Local MP gets tough on waste crime

10
2261

Sally-Ann Hart, the MP for Hastings and Rye, has welcomed the newly announced government plans to tackle fly-tipping and illegal waste.

As part of wider plans to reform the waste industry, the government has set out proposals in two new consultations that will clamp down on waste crime and support people and businesses to manage waste correctly.

Proposals include background checks for firms who move or trade waste, as well as making it easier for regulators across the UK to take action against rogue operators. The government is also planning to introduce mandatory digital waste tracking, which will enable regulators to better detect illegal activity and tackle waste crime, including fly-tipping, illegal waste sites, and illegal waste exports.

Sally-Ann Hart, Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye since 2019.

Commenting on the proposals, Sally-Ann Hart said; “Criminals across the country, including here in Hastings and Rye, profit from illegally dumping waste in local gateways, lay-bys, lanes, and on farmland. Enough is enough. Tackling waste crime is a priority for me and I welcome any measures that will allow waste to be tracked back to its source and those involved in illegal waste activities to feel the full force of the law.”

Between 2017 and 2020, extra powers given to the Environment Agency stopped illegal waste activity at 2,700 sites while the new Joint Unit for Waste Crime has been successful in disrupting criminal gangs and successfully prosecuting fly-tippers for illegally dumping hundreds of tonnes of hazardous waste across the countryside.

Image Credits: Rye News library , Chris Lawson .

Previous articleThe Tin Ring – and a suitcase
Next articlePublic to engage with consultation

10 COMMENTS

  1. Fly tipping will remain a problem until it is made easier to get rid of certain building materials. The answer is to provide free tipping service for all kinds of building waste, including asbestos, plaster board and polystyrene. At present it costs £4.00 per small black bag of hardcore. Recycling needs to be more accessable for some of these waste products. The only way to prevent illegal dumping is to ensure the means to dispose of rubbish is accessable and affordable. Plus heavy fines for those too lazy to drive to the tip. Landfill is a serious problem, lets hope that ways can be found to re-use more waste.

  2. A few years ago while working part time for southern water opposite our place of work was a pathway leading to the back of Sainsbury’s supermarket in Hastings, some person or persons dump a load of household rubbish quite a large amount. The Authorities got involved while sifting through the rubbish they found an envelope with a woman’s name and address on the envelope, the authorities contacted us a few days later and said as nobody saw the offender nothing could be done.so unless there are many CCTV cameras everywhere you will be wasting your time.
    Vic

  3. If waste disposal facilities were both more local and more plentiful it would surely help. A round trip to Mountfield tip, to dispose of domestic waste items, is about 30 miles from Rye – and that assumes that you have access to a suitable car.

  4. The real issue with Fly Tipping is that anyone can register as a Waste Disposal Company. It takes minutes. And no checks are made.

    They turn up at your home, take away your rubbish and your money then dump it.

    The Recycling Centre in The Grove, Rye has weekly deposits of building materials, black bin rubbish put in recycling containers, furniture, fridges, washing machines, Christmas trees, -everything. We even had a massive gas bottle recently!

    The Authorities remove it all. At OUR expense!

  5. Surely the Recycling centre at the Grove has cctv adjacent to the site, at jempsons and gibbets marsh they had the same problem,which also resulted in rodents amassing in numbers, surely it’s time for this Recycling centre to be transferred to a site like Rye wharf, where it can be monitored 24/7, and not next to a leisure complex,schools and a scout hut, its just not acceptable from Rother district council.

    • John, I’m surprised that you suggest even more traffic on the Harbour road, it really wouldn’t be that much of a problem if people took a bit more care when dumping their rubbish and by far more importantly the bins were emptied more often.

    • It has CCTV. When I mentioned that to the guy who is paid to clean up the mess around the containers he laughed. ! I don’t think it works?

      Also. The remoteness of the site is the other problem.
      It should NEVER be easy for people to drive up to a remote spot and leave furniture and white goods at a recycling centre.

      But putting black bin waste in with recycling is SO bad! It means it all has to go into land fill!
      I have to pass by this mess every week.

  6. Just for information, Rother District Council have had similar problems with fly tipping at the Bring Sites right across the District. Clearing it is a great cost to the tax payers and because what is dumped is mixed waste, it cannot be recycled and goes straight to incineration.
    We now have a policy of removing those recycling points where residents have doorstep collections of recyclables. Indeed Northiam requested that their Bring Site be removed because it attracted so much fly tipping.
    Let’s hope the Government introduce carrots as well as sticks, sooner rather than later.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here