As part of our ongoing flytipping campaign our Campaigns and Interventions Officer Niamh Green recently spoke with waste enforcement officers from Perth and Kinross Council and South Ayrshire Council to find out what happens behind the scenes following an incident of flytipping.
Have you ever seen a pile of rubbish dumped in a quiet layby? A pile of tyres, or a load of rubble, maybe? Perhaps you’ve seen black bags dumped beside an already full bin, or a mattress propped up against the side of a block of flats.
If you’re anything like me, maybe you just thought this was regular litter and hoped it would be gone the next time you passed by. You probably won’t have thought about who removes it, who pays for the correct disposal, and how it got there.
Well, this isn’t just litter. It’s flytipping. And it isn't a victimless crime.
And with our flytipping campaign underway, I wanted to look into what happens when flytipping is discovered, and what can be done about it.
Flytipping can sometimes look like a simple problem. Someone leaves something where it shouldn’t be, and someone else has to pay to clear it up. But behind every dumped bit of waste, there can be a surprising amount of work to identify how it got there and, where possible, who was responsible, and to recoup any disposal costs.
So, what happens when a report of flytipping comes in to a local authority? I spoke to two employees from two different councils and here is what they told me.
Following the trail
The first step is usually a report from a member of the public or someone working in the local area. Officers assess the information available and decide whether there is enough evidence to investigate who may be responsible.
If there is, the investigation can involve photographs, CCTV footage, witness reports and searches of the waste itself. There can be a surprising number of clues inside the pile of waste that often people won’t even realise has been left behind!
Officers may also speak to people living nearby, check doorbell cameras and, in some cases, ask the wider community for information. Sometimes, the final piece of the puzzle can come from someone completely unexpected.
It can feel a little like detective work.
Who is taking your waste?
Both officers also highlighted the role and importance of waste carriers.
In South Ayrshire, the officer told us that that waste collected by illegal removal services are involved in flytipping incidents more often than householders. This is why it is important to think carefully before handing your waste to someone else. They reminded me that if you’re paying someone to remove your waste, it is your responsibility to check that they are legitimate, keep your receipt and retain details of the collection.
An unusually cheap waste collection might seem tempting, but it is worth asking why the price is so low and where your waste will actually end up. Another note both officers made is that even if a carrier has a waste licence, it doesn’t always ensure that the waste will be dumped legally – making it so important to ask for a receipt!
What happens if the waste leads back to your door?
When I spoke to the officers, they highlighted that one of the most important things for householders to understand is that your responsibility for waste doesn't necessarily end when someone else takes it away.
Just because the man with the van you hired dumped your waste on the side of the road, and you were certain it was going to the recycling centre, doesn’t unfortunately mean you are off the hook. If the waste is traced back to you, officers may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. This can cost you as much as £500.
However, if you can provide evidence showing who the waste was given to, such as messages or a receipt, officers may be able to pursue the person who actually dumped it.
This is why keeping records when you pay someone to remove your waste matters.
It's not always a huge pile in the countryside
When we think of flytipping, it is easy to picture a van unloading a mountain of rubbish in a remote spot. This does happen, and we are aware of some serious crime links to industrial scale flytipping, but the reality is also that flytipping can happen on a much smaller scale and is much more common than we realise.
The Perth & Kinross officer I spoke to highlighted that leaving waste beside a bin or recycling point that is too full to cram anymore is also classified as flytipping. Whilst it might’ve disappeared from your home, it hasn’t disappeared entirely – someone still has to deal with it.
Enforcement matters – and so do we
Investigating flytipping isn’t easy. Waste enforcement officers do a vital job and can cover a huge amount of space. The Perth & Kinross officer, for example, needs to cover 2,041 square miles – that's bigger than the Cairngorms National Park!
Waste enforcement officers also play a vital role in finding evidence, identifying those responsible and taking action where possible to hold waste criminals responsible. But they can’t tackle this issue alone.
That’s where we all have a role to play. This October, and beyond, please remember to think about your own waste and the waste around you. Reporting the problem can be a huge help, but the best investigation is one that never has to happen, so make sure you aren’t leaving waste where you shouldn’t, and that you are always double checking exactly who you are giving it to.
Remember: with flytipping, someone always pays the price.
Our flytipping campaign is part of our efforts to support The Scottish Government's National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.
If you would like more information about flytipping, including how to prevent it and report it, check out our Community Litter Hub. It has lots of information about flytipping and can help you avoid becoming an accidental flytipper!
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