Bulk of fly-tipped trash comes from homes

Illegal dumpers should be "turned in" to the authorities, according to a leading campaign group.

Tidy Northern Ireland is asking the public to "snitch" on those dumping sofas, mattresses, fridges and other large items of junk.

A new report by the group found that all of the province's 26 councils believe "fly-tipping" is a problem.

About 40% of those local authorities said illegal dumping was a "significant" or "major" concern, said the authors of the study.

Some councils have introduced CCTV cameras at fly-tipping hotspots.

Tidy Northern Ireland said large items of waste were being found beside railways, road lay-bys and in rivers.

However, the fly-tipping hotspots were the verges of country lanes, urban back alleys and derelict land.

This shows that many people are either too lazy or too ignorant to either visit the tip or ring up the council and get them to take away their rubbish Caroline Briggs Tidy Northern Ireland

Tidy Northern Ireland Director Caroline Briggs said one of the main reasons people dumped rubbish illegally was because they think they will never be caught.

"In order to stop this environmental crime we need to catch offenders red-handed - and that's why we've launched our Don't Turn a Blind Eye campaign today," she said.

"It is some small crumb of comfort that the fly-tipping problem here hasn't quite reached the epidemic proportions experienced in some parts of London and rural areas of East Anglia and the South West of England.

"But it can and will get out of control unless we give those who damage our environment a powerful message that they're being watched."

'Buses and billboards'

She said one of the most shocking findings was that the bulk of fly-tipped trash came from homes rather than businesses.

"This shows that many people are either too lazy or too ignorant to either visit the tip or ring up the council and get them to take away their rubbish.

"It also tells us that a lucrative business has been built up in illegal dumping and I would urge anyone who is hiring a skip firm to check whether they are registered and ask what they plan to do with your waste. If you don't, it could be your old kitchen sink that ends up blighting our beautiful countryside."

The Tidy Northern Ireland campaign will see posters carrying the campaign's message on buses and billboards.

The tip-off hotline number is 0800 3283 494.