Working together to help stamp out fly tipping
On the 21st April 2002 the Public Protection Partnership took part in a multi-agency operation in the parish of Sandhurst. The operation took place to tackle a variety of issues, including fly tipping. The partners involved were The Public Protection Partnership, Thames Valley Police Roads Policing, The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, HMRC, Bracknell Neighbourhood Policing Team and the Safer Roads Team from Thames Valley Police.
- 57 vehicles were examined, 28 should have had waste carriers licences and 26 did.
- 5 vehicles were served prohibition notices. Two were overweight, one by 0.8 tonne and the other over by 1.5 tonne.
- There was a HGV driver was found to have incorrect documentation and irregularities with the tachograph. Fines were issued of £1500.
- Two commercial vehicles were found to have broken springs and another had defective tyres.
- One non-commercial vehicle was seized for no Road Fund Licence.
- One driver of a commercial vehicle (with a child passenger) was found to have no drivers licence or insurance.
The Public Protection Team were concentrating their efforts on checking compliance with licensed taxis in the Borough and waste management, checking that those who should have a Waste Carriers Licence as part of their business, were registered with the Environment Agency. Operations such as todays help us identify those operating without a licence, as well as act as a deterrent to those thinking they can operate freely without checks and consequences. We were also looking at a range of other compliance issues. Supporting the operation were Thames Valley Police, who were able to facilitate the checks by stopping the vehicles.
Fly tipping is not just illegal, it has significant impacts on our environment and the residents.
- For the 2020/21 year, local authorities in England dealt with 13 million fly-tipping incidents, an increase of 16% from the 980,000 reported in 2019/20. In the Bracknell area there are, on average, 25 reports a week of fly tipping.
Cllr John Harrison, Executive Member for Culture, Delivery and Public Protection said, “These multi-agency operations are part of an on-going programme of measures across the Borough to tackle unlicensed and unsafe vehicles. It is great to see the agencies working together across a range of issues including road safety, overloading and waste carriage. More events of this type are planned in the Borough and I very much welcome that’.
Education of the public and trades is key to tackling the fly tipping issue and with today’s operation we hope to broaden the public’s knowledge around this.
A person must be registered with the Environment Agency and hold a Waste Carriers Licence in order to take your household waste away. Trades also need to be licenced to dispose of waste generated by their daily business.
The Public Protection Partnership are keen to educate the public on what they need to ask of someone they’re paying, to take their waste away, but also to bring offenders to justice.
Residents should ask:
- Are you licenced to carry waste?
- Can I see your waste carriers licence or check it on line?
- Can I have a receipt for the disposal of my waste?
Asking these questions means you have applied due diligence on your part. If you do not ask questions as above and your fly tipped waste is traced back to you then you may find yourself being prosecuted.
