be disposed of at a commercial waste site,” he said. “All councils have restrictions on household waste recycling centres, mainly about length and height of vehicles and trailers.
“This is mainly to prevent commercial waste being taken to a site which is for householders - and for which the businesses should be paying for disposal, not the taxpayer.
“If anyone sees rubbish fly-tipped at the side of the road, then they should report it to the council.
“The council asks that the public be vigilant and record and report anything that may help with investigations to find the culprits.”
Incidents can be reported online at www.westberks.gov.uk or by calling (01635) 42400.