“Help stop fly-tipping – don’t pay cash to get rid of your trash” is the simple request from Buckinghamshire Council and Slough Borough Council.
The councils are asking residents to follow this advice to make it harder for fly-tippers to get away with illegally dumping rubbish.
Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment for Buckinghamshire Council, said:
“Seventy percent of the rubbish fly-tipped in Buckinghamshire comes from over the border, costing us around £600,000 to clear up each year. We’re therefore looking beyond our residents, educating people in Slough and London Borough of Hillingdon on how to be part of the solution to fly-tipping rather than part of the problem.
“If you’ve had a clear-out, have DIY rubbish, or have a large item like a fridge or mattress to get rid of, paying someone ‘cash-in-hand’ means your rubbish is far more likely to end up fly-tipped.
“A legitimate waste carrier must pay a commercial tip when they want to dispose of rubbish. An anonymous ‘man with a van’ is keen to avoid the disposal charge – by dumping your rubbish in the countryside.
“Use a company that has a Waste Carrier Licence, and ask for a record of who you’ve paid. By having an electronic method of payment, criminals are put off fly-tipping, and they are much easier to track down and prosecute if they do.”
Mohammed Nazir, Cabinet Member for Transport and the Local Environment for Slough Borough Council, said:
“There is a lot of cross-border fly-tipping going on and we are delighted to be working with Buckinghamshire Council to share the message against paying cash to get rid of unwanted rubbish. Fly-tipping is not acceptable behaviour, whether in your own borough, or a neighbouring one. We hope by following this simple advice, fly-tipping will be reduced in both areas.”
If the council's Enforcement Team finds your rubbish has been fly-tipped, you need to be able to show that you’ve checked the person taking away your rubbish is fully authorised and will dispose of it properly. By paying by bank transfer or card, you can provide evidence of the identity of the person who removed it and the Enforcement Team can investigate them.
If you pay with cash in hand, you could end up being issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice for failing in your ‘duty of care’. If the incident is serious, this might rise to a court summons that could result in a criminal conviction and a big fine.
Find out more about helping in the fight against fly-tipping on Buckinghamshire Council's website.
Find out about how to report fly-tipping in Slough.