Large-scale fly tipping in Scarborough borough doubles in eight years - costing the taxpayer thousands

The number of large-scale fly tipping incidents in Scarborough has doubled from 2011 to 2019, an investigation by the BBC Shared Data Unit has found.
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Organised criminals dumping lorry-loads of rubbish on Yorkshire's roadsides are on the rise - and costing taxpayers nearly half a million each year.

Data reveals that since 2012 there have been more than 28,000 major incidents of fly-tipping in Yorkshire, which councils have had to report to the Environment Agency.

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A large scale incident is defined as a lorry load, or multi-vehicle in size, and analysis has revealed that the number in Scarborough has risen from 6 in 2011/12 to 12 in 2018/19.

Clearing up a fly tip. Stock image.Clearing up a fly tip. Stock image.
Clearing up a fly tip. Stock image.

The total cost to the council of clearing those large incidents over that time period was £9,170.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence and can incur fines of up to £50,000 in Magistrates’ Courts, unlimited fines in higher courts, community service orders or even prison sentences.

Harry Briggs, Scarborough Borough Council’s Deputy Operations, Transport and Countryside Manager said: “We have a Waste Enforcement Team working in the community to tackle environmental crimes, including fly-tipping.

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“We investigate all reports of fly tipping thoroughly, working hard at the scene to try to identify who the waste belongs to and who has dumped it, as well as following up lines of enquiry to get the evidence we need to allow us to prosecute those responsible.

Stock image.Stock image.
Stock image.

“We also publish the number of fixed penalty notices we issue and court cases on our website.”

Scarborough Council are part of Operation Eyeball, a multi-agency task force formed in 2018 to tackle fly tipping in rural parts of North Yorkshire and the Borough of Scarborough.

It brings together North Yorkshire Police with landowners and councils to allow the sharing of intelligence and information to tackle the crime.

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North Yorkshire Police & Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan, who is chair of the National Rural Crime Network, said these large-scale fly-tipping incidents stemmed from "serious and organised criminals" who were evading justice.

She said: "Fly-tipping is a scourge on rural communities and is growing in both scale and severity.

"Not only does it make people feel less safe and blight our communities, but the financial cost of dealing with the waste is significant.

"Most importantly though, it is generally thought larger scale fly-tipping stems from serious and organised criminals, and so failing to deal with those offenders adequately has knock-on consequences."

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A spokesman for the National Farmers' Union said: "People may associate fly-tipping with the odd mattress or fridge dumped in the countryside but it has grown into large, organised crime.

"You get a huge amount of waste dumped in the fields but also bogus waste companies which will try to rent farm buildings or land or dump lorry-loads or rubbish here."

In recent years the council has seen an increase in people paying individuals in good faith to dispose of their waste for them, but then subsequently being subject to enforcement action when their waste is found fly-tipped.

Those who employ an individual or business to remove waste have a responsibility to ensure they dispose of it legitimately and can check they are a registered waste carrier with the Environment Agency at online here or by calling 03708 506 506.

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Scarborough Council has launched a campaign to increase awareness of this amongst residents and businesses.

Members of the public can help in the fight against fly-tipping by reporting incidents online here or by calling 01723 232323.