Plea is made to shop fly-tippers (From Malvern Gazette)

Plea is made to shop fly-tippers

10:44am Friday 27th April 2007 in

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People in the Malvern Hills area are being asked to keep an eye out for illegal fly- tipping.

The district recorded 355 incidents of illegal rubbish dumping last year, compared to 282 for Herefordshire Council and 234 for Worcester City Council.

The appeal to shop the culprits coincides with National Fly-tipping Awareness Week.

Gordon Morris, the district council's street scene manager, said the problem might be worse than the figures suggest, as some tipping takes place on private land.

He said: "People fly-tip because they cannot always be bothered to go to a reycling centre. Also, not all are open seven days a week and they are not prepared to go back when they are open.

"Some people pay others to take their rubbish away, thinking that is the end of it. But, under the duty of care set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is a householder's responsibility to ensure the person taking the rubbish away has a waste carriers licence and that the rubbish is being take to a landfill site.

"People do not know about this and it could result in the householder being taken to court if their rubbish ends up being fly-tipped. As well as the financial costs, it attracts vermin and is a potential health hazard to the public."

The Countryside Alliance is behind National Fly-tipping Week. Local director Clare Rowson said: "We are aiming to raise the profile of this growing problem, with a view to doing something about it."

Part of the initiative involves encouraging communities to tackle the problem and shame fly-tippers into stopping.

To report fly-tipping, call Malvern Hills Customer Service Centre on 01684 862151.