GMB call on government to take more action on fly-tipping following 366,087 incidents in London

fly tipping

GMB call on government and local authorities for more action on fly tipping as Parliament debates the 366,087 incidents in London in 2016/17 costing £18,395,660 to clear

We need a policy of zero tolerance with action against fly tipping on all fronts at all times, says GMB London

GMB, the union for workers in the refuse and recycling sector, have called on the government and local authorities to take more action on fly tipping. In 2016-2017 in London there were 366,087 incidents of fly-tipping. This accumulated a total clearing cost of £18,395,660. In England as a whole, there was 1,002,154 fly-tipping incidents between 2016-2017.  The total cost of clearing these incidents was £57,667,483.

The issue was debated in Parliament on 17 April, led by Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Chair, Neil Parish MP, who has spoken of fly-tipping as a “potential to be dangerous to our health and is detrimental to the environment.” [See notes to editors for transcript of fly-tipping debate]

In London, Enfield was the borough with the most fly-tipping incidents, with 75,614. The borough accumulated clearing costs of £3,037,229. Other boroughs with high amounts of fly-tipping incidents between 2016-2017 also include; Haringey with 33,333 incidents, costing £1,444,089; Hounslow with 22,973 incidents, costing £588,425; Croydon with 24,797 incidents, costing £1,911,094; Newham with 19,917 incidents, costing £1,361,916; Brent with 17,340 incidents, costing £830,973; Southwark with 17,131 incidents, costing £1,723,403; and Ealing with 14,270 incidents, costing £644,207.

The figures for the 33 London Borough councils are set out in the table below. This is from a new study by GMB London Region of official data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for 33 boroughs in London. It shows the number of fly-tipping incidents in each borough, followed by the cost of clearing them. [See notes to editors for sources, definitions and qualifications]

Fly-tipping incidents reported by local authorities in England 2016-17

Warren Kenny, GMB Regional Secretary said:

“Government and local councils have to be more proactive in dealing with fly tipping as new figures show that in England in 2016/17 there were over a million incidents and cost £57,667,483 to clear.

“There needs to be better education on the costs of dealing with the problem and how people can dispose of rubbish and unwanted items properly. 

“Councils must invest in easy to access recycling and disposal facilities for residents to use and offer accessible collection schemes for bulk items. 

“Finally, councils have to firmly clamp down on fly tipping by larger fines, investment in surveillance equipment and rigorous investigation of incidents and follow up action. Some councils have a poor record on this which encourages an attitude of impunity. 

“We need a policy of zero tolerance with action against fly tipping on all fronts at all times.”

ENDS

Contact: Keith Williams 07710 631 339 or Tony Warr 07710 631 336 or Gary Doolan 07590262504 or GMB London Press Office 07970 114 762

Notes to Editors

1] House of Commons debate on fly-tipping (17 April 2018)

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-04-17/debates/C2881AD5-9093-4871-BDA0-68C82B6010CB/Fly-Tipping