Latest news with #flytipping
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Moment 'hero' passerby confronts 'fly-tippers' dumping unwanted sofa at national park beauty spot
This is the shocking moment a passerby confronts two suspected fly-tippers he believes were dumping a sofa at a national park beauty spot. Niall Howard, 32, has been hailed a hero for ordering the couple, who he spotted taking the furniture from a large white Mercedes van, to take it back away with them. He was driving through the Peak District National Park on Monday to visit family in Meltham, West Yorkshire, when he spotted the couple who appeared to be dumping the sofa. The outraged conservation worker blocked the pair in to a lay-by with his pick-up truck and challenged them, shouting 'what are you doing?' as he filmed. Mr Howard said: 'It's a beautiful part of the world up in the countryside, I think there's enough parts of this country that look a disgrace, and the countryside is something that, especially in West Yorkshire, is a part of the area we can be proud of. 'To see it being treated like a skip, it's annoying - I'm a great believer in if you find somewhere you leave it as good as you find it or better, you don't turn it in to a dustbin.' He added the couple tried to protest that they were just selling the sofa on the lay-by, which is located near Wessenden Head Reservoir, but believes this is a lie. He said: 'I knew they were lying, nobody goes into the middle of the moors to sell a sofa - who does that? 'I'd witnessed him launching it, so his cock and bull story - I knew he were trying to think of something on the spot. 'If that sofa was for sale, the way he threw it out the back of his van it wasn't going to be in very good condition for anybody buying it.' On social media, the 32-year-old was praised for stepping in. One commenter said: 'Finally, someone who stops to confront them. Well done Niall.' Another added: 'Absolute hero, I hate fly tippers so much.' Mr Howard said: 'I think my problem is that I'm old school. 'No offence to the new generations coming through, but back in the day if you did something and it wasn't right every body used to call you out on it. 'Today, people are more afraid of getting in trouble for trying to do the right thing.' He has since reported the incident to the police.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Addressed mail, bills could be used to catch illegal dumpers
Car rego plates and letters or bills with peoples names on them could be used to track down and fine offenders illegally dumping rubbish. So called fly tippers can cost councils hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in clean up costs. At the moment critics say it is difficult to hold them to account under laws written in the 70s,.with offenders basically needing to be caught in the act. But under proposed changes to legislation, evidence like addressed mail left in dumped rubbish could be used to identify dumpers, and fine them for the costs of clean-up. Hasting's District Councillor Wendy Schollum spoke to Lisa Owen.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Hawke's Bay council look to change Litter Act to crackdown on fly-tipping
Hastings District Council councillor Wendy Schollum says proposed changes to the Litter Act would allow litter control officers to issue fines using vehicle registration and ownership details inside bags to identify dumpers. Photo: LDR/Supplied If a letter with your name on it is found in a pile of rubbish left on the roadside, be prepared for a visit from your local council. Proposed changes to the Litter Act would allow councils to ping fly-tippers long after they have fouled roadsides and private land and caused environmental harm. Large piles of dumped rubbish cost councils around Hawke's Bay thousands of dollars a year to dispose of. But Hastings District councillor Wendy Schollum said, as the law stands, even when a name and address are found, councils' hands are tied. "Even CCTV footage is not enough," Schollum said. "The dumper has to be caught in the act before we can do anything." That's almost impossible when the fly-tippers use isolated roads or the cover of dark to dump their trash. Schollum said councils were working under a law written in the 1970s, long before the explosion of fast food packaging and the rise in illegal dumping. Under the proposed Responsibility for Reducing Waste Act, litter control officers would be able to issue fines using vehicle registration and ownership details inside rubbish bags to identify dumpers. Councils would also be compensated by the offender if the dumped rubbish caused significant environmental harm. There would be tiered penalties based on the seriousness of the offence and compensation associated with the costs of removing litter. Rubbish dumped on the Hawke's Bay Expressway near Kennedy Rd. Photo: LDR/supplied Schollum said she imagined the council would have a warning system for different degrees of littering. "We won't be turning up at your door waving a big stick. We will need reasonable evidence before taking any action. "Someone throwing rubbish out the car window will not be treated the same as repeat offenders who don't care that ratepayers have to pick up the bill for their actions." Schollum said Hastings had more than 5200km of roads, and many of