 Fly-tippers risk a fine and two years in jail |
The Environment Agency is telling traders and residents in Essex they will face large fines if they do not dump commercial and household waste properly. It has issued a warning to people with unlicenced waste transfer stations to stop operating or face a fine in Crown Court.
The agency said fly-tipping is on the rise across the county, mostly associated with small traders in the building, driveway construction, tree cutting, landscaping and house clearance businesses.
It said that although most traders do their bit when it comes to the environment, a small minority flout the regulations.
Mike Webley, the agency's Environment Management Team Leader, said: "Fly-tipping is effectively environmental vandalism, spoiling the countryside for all who want to enjoy it.
"Fly-tipping is not just an aesthetic hazard, wastes such as asbestos and oils have been deposited causing a hazard to people, livestock and our rivers."
During July and August, the Environment Agency will carry out an enforcement campaign to target sites suspected of operating illegally.
Nationally, the agency said the cost of clearing fly-tipped waste has been estimated to cost councils �150 million per year.
Illegal deposit of waste is a criminal offence and risks a fine of up to �20,000 in Magistrates court, or an unlimited fine and up to two years imprisonment in Crown Court.
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