Cleaning illegal dump costs the council £550k

North West businesses engaging in illegal fly-tipping cost the local authority half a million pounds in 2014-15, a report has revealed.
Fly-tipping in Burnley cost the council half a million pounds from 2014-15.Fly-tipping in Burnley cost the council half a million pounds from 2014-15.
Fly-tipping in Burnley cost the council half a million pounds from 2014-15.

The Environmental Services Association report shows that the area’s businesses routinely break waste laws, with more than 50% of those surveyed admitting they do not know where their waste is disposed.

Despite the threat of unlimited fines, prosecution, and even potential closure, there were over 4,600 incidents of fly-tipping in Burnley from 2014 to 2015, costing the council over £550,000 in investigation and cleaning costs.

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The report also revealed that while 98% of businesses think they comply with obligations under waste ‘Duty of Care’ law, over 33% admitted to being unsure whether they completed Waste Transfer Notes - a key requirement - while many admitted they did not know how to correctly classify their waste materials.

In reply, the ‘right Waste, right Place’ campaign has been launched. Sam Corp, Head of Regulation at the ESA, said: “Waste crime is not victimless. Dealing with the results is costing taxpayers millions of pounds each year and waste criminals can harm the environment and put local communities in danger.

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