According to new figures from DEFRA , a total of 588,432 fly-tipping incidents were dealt with by local authorities in the London region between April 2006 and March 2007. This is an increase of 22% from previous years figures. Hackney Council spent only £12,666 clearing up fly-tipped rubbish. In contrast Wandsworth Council spent £3,767,964.
Darren Johnson, Green Party Member of the London Assembly said: “Whether illegal fly-tipping is household, small or large scale commercial, dumping it is an expensive environmental hazard that can blight the lives of residents and can create a vicious circle because waste attracts waste.”
Darren added:”Local authorities must not only concentrate on clearing up the rubbish promptly. They must also invest in sufficient waste recycling facilities so that it’s easier to dispose of waste correctly, and make it harder to dump waste in hotspots by greater use of prosecutions of offenders”
Find out more about fly tipping in London:www.defra.gov.uk
See the figures for your borough:www.defra.gov.uk