Flytippers should carry out hard labour when caught: Editor's Eye comment

12:27pm Wednesday 27th February 2013 in Greenwich news By Andrew Parkes, News Shopper editor

What would you do to stop flytippers from ruining our streets? LC59794 What would you do to stop flytippers from ruining our streets? LC59794

FLYTIPPING, the scourge of our beautiful countryside, seems to be on the increase again.

The number of tyres and TVs left in gateways near me suggest the problem is worse than it’s ever been.

So, what’s changed to make this small, but thoroughly unpleasant, collection of scumbags revert to type and start dumping stuff anywhere they see fit?

Perhaps it wasn’t listed as a priority by the recently-appointed police and crime commissioner (how long will it be before the idiotic idea of PCCs is dropped?).

Or maybe regulations at tips have become so petty most right-minded folk are completely restricted from using them?

It’s more likely the charges for dumping stuff have been hiked up so much the detritus of society feels it’s worth the risk of being caught.

The solution then is clear — make it easier and more cost-effective for people to dispose of waste correctly.

And, at the same time, increase the penalties for those found flytipping to a point where they act as a deterrent.

We don’t go in for removing people’s hands in this country, so I am forced to recommend a suitable period of time carrying out hard labour, with suitable supervision.

Currently, the relatively slim chance of being caught, combined with the threat of being fined is not acting as a deterrent at all.

Please do let me know if you too have witnessed an increase in this appalling anti-social behaviour which affects each and every one of us.

I would also be interested to know if you have any ideas what punishment might actually deter these scumbags from acting like this?

Comments(17)

banjo8 says...
12:38pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Parkes is obviously seeking to shock by suggesting chopping off hands. But, joking aside, the reintroduction of corporal punishment would cure a lot of the ills in our society.

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iamnotbatman says...
12:56pm Wed 27 Feb 13

As a regular visitor to areas such as Eynesford/Shoreham I agree with the editor that there is an increase in fly tipping. My cycle through beautiful wooded areas is constantly disrupted by rubbish such as tyres, electrical flex and garden waste. Local authorities need to clamp down on the scourge of fly tippers.

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banjo8 says...
4:01pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Public floggings - that would put them off flytipping.

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Eagles_Man says...
4:05pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Quite agree. Every now and again we even see piles of newspapers just dumped.

Trying to remember which newspaper they were....

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Gypo.Joe says...
4:40pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Eagles_Man wrote:
Quite agree. Every now and again we even see piles of newspapers just dumped.

Trying to remember which newspaper they were....
Pound to a pinch of chit it was the Voice of Freedom. The BNP toilet roll.

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Polly Staight says...
5:05pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Well nobody likes to see a mess, but guess what, the fly tipping problem has become more apparent in recent years.

The question is why?

And the answer is that the public tips are now no longer of any real use. There are many things which cannot be dumped, or which cost swingeing amounts of money to dump, like rubble.

And these are the types of stuff that you see dumped, particularly in Star Lane, although I believe that a camera has been installed, so expect a new favourite location to be found.

Why are these costs being applied?

It's our old friend the European Union, and its landfill and waste directives. The councils that run these dumps have to pay to dump these unpopular items into landfill (our money of course) and then we pay again to actually dump our own...

It's just that some people don't...

Simples.

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j.j. says...
9:31pm Wed 27 Feb 13

This is literally a very trashy thing to do, but not the worst you can do with your waste: I've noticed that more and more people burn rubbish, potentially creating toxic and cancer causing fumes. These people should be burned on their own bonfire.

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highway warrior says...
10:38am Fri 1 Mar 13

Some one mentioned Star Lane, no guesses where that rubbish came from!

The recycling centres will accept all of the rubbish that is flytipped if taken there by a resident of said borough in a non commercial vehicle.

In my experience the vast majority of large scale flytipping comes from "businesses" who will chop down your trees/do house clearance/or pave your driveway for cash then trundle up the road and tip it off in a quiet or sometimes not so quiet location.

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madras says...
6:06pm Fri 1 Mar 13

Bromley council used to offer a free large items collection, I think it was annual - no longer. It's not easy or cheap to dispose of large items.

And I'm sure there are a lot of cowboys who will do it cheap and and just dump it where they can

As for punishment - agree, make them clear up 10x the mess they made

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Bestbaz says...
3:07pm Sun 3 Mar 13

We had a very large plastic box of rubbish ( including 5 British Gas gas testing machines), damaged electrical testing equipment dumped in our road. Council workers not interested in taking it.

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banjo8 says...
5:40pm Mon 4 Mar 13

I agree tips should not discriminate or make such large charges and I know council collections have been reduced but there is NO excuse for flytipping. The penalties are not tough enough to put off the lowlife people who ruin things for the rest of us. Fines are no good as they don't pay them.

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nearly right all the time says...
6:13pm Mon 4 Mar 13

confiscate their vehicles, when they are
convicted

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banjo8 says...
9:03pm Mon 4 Mar 13

A good idea, after all the vehicle is involved in the crime.

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kentlad says...
12:46pm Tue 5 Mar 13

nearly right all the time wrote:
confiscate their vehicles, when they are convicted
Totally agree their vehicles should be sold at auction and the funds paid into a pot to tackle the high costs of removing the waste.

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kentlad says...
12:46pm Tue 5 Mar 13

nearly right all the time wrote:
confiscate their vehicles, when they are convicted
Totally agree their vehicles should be sold at auction and the funds paid into a pot to tackle the high costs of removing the waste.

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mainman says...
12:05am Wed 6 Mar 13

there is a site on star lane where all flytippers should be diverted to

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jsmith1457 says...
8:20pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Another ill informed opinion from the editor. If a fine of up to £50,000 and five years imprisonment isn't a big enough deterrent I don't know what is. What the difficulty is firstly the courts imposing small fines (a lot of offenders claim poverty) and also the Council failing to suitably advertise through yourself convictions. Interestingly enough community service sentences are common for this type of offence.

Reducing the cost of dumping will not help either. Whilst reductions in landfill taxes may help it will simply decrease recycling. It will not prevent the morally deficient from dumping materials which mostly could easily be broken down and placed in their weekly collections (i.e. black sacks) etc.

There has also been studies done which calculate that the cost of reducing tipping charges is greater than the cost of clearing dumped waste. So ultimately it would cost more to the taxpayer, plus those offenders who are lazy or doing it for monetary gain would still end up dumping materials.

What this problem needs is for each landowner to look after their own land, clearing any waste before it attracts more (rather than simply leaving it expecting the council to clear their land), residents gating private accesses and alleys, more people with pride in their community i.e. keeping clear the alleys behind your home etc and more people coming forward with evidence/witnesses as to the source of the waste (not mere evidence lacking suspicions). Without decent evidence criminal convictions and action cannot be taken. As much as I do not like to get political Cameroons idea of a 'big society' needs to be applied and people need to stop simply looking to others to look after the area in which they live.

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