On average, there are almost 600 fly-tipping incidents every month across the borough, costing taxpayers more than £350,000 a year to clear up.
As part of Operation Flycatcher, which began on 29 November, officers from Cheshire Police, Environment Agency and Cheshire West and Chester Council have been working together to conduct vehicle stops at checkpoints and roaming patrols across the borough.
Everything from small commercial carriers to large HGVs are being stopped to check if they are legally transporting waste and have the necessary licences and documents.
The partnership operation, which saw more than 35 vehicles stopped in its first week, is part of ongoing efforts to make the borough a hostile place for those involved in illegal waste transfer and disposal offences.
Since the beginning of the operation, Cheshire West and Chester Council enforcement officers inspected every reported fly-tip across the borough to gather evidence, take witness statements, obtain CCTV footage, conduct interviews, and deliver enforcement interventions.
There has been more than 400 points of contact made with the public during the first week of the operation.
Officers have issued more than £2,000 in fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping offences. Several investigations are ongoing for waste transfer offences.
Mobile CCTV has been used in key locations across the borough and this will continue over the coming months to obtain video evidence from fly-tipping hotspots.
Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, said: “We encourage residents to contact us to report fly-tipping, as soon as possible, on either 01244 973708 or via email on [email protected]. Or you can provide information anonymously via Crime Stoppers either online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or call 0800 555 111.”
What is the NFU doing about this?
In order to fight against fly-tipping which continues to have a devastating impact on farming businesses
and rural communities, the NFU is continuing to lobby for:
• punishments that deter criminals dumping waste illegally. We are calling on the Magistrates'
Association to ensure its members receive training on offences which affect rural communities
and ensuring those who bring cases to court are properly trained.
• increased awareness about the Householder Duty of Care as too much householder waste falls
into the hands of third parties who then fly-tip that material. We want to make it easier ways for
the public to recycle rubbish.
• all parties (local authorities / police / land managers / the EA) to work together on prevention,
clean up and prosecution.
• a single reporting mechanism to be developed so that farmers / land managers only have to
report a fly-tipping incident once and they receive adequate feedback on any clean up or
prosecution.