During the coronavirus lockdown period, there’s been a surge in fly-tipping in some parts of the UK, with the Countryside Alliance reporting a 300% rise in some areas following the closure of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs).
This increase in fly-tipping has put additional pressure on local authorities who may already be finding it challenging to maintain their usual services whilst also ensuring staff safety.
Fly-tipping is defined as the ‘illegal deposit of any waste onto land that does not have a licence to accept it’. This happens often throughout the country when people decide they need to dispose of waste but choose not to do it through the approved channels. This could be down to laziness or the desire to avoid charges.
It is thought that household waste levels have increased due to people undertaking additional garden and DIY projects to keep themselves occupied during lockdown. As HWRCs have been closed, many people are choosing to illegally dump their rubbish rather than await the reopening of the facilities or hiring a skip.
Tipping waste could have detrimental effects on the environment if the waste being dumped is liquid-based, seeping into the ground, or unsafe due to its nature, such as certain types of building waste or asbestos. In addition to that, the area where the waste has been left looks unattractive and run down – both residential and rural areas are affected.
2016/17 saw more than one million incidences of fly-tipping being dealt with by councils in England. The estimated cost of clearing up this waste was over £58 million.
Fly-tipping is a serious criminal offence for which you can be prosecuted. The courts have various powers available to them to tackle fly-tipping including imprisonment, substantial fines of up to £50,000 orders to pay costs and an order to deprive rights to a vehicle used to commit the offence.
If you notice anyone fly-tipping, never challenge the person as it could be unsafe, but do report it. Take note of the date, time and place of the incident, what type of waste and how much there is and descriptions of any person and/or vehicles involved along with the registration number if you can get it.
Local authorities and the Environment Agency have powers to tackle fly-tipping. Local authorities will deal with smaller-scale, more frequent incidents and the Environment Agency will deal with larger-scale, more serious incidents.
For the general public, their waste should go into their wheelie bins to be collected by the local council on a weekly or fortnightly basis. There are bins for general waste and recycling as well as garden waste in some areas. The amount of these types of waste are limited so if you have more than is allowed, you can take it to your local HWRC, most of which are now open between 10am and 4pm.
If you have significantly more waste, perhaps from a garden clear out, DIY project or renovation, you should think about skip or grab hire depending on the type of waste you have.
TJ offers a range of skip hire options, from 2-yard mini skips up to 12-yard jumbo skips so there’s one to suit every project. Discover all the options TJ can offer you and get the dimensions of each skip and guidance on how much waste they’ll hold on the individual skip pages
Hiring a skip from TJ will make your home/garden waste clearance a breeze as you’ll avoid endless trips to the tip, lots of lifting and shifting and the need to give the car a good clean afterwards!
You can book a skip to be delivered as quickly as the next working day so you can start clearing that waste almost immediately. Skips can also be exchanged – full for empty – giving you a constant waste disposal option on-site.
Find out more about our skip hire service and get an online quote today.
Grab hire may be the best option if you don’t know how much waste you’ll generate and you have somewhere accessible that you can store the waste. With TJ, it’s quick and easy to arrange, so you could have your waste removed as quickly as the next working day after making a single phone call.
We have grab lorries in varying sizes to suit your waste quantity and the accessibility of your site. It’s a great way to get rid of large volumes of waste in one go and it’s also a very quick process – our grab lorries can be on and off site within half an hour, taking all your unwanted waste with them!
Find out more about TJ’s grab hire service and give us a call on 08000 463 964 to discuss further.
We can provide total site waste management, partial site waste management, a Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) or even waste management for events. All businesses have a legal responsibility under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and other related legislation to safely contain and legally dispose of any waste produced from your business. We’ll take care of everything, leaving you with more time to get on with running your business.
If you employ TJ to manage the disposal of your organisation’s waste, we can manage many waste streams, encompassing all of your waste or just some elements of it. This could include general waste, recyclable materials, confidential waste or WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment).
Find out more about the waste services TJ provides and give us a call on 08000 463 964 to discuss any of these services further with one of our friendly advisors.
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