15% drop in fly-tipping in England
The number of fly-tipping occurrences recorded in England over the last year has fallen by an average of 15 per cent, new research by AnyJunk - the UK’s largest on-demand waste clearance company- has revealed.
The results of AnyJunk’s latest annual fly-tipping survey of councils across England sees the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea top the league for having most successfully tackled its fly-tipping problem, reducing levels of illegal dumping by 88 per cent.
The Borough of Broxbourne (70 per cent) and Stoke-on-Trent City (65 per cent) are second and third respectively. By contrast, the London Borough of Newham takes the title of England’s worst fly-tipping area, with 36,135 instances of illegal dumping across its 14 square miles. This is the equivalent of one fly-tip for every seven residents. Fellow London Borough Haringey is a close second, with 29,499 incidents of illegal disposal, equating to one case of fly-tipping for every eight residents.
Speaking about the results from the research, which are based on figures up to the end of March 2011, Jason Mohr, MD and founder of AnyJunk, said: “It’s encouraging that fly-tipping rates have reduced across England over the last year, and without a doubt, any drop has to be celebrated. Despite the fact that there is still a way to go in some regions, rather than vilify those with the biggest problem, we’re keen to celebrate the most improved councils and to encourage them to share best practice.”
The results from the latest survey suggest that measures such as councils offering free bulky waste collection, lower skip hire permits and harsher crack-downs on offenders don’t appear to have had an impact on fly-tipping levels. For example, the 10 councils charging the most for skip permits had less instances of fly tipping per capita than the 10 councils charging the lowest skip permit price.
Despite the welcomed dip in fly-tipping rates, AnyJunk found that local authorities are continuing to pay big money to clear away illegally dumped waste- £36 million in total.
He continued: “Our latest research reveals that many councils are paying over the odds for clearing up fly-tipping, with some forking out more than double the national average. With extensive national experience in fly-tip clearances, we would welcome and encourage local authorities to approach us for advice on how they could reduce their fly-tipping clearance costs.”
The full report, including survey results for all councils in England, is available to download from the AnyJunk website at http://www.anyjunk.co.uk/fly-tipping
