Plan to end DIY waste charges should reduce fly-tipping
© Ivan Westbrook/Adobe Stock Fly-tipping on farmland in England could soon ease, with plans under way to scrap charges for disposing of waste from DIY projects at all local authority recycling sites.
About a third of all councils in England charge for accepting household DIY waste at their tips, and this is seen as a major contributory factor in fly tipping.
See also: Fly-tipping figures trigger strong farmer backlash
The government has said these charges will be abolished later this year, meaning councils will have to treat DIY waste the same as other household waste.
The government hopes this will reduce the temptation by householders to use “waste cowboys” who then fly-tip the material.
Environment minister Rebecca Pow said the government wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to dispose of their waste properly.
“This not only supports our wider work to tackle fly-tipping and waste crime, but we are helping home improvers across the nation make their dream projects a reality,” she said.
Fly-tipping and waste crime is estimated to cost the economy in England £924m annually.
The Country Land and Business Association welcomed the move. External affairs director Jonathan Roberts said: “The UK government is now getting serious about fly-tipping. Making it cheaper and easier for people to get rid of their waste means they will be less likely to dump it illegally.”
Earlier this year the government announced grants totalling £775,000 to help councils roll out a range of projects to crack down on fly-tipping.
“We have consulted on reforming the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and on introducing mandatory digital waste tracking,” said Ms Pow. “We are also developing a fly-tipping toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to help spread best practice among local authorities on tackling the issue.”
In 2015 the government clarified the law on the disposal of household waste at civic amenity centres, confirming that local taxpayers should not be charged for this. It also stated that councils should not charge for household DIY waste disposal either.