Bedford Borough Council says an increase in fly-tipping was not caused by a booking system introduced at their tidy tip.
The Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) on Barkers Lane was closed in March 2020 due to Covid safety measures.
And while it reopened to residents in May that year people wanting to dump their rubbish were required to book a slot in advance. The booking system was scrapped in October 2021.
Government statistics show that there were 3,063 fly-tipping incidents in the borough in 2020/21 – an increase of 926 (43 per cent) on the previous year.
The council did not respond when asked if the closure of the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) was a reason for the increase – but denied that the temporary booking system was a factor.
Fly-tipping incidents are grouped into various sizes. This includes a single black bag, a single item (for example a mattress), or the approximate amount carried by various types of vehicle.
The data showed there were 1,651 ‘small van load incidents’ (a 50% increase on the previous year) and 450 ‘transit van load incidents’ (nearly twice as many as the previous year) during the same period.
There were also 53 ‘tipper lorry load incidents’ (26 for the previous year) which cost £18,550 to clear.
The spokesperson said the council did not recover any of this expense as “costs can only be claimed back after a successful prosecution.”
The government’s data on fly-tipping actions showed that the council sent 156 warning letters.
A council spokesperson said: “Warning letters for fly-tipping are issued for several reasons, but primarily will be issued when mitigation is provided and accepted for the offence and /or when the evidence threshold to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) or prosecution is not met, or when it is not considered in the public interest to issue a FPN or seek a prosecution.
“In 2020/21 we issued 83 Fixed Penalty Notices for fly-tipping offences, 10 Fixed Penalty Notices for domestic duty of care offences along with the warning letters.”
Fly-tipping can be punished with a maximum fine of £50,000, or a 12-month prison sentence. The data showed that in 2020/21 only one fine was issued for £200. Since 2012/13 the average fine is £250.
The spokesman added: “Fixed Penalty Notices for fly-tipping and householder duty of care were introduced as an alternative to prosecution and these bring clear benefits for dealing with low-level fly-tipping in an efficient manner, whilst still offering a suitable financial penalty for offenders.
“The council has invested in CCTV cameras specifically for fly-tipping offences and in the past 12 months we have issued 10 Fixed Penalty Notices as a result of evidence obtained from the cameras with further on-going investigations yet to be concluded.
“The council webpage ‘Caught on Camera’ has successfully identified individuals and cases are on-going.
“We thank those residents who have assisted the council in prosecuting those responsible for fly-tipping and encourage them to help identify individuals who we are currently seeking to identify by visiting our webpage.”
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