Fly-tipping is on the rise, with local authorities forking out more than £57.7 million last year to clear up rubbish dumped on public roads, paths and land.
It’s the highest bill since 2008/9.
The tide of rubbish is placing a huge burden on cash-strapped councils, exactly at a time when they don’t need the extra strain.
Two-thirds of all fly-tipping is household waste.
Yet many people whose rubbish ends up littering our hedgerows, roadsides and public spaces don’t realise they are committing a crime – because they didn’t dump it themselves.
They happily use a “man in a van” to remove it, little realising they will be committing a crime if they don’t check his or her credentials. If the rubbish is fly-tipped, in law they are responsible, even if they didn’t know what was going to happen.
So, what can councils do?
Running a public information campaign to remind people of their responsibilities is one approach and the time is ripe just now.
In practice it is costly for councils to take householders to court, so very few householders who turn a blind eye to what happens to their rubbish are successfully convicted.
This is far from satisfactory – so the Government is proposing to give councils powers to issue ‘on-the-spot’ fines of up to £400 to householders instead.
It is consulting on the proposal to introduce Fixed Penalty Notices to householders who fail to ensure they employ an “authorised person” to dispose of their rubbish. The minimum fine proposed is £150, with a reduction of £30 for prompt payment.
Of course, it would save time and trouble – not to mention the environment – if people didn’t do it in the first place.
That’s where a high profile public information campaign comes in.
Councils have the ideal platform for getting the message over to the public – the sides of their bin lorries. Visiting every street in a district or city, these are highly visible and reach exactly the audience that councils need to address.
Spedian™ lightweight, reusable vehicle graphics make it easy to run cost-effective campaigns on refuse trucks. They can be installed or uninstalled in less than one hour and can be removed without any damage to the vehicle.
Nor do they leave ‘ghost images’ of sticky residue behind.
Lawrence Craig, CEO of Roadvert, the company behind Spedian™, said: “Some people, I’m sure, will be shocked to find out that they are ‘waste criminals’ and in line for a penalty.
“Councils will want to be reminding everyone that they are responsible for what happens to their rubbish. There’s no better way to spread the message than by emblazoning it on refuse trucks.”
Already many councils in the UK are turning to Spedian™ vehicle graphics to make their campaigns hit home, with recycling being a popular theme.
