In the last year, there have been 14,219 fly tipping offences committed in Leeds alone ; yet only 63 of those offenders received a fine.
Without action there is no deterrent for offenders an expert warned but councils don`t have the resources to prosecute.
This is not just bin bags being dumped in the street, this year has seen a large increase in white goods, vehicles and their parts and animal carcass being abandoned.
Robert Evans, a waste disposal manager said : “The council aren’t doing enough, as fly-tipping is an environmental crime the council don`t have enough resources or staff to pursue prosecutions.”
“Street bins are also an issue as they are not always efficiently or regularly emptied, so people would rather drop litter than pocket it,”
“Another issue is household bin collections, they used to be every week, it can now be fortnightly or longer between collections.”
“To improve waste disposal, bin collections need to be more frequent, education around fly-tipping needs to be improved and people need to use legitimate waste companies or council tips.”
Leeds resident, Joanne Agar, said: ” I feel like fly tipping is a huge issue in Leeds especially since Covid as the tips were closed and you had to book a slot to drop off waste,”
“Councils should have designated days when waste can be picked up from local areas, there should be passes for local businesses who struggle to get rid of building waste,”
“Fly tipping seems very low on the councils priorities.”
Leeds City Council has had a waste strategy in place since 2006, the aim of the waste strategy is for Leeds to become carbon neutral by 2030. Since the strategy was put in place the council have opened award winning recycling centers, doubled household recycling rates by 39% and the introduced fortnightly recycling collections across Leeds.
Councillor Mohammed Rafique is responsible for environment, green space and climate energy in Leeds.
He said : “This council will always take swift action to limit the ability of criminals to fly tip in our city and this stark warning should make anyone think twice before they blight our local communities by fly tipping,”
“We know our residents feel strongly about fly tipping, and as a council we are committed to using all legal powers at our disposal to ensure that environmental crime does not pay.”
Leeds City Council recently seized 14 vehicles which were abandoned and destroyed them as a bid to crack down on environmental crime in the area.
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