Huntingdonshire District Council is urging residents who use companies to remove their waste to double check for a ‘waste carrier’s licence’ to avoid becoming liable for fly-tipping.
Many ongoing investigations being carried out by the council came about after waste removal companies had charged to take away rubbish and then dumped it illegally because they lacked an appropriate licence.
The council is also warning that if you do not see the ‘waste carrier’s licence’ of commercial waste disposal services, you could be liable for any fly-tipped waste.
The district council’s bill for fly tipping last year was £39,387, with the list of incidents increasing this year to 692, an increase from last year’s 650.
Councillor Angie Dickinson, executive member for community resilience, well-being and regulatory services said: “If an alleged contractor knocks at the door and offers to remove unwanted items from your property for a small charge and you wish to accept, make sure you ask to see their bulky waste carrier’s license as they should not be offering their services if they don’t have one.
“There are also a number of recycling centres across the district where residents can dispose of many different types of waste safely and operatives are in attendance to offer assistance where necessary.
“It is also important that residents report to the district council any suspicious activity relating to fly-tipping as well known hotspots so that we can support the land owner to disrupt the activity.”
Anyone caught fly-tipping can be issued with a fixed penalty notice or £400, and any serious offences are punishable by an unlimited fine or up to five years in prison.
On a regional level, there were 75,447 reported fly-tipping incidents in East Anglia between April 2016 and March 2017 – an increase of nine per cent on the previous year.
The figures, from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, only account for fly-tipping incidents on council land, not private land.
If you have any unwanted waste then residents can visit the household recycling centres which can be found at Alconbury, Bluntisham and St Neots.
For more information visit the Huntingdonshire District Council’s website at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/waste-and-recycling.
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