the worst-hit areas were on NZTA-managed land where the council wasn't allowed to clean up. "What's more, roadside safety rules also block many community-led clean-ups. Which means rubbish builds up, public pride takes a hit, and ratepayers keep footing the bill for the limited clean-up we can legally do," she said. A spokesperson for the Ministry for the Environment said the government was progressing changes to make waste legislation more effective, clear and consistent. The changes would replace the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 and the Litter Act 1979, aiming to reduce inefficiencies and clarify the roles of central and local government and the waste sector. "The proposals are based on building on and improving existing legislation, to ensure it is fit for purpose," the spokesperson said. Schollum said the proposed Responsibility for Reducing Waste Act was important. "This is exactly the kind of smart, enforceable change our communities need." Consultations on the proposals closed on June 1. The Ministry for the Environment spokesperson said feedback from the consultation would help inform further policy work and the drafting process it would undertake with the Parliamentary Counsel Office. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Liverpool's fines for fly-tipping, littering and dog poo to rise
Litter louts, irresponsible dog owners and fly-tippers will face harsher penalties after Liverpool City Council confirmed plans to employ a new company to help it respond to environmental offences. Faced with spending £12m each year on cleaning litter and fly-tipping across the city, councillors have approved plans to bring in a firm to crack down on offenders who fail to keep the streets will be higher fines for litter and graffiti, while a tiered approach will be brought in for fly-tipping council said communities can "feel unloved and unforgotten" when there are high levels of litter and fly-tipping, and poorly managed household and commercial waste. "Unfortunately there's a small minority of people who don't play by the rules and it's frustrating that it blights the lives of other people, said council leader Liam Robinson, who added: "It's not acceptable."The charge for dropping litter will increase to £150, up from £80, with an early payment option of £100 for those who pay within 14 graffiti and fly-posting is also facing sterner punishment, with fines doubling to £ of up to three bags will result in a £500 fine, while more than three bags, but less than a van load, will attract a penalty of £750. A load equivalent to a light commercial van or "clear evidence of waste being commercial, or business waste transported by an unlicensed waste carrier" will land those responsible with a £1,000 who fails to pick up after their dog will also face sterner punishment, with a penalty of £ Robertson-Collins, the council's cabinet member for neighbourhoods and communities, told BBC Radio Merseyside that the local authority had employed 12 council enforcement staff along with an external contractor to tackle the problem."We've got to get people actually looking and catching those people who are not doing the right thing," she said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Dedicated team to patrol Mid Suffolk fly tipping hotspots
A council is enlisting the help of a dedicated team to deal with fly tipping and graffiti - and issue warning notices to those caught in the two-person "respond, enforce and clean team" - or REACT - will patrol litter hotspot areas in the Mid Suffolk District Council will be funded by £360,000 from the council-owned Gateway 14 development. The authority's cabinet member for environment, Tim Weller, said the new taskforce would "increase the council's capacity to respond to urgent and reactive street cleaning issues". The team has a dedicated van and will be patrolling the entire district, and will "gather evidence and issue warnings and notices". Mr Weller added: "Introducing REACT operatives mean reactive cleansing incidents, such as fly tipping, and our scheduled work, aren't competing for resource and time." How bad is fly tipping in Suffolk? According to the latest figures released by Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), local authorities in England dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents last year, an increase of 6% from those reported in 2022/ Suffolk, there were a total of 4,099 incidents of fly tipping reported in 2023/24, with East Suffolk Council accounting for nearly half of all fly tipping the area of Mid Suffolk District Council there were 399 reported incidents, with the majority of them being on highways. Budget surplus The Green Party-led authority was the only council in Suffolk to freeze its portion of the council tax. It was able to do this because it has surplus funds in its budget from its ownership and sale of the Gateway 14 development on the outskirts of 14 is part of Freeport East, a government scheme which has relaxed customs and planning regulations, plus tax incentives for companies which base themselves there. Business rates collected on the development get reinvested into the local community. The decision to make the investment into Gateway 14 was made by the previous Conservative administration. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
