Agenda item

A presentation will be given by Duncan Jones, Partnership Development Manager at Hertfordshire Waste Partnership

D Jones, Partnership Development Manager – Hertfordshire Waste Partnership gave a presentation to members regarding fly-tipping in Hertfordshire. The main points of the presentation were as follows:

• In 2016/17, there were 15,216 recorded incidents of fly-tipping across Hertfordshire which cost £1.1 million.
• The Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group have been working closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner and have been able to access the nuisance fund which is worth £100,000 per annum. In 2016/17, the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group received £82,266 of this money and £50,000 in 2017/18.
• The group found that there was little publicity about enforcement action and this has now been included on the work programme.
• Small fines in the Magistrates Court are not acting as a deterrent so the group have produced a report for the Magistrates Association to explain the costs of fly tipping on local authorities.
• A common definition of fly tipping has been agreed so cases can now be compared like for like across the county.
• 60% of fly tipping in Hertfordshire is domestic in nature
• In 2016/17, there were 36 prosecutions and 31 Fixed Penalty Notices. In 2017/18 so far, there have been 18 prosecutions and 64 Fixed Penalty Notices. Before the Fixed Penalty Notices, all cases had to go to court.

Councillor Timmis said in her ward, fly tipping has become endemic. It is a largely rural area so it is hard to catch the offenders. The fines are not enough to deter fly tippers and £300 could buy you skip. She said she had spoken to farmers who are fed up of fly tipping on their land, it costs them £1000 each time to clear it up. Councillor Timmis felt that not enough was being done and a Keep Britain Tidy survey found that 40% didn’t think fly tipping was a crime and 11% had admitted they had done it.

D Jones said he agreed that catching the offenders was the most difficult part. Currently, offenders feel the risk is worth it but the punishments are changing. CCTV cameras can now be mobile and wildlife cameras have been used but they have to be in the right place at the right time to catch fly tippers. In 2014, new sentencing guidelines were introduced for environmental issues and the group are working with local authorities to ensure they properly document the costs of fly tipping. In relation to farmers, it has been an on going debate but there is not an easy solution.

Councillor Timmis said that most of the fly tipping is from builders coming up from London. If there is evidence of the source and the homeowner has paid for removal then the onus should be on them.

D Jones said that residents have a duty of care to dispose of their waste legally. They can be fined or sent to prison but this is not commonly known. The Environment Agency have a website where waste removal licences can be checked.

Councillor Birnie asked about the fines and if £300 was a statutory fine or discretionary. 

D Jones said it was a function of local government.

J Birnie asked about the court fines.

D Jones said they are down to the magistrates and is dependant on many factors such as sentencing guidelines and the size of the fly tip. This is why it is important for local authorities to document the costs.

Councillor Anderson said he was interested in the idea of creating one legal service at a county level and it would be good to have more details.

D Jones said one or two legal services in the county have good, slick processes and internal standards for getting cases and documents to court. The idea is to take this best practice and make it county wide which in turn would help generate savings.

Councillor G Sutton asked how vigorously are travellers pursued.

D Jones said it varies and some boroughs are better than others. There has been some success – in Stevenage, the travelling community worked alongside the Gypsy Liaison Department at Herts County Council to clear the fly tipping problem in that area.

Councillor Marshall said she was in favour of useful cooperation between local authorities. The combined legal service is certainly attractive and is something to pursue.

Outcome

Councillor Anderson asked the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Sustainability and Regulatory Services to participate in working with other authorities to improve the success in decreasing fly tipping. Also, the Chairman asked if fly tipping statistics could be produced for members by ward.
The committee thanked D Jones for his interesting and informative presentation.
The Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee approved the report.