Manufacturers Urged To Help Tackle Fly-Tipping

Manufacturers Urged To Help Tackle Fly-Tipping

Mattress and furniture retailers must help clear up fly-tipping to stop villages and beauty spots being "scarred and disfigured", the Local Government Association (LGA) said.

The organisation wants manufacturers and retailers of bulky items to provide a "take-back" service to stop items being dumped - allowing people to hand in their old furniture when they buy replacements.

They are also urging firms to contribute to the clear-up costs as councils fork out £50 million a year dealing with the problem.

In 2013/14 they dealt with 850,000 incidents - a 20% increase on the previous year. Nearly two thirds of fly-tips involve household waste.

The call, made in a submission to the Government about tackling waste crime, comes as villages in Hampshire and Gloucestershire have been tarnished by fly-tippers.

Local authorities spent an estimated £17.3 million on enforcement last year, and want to be able to recover their prosecution costs after they take the fly-tippers to court.

LGA Environment spokesman Peter Box said: "Fly-tipping is at a record level and increasingly the country's loveliest beauty spots and villages are being scarred and disfigured.

"This blight on our most beautiful countryside, towns and cities is costing councils a fortune when they have already seen significant budget reductions."

He added: "Mattresses and furniture are some of the most fly-tipped items and in these unprecedented circumstances it is only fair that the manufacturers do more to help.

"It is extremely difficult and costly to recycle mattresses, so most of them end up in landfill sites, which are already under severe pressure.

"Manufacturers should show leadership on this issue and provide more 'bring back' services and contribute towards the cost of councils' clear-ups, on a voluntary basis."

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