We need to stop the scourge of fly tipping. So I will always support measures to tackle this problem that blights our towns and villages.
I recently led a debate in Parliament on the issue and called on the new government to revisit and implement some of the policy suggestions the previous Conservative government made.
Fast forward several weeks, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has now announced those guilty of transporting and dealing with waste illegally could face five years behind bars – a policy proposed by Rishi Sunak shortly before the election.
I’m pleased this government has taken on Rishi’s policy idea and it is something I fully support.
My concern, however, is that the policy will end up being all words and no action given we have a Prisons Minister who believes only one third of inmates should actually be in jail - so how on earth will Labour deliver this policy?
Government also wants councils to work with police to identify, seize and crush vehicles that fly-tip by using new technologies including drones and mobile CCTV cameras. Again, I support this, but it needs to be properly policed and monitored and I’ve written to Environment Secretary Steve Reed about this.
That’s because, worryingly, constituents previously told me (and I raised it with both police and the relevant council at the time) that despite handing over photographic evidence which provided identifiable information through a number plate, no action was taken against fly-tippers. This has to change.
According to latest government figures there were 4,047 incidents across Cheshire East in 2023/24, a further 2,524 across Cheshire West and 1,217 in Warrington.
There is no silver bullet to tackling this issue, we need a combination of deterrents. One of those measures must be a national waste strategy which places a legal requirement on councils to collect bins fortnightly and keep waste and recycling centres open. It is something I called for in my debate and something I will keep pushing for, as I hold government to account over its announced plans.
Not only does fly-tipping cost the taxpayer huge sums in clear up cost, dumping waste presents a risk to public health. It needs to end.
