Labour has pledged to “clean up Britain” as new research finds nearly 3,000 incidents of fly-tipping, or illegal dumping of waste hit communities every single day in England alone.
A Labour government would establish “clean up squads” in England and Wales for fly-tippers, rubbish dumpers and vandals ensuring that those who make the mess clean up the mess. They will be given Fixed Penalty Cleaning Notices that will be managed by the local authority.
According to new analysis of Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ figures, the number of fly-tipping incidents has skyrocketed by a third over the last 13 years from 819,571 in 2010 to 1,091,019 in 2022.
In the last year, this equates to on average 125 incidents an hour, or 2,989 a day.
These figures show widespread dumping of large fridges, old furniture, carpets and waste – plaguing communities across the country.
The stats also show that the number of Fixed Penalty Notices for fly-tippers increased by 176% over the same period – illustrating that the current sanction regime isn’t working in deterring offenders.
Labour has called for fresh thinking to tackle the scourge of anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping to ensure that offenders are met with consequences.
Steve Reed MP. Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said:
“The Conservatives have let neighbourhoods be buried under an avalanche of litter and dumped rubbish – leaving communities feeling broken and powerless down a spiral of decline.
“A Labour government will clean up Britain. We will introduce clean-up squads to ensure those who make the mess, clean up the mess.”
“A Labour government will make Britain’s streets safe by raising confidence in the police and criminal justice system to its highest levels, within a decade. We will tackle anti-social behaviour with an action plan to prevent crime, punish criminals and protect communities.”
Elsie Blundell, Labours parliamentary candidate for Heywood and Middleton said:
“we have some great community groups like Roch Valley Litter Pickers in our area, but clean ups shouldn’t be left to volunteers alone. Making offenders clean up after themselves is just a starting point.
“I’d like to see more prosecutions for illegal fly-tipping culminating in hefty fines. fly-tipping makes people’s lives a misery and puts businesses off investing in our towns and villages. Labour has a plan to clean up Britain, by working together, we can catch and punish the culprits.”
Photo Rubbish tipped outside Harpurhey School via Cllr Pat Karney
