Tipping the balance against waste offenders

New proposals aimed at tackling the scourge of fly tipping have been welcomed by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

There were over one million fly tipping incidents in England last year alone and now the Government is proposing to give councils the power to issue fines of up to £400 - rather than take people to court - if their waste ends up in illegal tips.

The proposals are being supported by a campaign to make people aware of their responsibility to ensure their waste is disposed of responsibly - even if they pay someone else to remove it for them - by encouraging people to check the Environment Agency website to find out whether their waste is being taken away by a licenced operator.

Councillor Arthur Forrester, cabinet member for the environment at the Council, said: "Fly tipping blights communities - it's anti-social and costly to clean up so any new measures which seek to address this are to be welcomed.

"We know that there are rogue operators out there who will offer to take away rubbish for payment and then dump it illegally. The clear message we want our residents to understand is that they can safeguard themselves against this by carrying out a few simple checks and we strongly encourage people to do just that."