Fly-tippers will be made to pay for cleaning up waste they dumped, Burnham says
Fly-tippers will be forced to pay for the clean-up when they dump waste illegally, Andy Burnham has said.
The Prime Minister made the announcement as he laid out plans to crack down on waste crime, vowing that the days of criminal gangs making easy money from dumping waste are over. Mr Burnham visited the site of an illegal waste dump in Bradford, West Yorkshire, after setting out plans which will see cash, cars and homes seized from criminals who fly tip. The crackdown will also see a bigger role for the police and the National Crime Agency, and more Environment Agency (EA) officers on the front line. Fines for waste offences will also rise from £300 to £5,000, while the use of drones will also increase. Speaking at the Midland Road site in Bradford, Mr Burnham said the Government had “begun a much more networked approach to this”. Asked why the National Crime Agency was involved, the Prime Minister said: “It’s building the intelligence as to who is behind this, the networks that are orchestrating what is a very serious crime, and then using the Proceeds of Crime Act to make them pay for the clean-up. “It cannot be right that we leave the situation to build, the public purse then exposed in relation to the clean-up. “But actually we should be getting in much earlier, apprehending them, using all of the intelligence that comes through that investigation to make sure the polluter pays.” The plans to charge waste criminals for illegal dumping are currently under consultation until October 16, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said. Some could also be forced to join “clean-up squads”, dispatched to carry out the work of clearing away the waste they dumped, according to Defra. The plans are aimed at delivering a swifter sense of justice without having to undergo lengthy proceedings in court. Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: “If you fly-tip it, you should be the one cleaning it up and paying for it. It’s that simple.” “Fly-tippers show a blatant disregard for our communities, leaving residents to live with the mess they create. “I want to give councils new powers to make offenders take responsibility for their actions, by helping to clear up the communities they have harmed and covering the cost of putting things right”. Mr Burnham was joined at Dame Angela and Bradford West MP Naz Shah as he visited the Bradford waste dump on Thursday. Environment Agency officials showed Mr Burnham the piles of rubbish and old shipping containers which have been dumped right next to Bradford City’s Valley Parade football ground. Earlier, he met community leaders and residents at the Grange Interlink Community Centre, a couple of miles away, to discuss the problems they are having with fly-tipping and illegal dumping. Following clean-up work of thousands of tonnes of rubbish, including from one site next to the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, three more areas have been identified for clearance. These are: Power Station Road, Isle of Sheppey, Kent; Aymer Close, Runnymede, Surrey; Midland Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire. The Government has said the new sites contain around 22,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste combined and are harming an estimated 2,900 families.
Published: by Radio NewsHub